Stories in News Snapshot

12th February 2018

The 2018 Pankhurst Lecture, “2018 – A Year of Anniversaries”, was delivered on the evening of 8th February 2018 by Baroness Hale of Richmond DBE PC FBA, the first woman to become President of the Supreme Court. On the night, the University of Manchester, where Lady Hale taught law from 1966 to 1984, welcomed her […]

8th February 2018

Women winning the right to enter the professions was an achievement “almost as important” as winning the vote, Baroness Hale has said. Speaking at the event “100 Years of Votes for Women: an LSE Law celebration”, a gathering also addressed by Baroness Shami Chakrabarti and Nicola Lacey, Baroness Hale traced the history of events from […]

21st January 2018

14th November 2017

As part of the aims of the First 100 Years project, Spark 21 held the third annual conference providing a cross-sector platform to debate ‘Women Leaders in Law: a 21st Century Conversation’. The First Hundred Years in 2017 Dana Denis-Smith, the founder of First 100 Years and CEO of Obelisk Support, welcomed the event’s largest audience so […]

21st July 2017

Written by Dana Denis-Smith, founder of Spark21 and creator of the First 100 Years I was extremely privileged to have met Baroness Hale a few times in my legal career, both times part of our First 100 Years work, looking to document and archive the history of women in the legal profession. It is an […]

21st July 2017

Dame Jill Black’s appointment as Supreme Court judge will bring the number of women in the country’s highest court to two. Commenting on Lady Black’s appointment, First 100 Years founder Dana Denis-Smith told Legal Cheek that the judicial appointments represented “one of the most significant landmarks for women in law.” While noting the improvement in […]

21st July 2017

Baroness Brenda Hale of Richmond has been appointed President of the Supreme Court, the first woman to become the most senior judge in the UK. She will take up the role on 2 October 2017. A woman pioneer in law, Lady Hale has already broken the glass ceiling in the legal profession on several occasions. […]

12th July 2017

Women were allowed entry into the legal profession in 1919 but the playing field remains unequal, almost a century later. Read about the women who are pushing for gender equality in The Guardian, featuring one of our very own First 100 Years champions, Funke Abimbola.

5th July 2017

More women than men study law, receive training contracts and qualify as solicitors. However, the latest statistics published by Solicitors Regulation Authority indicate that only 33 per cent of partners across the UK are women. Emma Spitz, a director at the Executive Coaching Consultancy who has more than 12 years’ experience advising City law firms […]

18th April 2017

One of our student ambassadors, Ndifreke Ekaette, has been discussing the FHY project with a local school in Blackpool. The first of a series of meetings, Ndifreke tells FHY about her first event and the importance of talking to a younger generation about the history of women in law. _______________ Lawyers are a crucial part […]

31st January 2017

Did you know that one of our FHY Professional Champions is the World Bank Group’s Senior Vice President and General Council? Sandie Okoro, appointed to the position in November 2016, previous worked for HSBC Global as their Global General Council and has devoted much of her time to improving diversity in the City. She has […]

1st December 2016

The First 100 Years Champions have been selected for their committment to furthering equality in Law and beyond. This week, two champions have been featured in the national media to advance the causes of diversity and equality in the profession. Barry Matthews has been a champion for diversity in Law throughout his career. He currently […]

27th June 2016

The fifth woman to sit in the Court of Appeal writes about the women in law who have inspired her during her career. In February 2013 she was called the 8th most powerful woman in Britain by Woman’s Hour. We are honoured to be featuring her fascinating story as part of the First 100 Years […]

6th June 2016

The UK’s supreme court should be “ashamed” if it does not radically improve its diversity in the next round of judicial appointments, according to its only female judge, Lady Hale. Read full story

25th November 2015

The BSN, which published its first diversity league table in 2006, said its sample of firms in the early years had around one in five partners who were women and about 4% from a minority ethnic background.

25th November 2015

Charlotte Proudman - "I'm tired of members of the old boys' club telling me that quotas are 'patronising' to women while holding on to their privileged positions - especially in the legal profession"

25th November 2015

A lawyer who received the ‘Services to Law’ prize at the British Muslim Awards has said there is a “massive under-representation” of ethnic minority groups in the legal profession.

25th October 2015

Two women have been appointed as High Court judges for the first time in the history of the judiciary in Northern Ireland.

25th October 2015

Barrister Charlotte Proudman accused male solicitor of sexism after he described her photograph on the networking site LinkedIn as 'stunning'

25th September 2015

Lord Sumption claims rushing to achieve equality could damage the judiciary

25th September 2015

Shocking levels of rampant sexism still exist among barristers “existing in a children’s playground” who know they can get away with “grossly disrespectful” comments, according to a major Bar Council report.

25th July 2015

We're in the second decade of the 21st century but there are still places where women will never be equal

25th April 2015

The downward trend in the number of bar pupillages is continuing, reflecting a fall in the availability of work, statistics released by the bar’s regulator suggest.

25th April 2015

The Law Society’s latest Annual Statistics Report: Trends in the solicitors' profession, published today, provides an authoritative record of the numbers of practitioners and the types of organisations they work within in England and Wales.

25th March 2015

The future of London law firms will be threatened unless they speed up efforts to help women progress to their senior ranks, a report warned today.

25th February 2015

In a first for any legal profession in the world, female Irish solicitors now outnumber male solicitors practising in the country.

25th February 2015

Almost two-thirds of entrants into the Scottish legal profession are women, the Law Society of Scotland has said.

25th November 2014

In a profession in which law firms struggle to retain female talent and establish gender parity at partner level, young female lawyers stand apart.

25th July 2014

Baroness Hale claims male colleagues have concerns about changing the application and hiring process

25th January 2014

The legal establishment still looks like it is stuck in the Victorian era, the new justice minister has claimed as he announces a drive to boost the number of female and ethnic-minority barristers.

Newsletter Sign Up
Get the latest updates on the First 100 Years Project and join our journey.