The Evolution of the Legal Profession: Strength in Diversity

Join the School of Law and the North-Eastern Circuit for a discussion on the importance of diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.

About the Event

The North-Eastern Circuit and the School of Law at the University of Leeds warmly invite you to a spirited discussion on diversity in the legal profession.  With questions from the Chair and from the audience our panel will discuss the importance of diversity and inclusion, how far we have come and the opportunities for lawyers to shape the future of the profession. Our audience includes students from the University of Leeds, magistrates, members of the judiciary, the Bar, solicitors and chartered legal executives.

The panel will be chaired by Mrs Justice Christina Lambert DBE and the panellists will be Lady Justice Philippa Whipple DBE (Lead Judge for Diversity & Inclusion, Leadership Development and Wellbeing), Susanna McGibbon (Treasury Solicitor and Permanent Secretary of the Government Legal Department), Jason Pitter KC (Leader of the Northern Circuit) and Alex Batesmith (School of Law, University of Leeds), with questions taken from the floor throughout the discussion.

The event is open to all legal practitioners (solicitors, barristers, legal executives, paralegals), the judiciary and magistrates, academics, students and diversity and inclusion practitioners.

About the Speakers

Chair

• Mrs Justice Christina Lambert DBE: Presiding Judge of the North Eastern Circuit 2021-2024, appointed to the High Court Bench in 2018, having taken silk in 2009. Her practice at the Bar focused on clinical negligence, professional regulation and inquests and inquiries, including Lead Counsel to the Dame Janet Smith Review into the culture and practices at the BBC following revelations of Jimmy Savile’s sexual abuse, and Lead Counsel to the Coroner in the new inquests into the Hillsborough Stadium disaster. She has been an important ally to Circuit in relation to diversity, inclusion and career progression.

Members of the Panel

• Lady Justice Philippa Whipple DBE: Justice of the Court of Appeal since 2021, formerly Presiding Judge of the South Eastern Circuit, appointed to the High Court Bench in 2015, having taken silk in 2010. Originally qualifying and practising as a solicitor from 1991, she was called to the Bar in 1994 and practised from chambers at 1 Crown Office Row in a range of areas, including public law, medical law and tax. In 2023 she was appointed as Lead Judge for Diversity and Inclusion, Leadership Development and Wellbeing, and in that capacity she sits on the Judicial Executive Board. 
• Susanna McGibbon: Treasury Solicitor and Permanent Secretary of the Government Legal Department since 2021, the culmination of a distinguished three decades in the Government Legal Profession, including stints at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Treasury Solicitor’s Department, the Ministry of Defence, the Cabinet Office and as Legal Director for the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department for Communities and Local Government and as Director of Litigation then Director General of the Government Legal Department.
• Jason Pitter KC: Leader of the North Eastern Circuit, Deputy Head of New Park Court Chambers, Recorder  and Bencher of Gray’s Inn; he took silk in 2014 and practices in complex and serious criminal litigation as well as professional misconduct and regulatory work. Awarded an Honorary Doctorate in 2022 by Leeds Beckett University, he has been a champion of excellence and diversity at the Bar, both through his own career trajectory and his work with schools and young people.
• Alex Batesmith: Lecturer in Legal Profession and co-founder of the Legal Professions Research Group (School of Law, University of Leeds); before becoming an academic in 2015 he was a barrister at St Paul’s Chambers, Leeds (1994-2003), a UN war crimes prosecutor in Kosovo and Cambodia and a post-conflict justice and rule of law consultant in over a dozen countries. He is currently researching equality, diversity and inclusion, widening participation and professional identity formation at the Bar, as well as public confidence in the legal system.

How to Register: 

The panel discussion and reception are free to attend but places are limited – please sign up by Thursday 28th November by clicking here. This link will also enable audience members to submit questions for the panel’s consideration.