Surrey Junior Lawyers Division

Surrey Junior Lawyers Division

Masquerade Ball 

The Surrey Junior Lawyers Division held its Third Annual Gala on Thursday 6 February 2025. The masquerade ball themed event, held at Weybourne House, was another stunning success for the committee. We had over 120 aspiring and junior lawyers attend the evening. 

This year’s gala was in support of our chosen charity of the year, the Grace Dear Trust. The Grace Dear Trust is a mental health charity set up by a family after losing their daughter and sister, Grace, to suicide aged 27. The charity's aim is to help save the lives of other young people suffering with mental health issues. With the support of our Charity Representative, Joanna Earl, we are delighted to announce that the evening raised over £2,000 for this local Surrey-based charity, including via donations on the evening and as a contribution from our ticket sales.

This year’s raffle prizes ranged all the way from food vouchers at Meat the Greek, to Le Creuset crockery to a day out at the races – thank you to all those local businesses and individuals who generously donated these gifts. 

We were also fortunate enough to have Surrey Law Society Council Member, Sushila Abraham, in attendance on the evening! Sushila was delegated the important task of handing out the award for best Masquerade mask of the evening and whilst there were many honourable mentions and worthy runners up, the winner was (drumroll please….) Lucas Hobbs of Knights PLC! Congratulations, Lucas!

The evening was not just attended by Surrey’s legal best, but a mind-bogglingly good magician, a mysterious tarot card reader (who you could tell was an expert when she correctly predicted this would be our best event to date…) and Guildford-based rock ‘n’ roll band, ‘Sultana’ who fittingly comprise of accountants, tax advisors and two lawyers. 

Ultimately, this kind of event could not have been put on without the continuing support from the SJLD’s members and the hard work of the SJLD Committee, including Alex Watson-Lee, Bisma Hussain, Bethany Walker, Seema Gill, Kali Phelan, Daisy Welland, Katie Foulds, Bethany Catchpole, Ellie Sullivan, Joanna Earl, Akarsshaa Bhargava and Linda Asare.

Thanks must also be given to the Annual Gala’s sponsors with a special mention to Elite Law Solicitors who were this year’s Platinum and Magician sponsors. Particular thanks must be given to Victoria Clarke and Sarah Howard. Victoria delivered an inspiring speech on the significance of being a lawyer, offering attendees a moment to reflect on their achievements.

Lastly (but by no means least), thank you to our Photobooth Sponsor, Chadwick Nott and our table sponsors, Charles Russell Speechlys, Fourteen, Guildford Chambers, Meadows & Co, Moore Barlow, Russell-Cooke and Stevens & Bolton. Without their support, these events simply would not be possible. 

We’re already looking forward to next year’s gala and hope to see as many of you there as possible again. If you, your firm or company would like to sponsor our Gala (not least to enjoy the benefits of a shout out in the Surrey Lawyer!) then please do get in touch with us at surreyjuniorlawyersdivision@gmail.com – it’s never too early! 

Let's Talk: Practice Areas (Part Two)

Bridget Jones isn’t the only success making a return to our screens. March 2025 saw the SJLD host round two of the virtual ‘Let’s Talk: Practice Areas’. The purpose of the event was to find out more about the various practice areas that aspiring lawyers and trainees (or possible career changers) may wish to work in. The event’s speakers included Grace Miller and Cerys Cousins of Moore Barlow (Charities Law), Rebekah Sutcliffe of Morr & Co 

Corporate & Commercial), Tom Hopkins of Russell-Cooke LLP (Property Litigation), Liam Baker of Cranbrook Legal (Immigration) and Laura Rochford of Moore Barlow LLP (Insolvency & Restructuring). 

It is easy to forget quite how vast ‘law’ is and the panellists did a fantastic job at showing how engaging and exciting all areas of law can be. Bethany Walker was an expert compere for the evening and thanks also to Akarsshaa Bhargava for her help in organising this event.

Save the Date! The Guildford Legal Walk

In aid of the London Legal Support Trust (‘LLST’), the Guildford Legal Walk is back on Wednesday 2 July 2025 and the SJLD will have a team taking on the 10km challenge. The walk (aptly starting outside the County Court) walks through the beautiful Chantries Woods and up onto Pewley Down, all whilst raising money for the LLST and the work that it does in providing accessible legal support to those who need it the most. If I remember correctly, it finishes quite near a pub (or at least it always has for me…)

If you would like to be part of SJLD’s walking team, then please do get in touch on surreyjuniorlawyersdivision@gmail.com so that we can note you down as joining the team. Please do keep an eye out on our social media and LinkedIn page for information on how to donate to our charity page in support of the LLST.

What’s Next? 

But wait, there’s more. The SJLD has a plethora of upcoming events for its members, including those events for the most freshly faced juniors all the way to the most senior, well, juniors. We’ve started a mentoring scheme aimed at supporting individuals in local schools to understand more about what ‘law’ is and how to get that all important ‘experience’. We’ll also shortly be announcing our next exciting event to network, socialise and build those career-long connections. See you there? 

By Alex Watson-Lee,

Chair, Surrey Junior Lawyers Division