JUDGES

Each of the awards will be judged by a panel of experts from the worlds of HR and law. Likewise, the process itself will be robust and rigorous. Once entry deadlines have closed, judges will initially study all submissions before coming together to debate the merits of all entrants, in order to then announce the shortlist. The final winners will then be decided in a second subsequent session.

Andrew Baird
Director of Consulting
Blackbridge Communications

Andrew has over twenty-five years’ experience in marketing services and recruitment communications, winning awards in ceremonies as far afield as New York, Chicago, London and Hollywood. The majority of Andrew’s work is in employer brand. Organisations that have benefited from his skills include KPMG, MI6, Aviva, PizzaExpress, Asda, PepsiCo, Hilton, De La Rue, Balfour Beatty and Deutsche Bank. He also works extensively with law firms, and was the inaugural Chair of Judges of the HR in Law Awards.


Husnara Begum
Owner
Husnara Begum Consulting Limited

Husnara Begum is a career strategist / coach with over 20 years’ experience of working in the legal sector. She launched her own consultancy in early 2013, focussing on qualified lawyer recruitment, business / soft skills training and most recently career coaching. With regard to the latter, Husnara offers bespoke career transitioning and outplacement programmes for trainees solicitors and associates who are referred to her from a burgeoning client list comprising high-profile City and US law firms.

Areas in which Husnara offers training include time management, resilience, personal branding and networking. She also regularly trains senior lawyers, including partners, on how to confidently manage relationships with journalists and helps them to devise longer-term press strategies. Additionally, Husnara heads the Law Society Careers Clinic and regularly offers support to qualified lawyers who either face redundancy or are trying to return to the profession after lengthy career breaks.

Before moving into legal recruitment in 2011, Husnara spent almost a decade as a journalist on The Lawyer as both the City editor and editor of the high-profile magazine’s student title Lawyer 2B, spearheading the launch of Lawyer2B.com. Prior to that, she was a corporate associate at magic circle firm Linklaters where she spent just under five years specialising in public M&A and equity capital markets.

Outside of work Husnara enjoys cooking for friends, art, travel, watching chick flicks and is also the captain of a local pub quiz team in her home town of Tunbridge Wells.

Joanna Corr
Founding Partner
PSFI

Joanna is a founding partner of the Professional Services Firms Group (PSFI). For the last 20 years she has focused exclusively on providing consultancy and advice to leaders of legal and accounting firms on the people aspects of their business – leadership, talent and client relationships. She understands the specific challenges of leading in a professional partnership through her work with senior lawyers and accountants in a range of national and global firms, including four in the Magic Circle of law firms and two of the big four accounting firms.

Morette Jackson
Director of Business Development
The University of Law

Morette is a qualified solicitor having previously worked at Davies Arnold Cooper (now DAC Beachcroft) and has 20 years’ experience of legal education at the University (formerly the College) of Law. During that time, she has taught and managed many aspects of the University’s operations including the LPC, GDL and other programmes and has been the Director of the Moorgate Centre. As Director of Business Development, she has extensive experience of working with law firms and is heavily involved in the development of the University’s SQE programme portfolio. Morette is also a member of the LETG Advisory Board.

Tony Jackson
Founder and MD
Chelsham Legal

Tony Jackson is the founder and MD at Chelsham Legal, the executive coaching and inclusion business.

He has worked with or in professional partnerships, including major law firms, professional services firms and management consultancies, since the late 1980s. His current client base includes major international, national and niche legal firms.

He has deep experience of executive coaching, inclusion, recruitment & HR and previously held positions up to and including HR Director.

Tony has led or been closely involved with a range of innovative, ground-breaking people projects over the years including the implementation of one of the first HR Shared Service centres in the UK in the 1990s, early adoption of e-recruitment and EVP (also in the 1990s), setting up and running an internal HR consultancy at PwC as part of a unique new HR delivery model, devising a ground-breaking approach to people metrics in 2001, work to establish a culture of high-performance in more than one firm, establishment of Centres of Excellence, creation of HR & People Strategies and Responsible Leadership Development.

He qualified as a coach in 2004, building on years’ experience of guiding executives through career transitions and extensive mentoring responsibilities. He has coached at all levels since then, including very senior Partners and CEOs. Tony also consults with a select number of firms on inclusion and inclusive leadership. He is currently studying, again, at Hult Ashridge Business School with a view to qualifying as an accredited coaching supervisor.

Dave Middleton
Non Executive Director and Coach

Dave was CEO of Employee Benefits Consultancy Portus until its sale to Aon in 2017 and now works as a Non Executive Director and Coach. Portus designed, implemented and managed employee benefit programmes for its corporate clients, many of whom were law firms and members of People in Law. Dave is also trustee of Sporting Minds UK a charity that has been set up to support aspiring young elite athletes.

Clare Murray
Founder and Managing Partner
CM Murray LLP

Clare advises US and UK law firms and their partners on partnership and employment law issues, including on sexual harassment, bullying and other partner conduct allegations and related investigations. She was also the specialist adviser to the House of Commons Women & Equalities Committee in its Parliamentary Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in the Workplace.

Rachel Reese
Founder and CEO
Global Butterflies

Rachel originally trained as an Avionics Software Engineer working within the defence sector at British Aerospace, later transferring to a senior position within the human resources function.

An interest in employment law led her to study for the Solicitors’ Final Examinations and join the University of Law working for 15 years in various senior operational roles leading up to Production Director.

Rachel is founder and CEO of Global Butterflies, a company that is extremely successful in helping businesses to create trans & non-binary inclusive environments.

She is Vice Chair of The Law Society LGBT Lawyers Division Committee representing trans & non-binary solicitors working within the legal profession and is a trans & non-binary ambassador for Aspiring Solicitors. Rachel also works with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) regarding trans & non-binary inclusion.

Rachel is a GiveOut.Org Trustee, a charity that funds LGBT+ causes worldwide. She also judges the People in Law awards each year. She was nominated for the European Diversity Award’s, Coca-Cola Hero of the Year Award.

In 2018, Rachel addressed the Pride in London Gala Dinner regarding trans & non-binary rights in the UK and in 2019, the Pride in London sponsors’ breakfast.

David Shufflebotham
Founder
PEPUp.consulting

David is a specialist in law firm partner evaluation and reward providing consultancy and advisory services to leading international law firms. He is a City trained lawyer with Magic Circle and international investment bank experience. For over 15 years he held C-Suite HR Roles in major law firms.

David founded PEPUp.consulting in 2017 and he focuses on creating effective and impactful alignment of partner evaluation and reward with a firm’s strategic goals and business imperatives. He has a deep understanding of how law firms and the partnership business model work through a combination of extensive practical experience and academic rigour and research.

Specifically, over the past ten years, David’s focus has been on design and implementation of partner evaluation and reward arrangements and integrating people and governance aspects for expanding international businesses. David works with a range of firms in the UK and internationally – assignments include:

• fundamental redesign and implementation of partner evaluation and reward systems – establishing clear expectations and accountability between partners in different locations, service lines and sectors

• developing new governance and decision-making processes to cope with a growing business and increasing number of partners

• sitting as an independent member of a number of firms’ Remuneration Committees during the evaluation and reward decision making process

• implementing partner to partner feedback and partner review processes

• evaluating partners’ “non-financial” investment contributions

• lawyer career pathways and development redefinition, redesign and implementation

• leadership development and succession planning

David has a track record of implementing successful people and partner change within law firms, crucially, he is adept at getting partner backing for major projects centered on evaluation and reward where changes have the potential to directly impact partner remuneration.

David holds a degree in law with economics from Cambridge University and a Masters degree with distinction (by research) from Victoria University, Wellington New Zealand. He has lectured in Business and Finance Law at the University of Law in the UK and is currently visiting lecturer on (PSF evaluation and reward systems) at Bath University Management School.

Weedie Sisson
Owner Principal
People First

Weedie Sisson, MBA, FCIPD has worked in the legal sector for almost two decades, with some of the top UK and US law firms. Prior to setting up People First in 2007, she held board level HR and senior management positions, working within a range of remits including leadership, performance and people management, workplace conflict resolution, and organisational change and development. She is a qualified executive coach and mentor, skilled OD and HR consultant and a popular choice of facilitator, combining academic rigour, business acumen and practicality in an interactive way.