With 2022 now drawing to a close, we reflect on what has been a very memorable year.
We have welcomed new barristers to each of our teams, Kinza Wahid & James Ball commenced pupillage and we saw the arrival of Siobhan & Elizabeth to our team of staff.
We received applications from expert legal academics for our new Academic Panel, who assist our members and pupils with research and training in complex and developing areas of law, as well as being available for training sessions for the benefit of both our members and clients.
A number of barristers were successful with a number of appointments this year, with two special landmark appointments – Jamal Jeffers as the youngest ever Black judicial appointment and Zoe Henry as the youngest ever Recorder.
We were honoured for a number of award shortlists this year, with Jamal Jeffers going on to become the inaugural Nottinghamshire Law Society Equality & Diversity Champion and Chambers winning the Leicestershire Law Society Chambers of the Year award.
This year brought with it a record number of legal publication rankings for Chambers, for individuals and as a set. The Legal 500 ranked 16 members, with Ben Chapman and Marie Huggins being ranked as rising stars. Chambers continues to strive to provide the very best service to all our users and we were pleased to note that the hard work and friendly & efficient service of the clerking team was also highlighted by the publications.
We’ve also worked on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, within Chambers and the Bar as a whole, something which in part led to being shortlisted for the LexisNexis Family Law Community Interaction award. Pride month & supporting the Nottingham Pride march was a particular highlight for us in the summer. However, there is always more work to be done. Headed up by EDI officers Jamal Jeffers and Lisa Hardy, in 2023 we will continue to work towards ensuring Chambers and the future Bar is accessible and representative of the society it serves.
Education is also hugely important to us. A great deal of work has been done to ensure that as an AETO training provider, we offer a comprehensive Training Programme to our pupils, with particular thanks to Oliver Nunn who has spearheaded the programme in his capacity as Head of Civil & Family Pupillage. Kinza will be on her feet in January, James in March & we will be welcoming new family pupil Katy Fellows next month too. We are also looking forward to the next pupillage application round opening next month, recruiting pupils to both of our teams.
We are also working on introducing career talks in schools next year, allowing us to provide an insight into life at the bar for students at every level, in addition to the current in-person and virtual mini pupillage opportunities.
Local charity support is something that we have also worked on this year and will continue to priortise in 2023 as there are so many local organisations working tirelessly for others in need. LAMP is our current annual charity and we were delighted to support the Rushcliffe Community Voluntary Service this Christmas.
Thank you to our staff for their hard work over the course of the last 12 months and without whom many of our achievements would not have been possible. Sincere thanks to our clients for their support throughout 2022, we look forward to working with you next year.
With very best wishes to you all for Christmas and the New Year.
