Ashley graduated with a law degree from University College London in 2018 before working at a public affairs agency based in Westminster. Following this, he joined First 100 Years first as Project Coordinator and then as Campaigns Manager, combining his commitment to equality with his interest in the law.
Will Stephens is the Treasurer for Spark21. He is a fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants having qualified whilst in public practice. He has many years’ experience since then working as Finance Director or CFO and Head of Operations at Board level for a number of SMEs in a variety of industry sectors. He is also COO of Obelisk Support.
Marcus co-ordinates the #100faces100years campaign.
Marcus Jamieson-Pond is a professional photographer, specialising in photographs of people and events. He had an earlier career in the City, including many years working for law firms in Human Resources, up to and including Director level. He also set up and ran the award winning Corporate Social Responsibility programme at Addleshaw Goddard.
“The law underpins women’s rights, safety and freedoms. It is vital to remember the battles women fought to vote, to make law as MPs, and to use the law as members of the legal profession.”
Award-winning filmmaker Deborah Perkin is recognised for her thought-provoking, intelligent and entertaining documentaries. The three films of which she is most proud are Breach of Faith, Britain’s first documentary to expose that the Catholic Church had been sheltering a paedophile priest; her BAFTA-winning biography of music legend Quincy Jones; and her cinema documentary about a Moroccan woman’s courtroom battle to legitimise her daughter, Bastards. She started her television producing career at the BBC with Angela Holdsworth, on the women’s history series Out of the Doll’s House.
After graduating with a Law degree from University College London, Caroline joined the team in June 2018 and is now the Project Manager for the project.
Lucinda has been a volunteer with First 100 Years since 2015 and is the host of the First 100 Years podcast.
Lucinda is a qualified non-practising lawyer, with 25 years experience in the legal sector, both as a solicitor and as a litigation support/IT lawyer for international law firm Lovell While Durrant (now Hogan Lovells). Previously, she was the Community Manager for Obelisk Support, responsible for engaging with consultants on a day-to-day basis to match them to client assignments. She also organised workshops for their professional development as lawyers and freelance legal consultants.
Prior to that, Lucinda was the Social Media Manager at legal services provider, Riverview Law and worked as Legal Content Manager for The College of Law (now University of Law), creating their online CPD course, COLmedia.
After graduating with a degree in History and Politics from the University of Edinburgh, Annabel joined the First 100 Years in February 2018, playing a significant role in coordinating the project in that time.
First 100 Years was the perfect opportunity to combine her love of history with her interest in a career in law, and as a result of the inspiring women she has documented, Annabel has chosen to undertake a law conversion course in pursuit of practising at the bar, and continues to work with First 100 Years alongside her studies.
Katie is a postgraduate researcher in the History Department at Royal Holloway, University of London, researching the opening of the legal profession to women in 1919. She is a contributor to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and the creator of the exhibition Celebrating the Centenary of Women Lawyers. Having been a longstanding champion of the First 100 Years project, she is now also a member of the team, co-writing the First 100 Years book to be released at the end of 2019.
Sarah is an Executive Director in the Legal Department at Goldman Sachs International. Prior to that she worked at Morgan Stanley International in Sales and Trading and also for a renewable energy, health and education NGO in Bolivia. Sarah has an LLB in Law and an MSc in Development Studies.
She says of the First 100 Years:
When I first heard that it has been less than 100 years since women could enter the legal profession in the UK I was surprised. The First 100 Years Project not only raises awareness of this but also highlights the remarkable achievements of women in the legal profession and the adversity they have overcome during this short period. The Project will showcase these achievements for the first time, charting this incredible journey in a modern and accessible form.
The First 100 Years Project will provide a legacy and source of inspiration for generations to come.
‘Women are far too often hidden from history. Projects like this which re-discover and celebrate women’s achievements are of enormous importance, inspiring women today & ensuring the past isn’t forgotten.’
Angela Holdsworth is an experienced writer, editor and award-winning television producer, who worked for many years at the BBC before becoming an independent executive producer and consultant. Known for tackling complex subjects with a popular touch, her portfolio includes many history programmes such as the influential series, Out of the Doll’s House (exploring the changing role of women in the Twentieth Century) and the best-selling book which accompanied the series. She has also edited several books including an illustrated history of Lincoln’s Inn.
Dana Denis-Smith is an award-winning entrepreneur, leading campaigner for equality, TEDx speaker and philanthropist. Dana is the CEO of Obelisk Support, a legal services provider offering flexible legal solutions to FTSE100 companies, law firms and growing businesses, UK-based or multinational. Obelisk’s remote worker platform has over 2,000+ lawyers, many parents needing to work flexibly around their family commitments.
A TedX speaker, Dana regularly speaks at industry events and in the media on gender equality, entrepreneurship and legal technology. She has won numerous awards, most recently in 2019, when she was recognised by the Legal 500 for Outstanding Achievement in Legal Services, and, in 2018, she was voted Legal Personality of the Year at the LexisNexis Awards. She holds an honorary doctorate in laws from the University of Worcester.
In 2014, she founded the First 100 Years, a national campaign to celebrate the first 100 years of women in the legal profession in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The campaign culminated in centenary celebrations on 23 December 2019 and now focuses on the next 100 years, campaigning around key issues for women in law.