This year’s Inspirational Women in Law Awards, kindly hosted by
Legal Week, will be judged by eight leaders in their fields.
This year’s judging panel will be deciding the winner of each of our five new categories:
– Inspirational Woman of the Year, Under 35 Lawyer of the Year
– Inspirational Woman of the Year, In-House Lawyer of the Year
– Inspirational Woman of the Year, Solicitor of the Year
– Inspirational Woman of the Year, Barrister of the Year
– Inspirational Women Awards Champion of the Year (Any gender, any field, making a contribution to equality)
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So who are our illustrious panel this year?
Susan L Belgrave is a barrister at 7 Bedford Row Chambers (7BR) where she specialises in employment and discrimination law. Susan has served on the Bar Council’s Professional Conduct and Complaints Committee and is a member of Employment Lawyers Association where she has chaired working parties preparing submissions on government consultations. She is the author of ‘Nuisance and Harassment’ (1995) and has contributed to and edited many other publications. She provides training on diversity for barristers’ chambers, is a professional Champion for First 100 Years and a trustee of the British Foundation for the University of the West Indies.
Alexandra Marks CBE qualified as a solicitor in 1983. After 27 years at Linklaters, she retired as a partner in 2011. She sits as a Recorder and as a High Court Deputy. Alexandra is a Commissioner at the Criminal Cases Review Commission. She spent six years as Solicitor Commissioner of the Judicial Appointments Commission. Alexandra is Chair of Prisoners Education Trust, and a Council member of JUSTICE. She was Chair of Amnesty International Charity Limited for 10 years, and previously a trustee of INTERIGHTS and of Working Families. Alexandra is former Council Member of the Law Society, past Master of the City of London Solicitors’ Company and past President of the City of London Law Society (2008-09). She was awarded the Law Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016, a CBE in 2017 and an Honorary Fellowship of Brasenose College, Oxford in 2018.
Elliot Moss is a Partner and Director of Business Development at Mishcon de Reya. He worked for Leo Burnett for 12 years, joining as a management trainee in London. Elliot became Managing Director of Leagas Delaney London in 2005 and in four years he helped the business to grow by 40%. Elliot hosts Jazz Shapers on Jazz FM interviewing leading founders. He also sits on the Development Board of the London Symphony Orchestra. He was shortlisted for the Law Firm Management Individual of the Year in the Lawyer Management Awards 2013. In 2012 he was the first non-lawyer to be included in the FT’s 10 most innovative individuals in the legal sector.
Millicent Grant is the Past President (2017-18) of the Chartered Institute for Legal Executives. Millicent entered the profession as a legal secretary in a firm in King’s Bench Walk, Temple, with the intention of qualifying as a Legal Executive, as it was an ILEX requirement (now known as the Chartered Legal Executives (CILEx)) at the time for students to be working in a legal practice. Millicent qualified as an Associate of the Institute in 1978 and was admitted as a Fellow of the Institute in 1991, studying at evening classes and by distance learning to complete her qualification. Millicent has worked as a chartered legal executive in the private, corporate in house and public sectors.
Keily Blair is a regulatory Investigations and Disputes Lawyer in the Cyber & Data Protection practice at PwC. Keily guides board level individuals and international corporations through significant enforcement investigations. She has led the response to investigations conducted by international and domestic regulators and agencies including the UK’s Information Commissioner Office, the FCA, the SFO and the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI and the SEC) and Parliamentary Select Committees. She also acts as external legal counsel for regulators in connection with Investigations. Keily is the Winner of the Women in the City Future Leaders Award 2015 and the First 100 Inspirational Women in Law Award 2016. Prior to joining PwC, Keily was a litigator at Morrison & Foerster and Allen & Overy LLP.
Sean Jones QC is a Barrister at 11KBW and an Employment Judge. Since taking silk, Sean has quickly built a leading practice focused on complex and high profile cases. He acts for both claimants and defendants in claims covering the a wide range of Employment, Commercial Employment and Sport-related disputes. Clients identify, variously, team-working, approachability, breadth and depth of specialist knowledge and effectiveness in cross-examination as the particular skills Sean has to offer.
Anita Jewitt is a Partner at Irwin Mitchell, having trained with the firm and is based in their London office. Anita was promoted to Partner in 2015 at just 7 years qualified whilst on maternity leave with her eldest son. Anita is a Senior Litigator of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers. In 2017, she won the First 100 Years Inspirational Women in Law award. Anita has a wealth of experience in complex clinical negligence cases, both on behalf of adults and children. Her paediatric work focuses on children who have suffered neurological injuries caused by negligence at or around the time of birth or during childhood (for example, delayed diagnosis of meningococcal septicaemia). Anita represents adults who have sustained a spinal cord injury, as well as a range of other clinical negligence cases, such as fatal cases. Out of work, Anita is kept busy looking after her 3 young boys.
Catherine Calder is Joint Chief Executive and Director of Client Care at Serjeants’ Inn Chambers, which specialises in public law cases, often involving important ethical, social and political issues. Catherine was previously Director of Client Care at Radcliffe Chambers. Originally appointed in 1999, she was one of the first solicitors to work in a management role at the Bar. She worked with others at Radcliffe to take the set to “the forefront of a minor revolution at the Bar which has seen the profession take on some of the trappings of modern customer-focused businesses” (Chambers and Partners).
