22/09/2010 - The Principles of State Responsibility and Systemic Intimate Violence
In 2007, the Association of Women Solicitors decided to honour the achievements of Fiona Woolf CBE, then president of the Law Society, with an annual lecture to be delivered by a prestigious figure.
Fiona Woolf is a past chairwoman of the Association of Women Solicitors and an inspiring figure. As a consultant with leading European law firm CMS Cameron McKenna and a partner at that firm, she built an international energy and infrastructure practice working in 38 jurisdictions. Fiona is a member of the Competition Commission, an alderman of the City of London, a non-executive director of Three Valleys Water plc, a visiting professor at Harvard University, a senior adviser with London Economics International LLC and a trustee of Raleigh International. She has been awarded a CBE for her contribution to the UK knowledge economy and invisible earnings.
The first lecture, in May 2008, was naturally delivered by Fiona Woolf herself. At that lecture, Fiona challenged the AWS to explore the substantial gender pay gap revealed in the Law Society’s annual legal salary survey and to find solutions. Responding to the challenge, the AWS and the Law Society joined forced to launch a 2-year equal pay campaign to draw attention to inequalities of pay in the legal sector, explore its causes and suggest potential solutions. (Read more about AWS current campaigns here.)
In 2009 the lecture was delivered by Professor Susan Vinnicombe OBE MA PhD MCIM FRSA on "The myths of women and leadership”.
The 2010 lecture will be delivered by Cherie Booth QC who will speak on “Networking – collaboration and co-operation for women in the law”.
Find out more about this year’s Fiona Woolf lecture.
Innaugurated in 2009, the AWS Annual Awards seek to recognise some of the many outstanding women solicitors providing legal services. Some will be junior solicitors at the beginning of their legal career, others will be more senior. Some may work in-house in companies or government or work in private practice. What binds all these women solicitors together is that they exhibit phenomenal talent and reveal best practice in their chosen areas of practice.
The AWS wants to recognise and reward women who are or will be the role models for future women solicitors. By celebrating the success of such women solicitors the AWS wants to send out a message to the wider business community that women solicitors are successful business women managing their legal practices. Find out more about the 2010 nominations.
This award is given to a woman who has made a remarkable contribution to the legal profession throughout her lifetime.
Rosalind Bax received this award at the AWS Annual Dinner in 2006. The first female equity partner in a City law firm, Rosalind broke through one of the toughest glass ceilings. Throughout her career she was proactive in helping women solicitors, through the AWS and beyond.