The LawCare team: supporting the legal sector

Elizabeth started her working life as a solicitor specialising in clinical negligence. She has been managing and developing charities in the mental health sector for over 15 years, and joined LawCare as Chief Executive in 2014.

Trish McLellan joined LawCare in 2005. Prior to this she practised as a family law solicitor in England before moving to Edinburgh where she is now based. Trish has a breadth of experience of the support we provide and was the staff lead on our Life in the Law research study; she regularly speaks about mental health at legal events.

Niamh joined LawCare in February 2022 after 14 years working in the legal sector. Following on from 11 years practising as a property solicitor she took on a role with LawCare managing our team of amazing volunteers. Niamh now works alongside Trish building and developing our stakeholder relationships and raising awareness of our services with a particular emphasis on Northern Ireland. In this new role she continues to work alongside our support services team and also manages our Champions programme.

Rose joined LawCare as Office Manager in May 2021 after an administrative career spanning nearly 30 years, with experience in the legal and charity sectors, as well as five years running her own business. Rose’s new role encompasses building and developing key relationships with LawCare’s stakeholders and donors, in particular in England and Wales, and managing LawCare’s events and fundraising activities.

Anna is responsible for the day-to-day running of the LawCare support service. She is LawCare’s longest serving member of staff, and joined us in 1998 after working as a legal secretary for a sole practitioner.

Prior to joining LawCare, Andrew spent 15 years working in the law, both as a commercial property solicitor and as a legal technology consultant. He is also a qualified mountain leader and wildlife enthusiast, championing the benefits of spending time in nature. Andrew looks after our dedicated volunteers and supporters and is passionate about improving wellbeing in the legal community.

Sarah joined LawCare at the end of 2022. She has over 20 years experience working in communications and campaigning roles for charities and not-for-profits.

Emma joined LawCare in April 2023 and she is responsible for the efficient running of LawCare’s administrative processes. Emma has worked for 30 years in a broad range of roles within local government and the charity sector.

Mary has been a teacher and a solicitor, as well as Manager of the Law Society's South West Regional Office. Mary has been with LawCare since 2008. She is also a therapeutic counsellor and a full member of the BACP.

Karen is Head of Lewis Silkin’s Investigations and Regulatory group and sits on the Firm's Strategy Board. She specialises in employment and partnership law, and regularly conducts complex and highly sensitive workplace investigations, alongside her advisory work. Karen has a diverse client base, with a particular emphasis towards advising major domestic and international law firms and other professional services organisations on all aspects of their relationships with their employees and members/partners. This includes resolving issues such as contentious team moves, the enforcement of restrictive covenants and issues arising out of disability and ill health. Karen is a passionate advocate of the importance of mental wellbeing both inside and outside of the workplace, and is a qualified Mental Health First Aider. Karen leads Lewis Silkin's mental health campaign, #ThisPlaceMinds.

Paul Bennett is a solicitor, mediator and arbitrator who advises law firms and solicitors on SRA regulatory matters, anti-money laundering, employment and partnership law at the specialist law firm to other law firms Bennett Briegal LLP. Mental health and solicitors wellbeing is a constant topic of discussion with clients.

Chloe works at Reed Smith LLP as an Associate in the Banking & Finance team. She is also a qualified Mental Health First Aider. As a keen advocate of mental wellbeing in the workplace, Chloe is passionate about driving new initiatives to bring about positive change in the profession.

Gillian is a consultant at Family Law in Partnership. She is a founding member of the firm, setting it up in 1995 to provide a distinctive client focused family law service. As an experienced family lawyer, Gillian wanted to create a firm for clients looking for a holistic approach to their divorce. Gillian’s aim is to keep the family unit as amicably cohesive as possible. Gillian’s achievements in law – which include being named as a top-ranked family lawyer by leading legal directories such as Legal 500 UK and Chambers – are a result of her dedication to and knowledge of the profession, but it is her commitment to forming strong relationships with her clients that truly shines through.

Andrea is a Chartered Patent Attorney and a former President of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA). She is Lead Executive Officer of IP Inclusive, an initiative which she founded in 2015 to promote equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing throughout the UK’s IP professions. Promoting mental wellbeing is a key part of IP Inclusive’s agenda; Andrea has worked with LawCare on a number of related projects and promotes their work within the IP Inclusive community. She is particularly interested in the intersections between mental wellbeing, diversity and inclusivity.

After nearly 40 years as a litigator Simon understands well how difficult life can be. He says ' We solicitors shoulder the burdens of our clients, taking their stress onto ourselves. Knowing that there is a caring professional out there whose job it is to look after the solicitor is so important.'

Clare is a Commercial Disputes solicitor at Capital Law in Cardiff. As chair of the Cardiff JLD wellbeing was top of her agenda and she planned a number of fully booked events for Mental Health Awareness Week. As Clare stands down from chair she will take the role of Well-being Officer with both the JLD and the local Cardiff Law Society.

Catherine is a partner and professional support lawyer at Digby Brown LLP, a Scottish firm that specialises in pursuing personal injury claims. Catherine is a member of the Lawscot Steering Group, which was set up in 2018 to provide a clear strategic direction for Lawscot Wellbeing, a Law Society of Scotland initiative that promotes emotional wellbeing. Catherine has a long standing interest in mental health issues.

Gillian is an international criminal barrister at The Chambers of 9 Bedford Row. She is head of the International Practice Group and is also an accredited meditation teacher. Since 2016, she has been introducing the concept and benefits of mindfulness to the Bar and the legal profession generally. She is author of "Mindfulness at Work and Home".

Jodie trained as a barrister, cross-qualified as a solicitor & founded Thrive Law in Leeds. She's passionate about encouraging understanding and ending stigma around mental health to create a happier, healthier workforce. Her campaigning led to extensive media coverage and saw her shortlisted for Law Society Gazette Legal Personality of the Year 2018 and awarded a fellowship of the Royal Society for Public Health.

Karen Jackson is a leading expert in disability discrimination law. She has a particular interest in mental health and is also a fierce advocate for equality and freedom from discrimination and harassment for women at work. Her firm, didlaw, was established following her successful recovery from a heart transplant. Didlaw advises across all areas of employment. Karen is a commentator on disability and sex discrimination issues.

Claire is a part-time commercial/technology lawyer at Taylor Vinters and is also an accredited psychotherapist. She has a particular interest working with professionals and academics; exploring the challenges of working in an often high-pressured professional environment and the impact this can have on emotional/physical wellbeing.

Malvika is a barrister specialising in family law. Following a serious mental health crisis in her pupillage year, Malvika has tried to encourage open discussions around mental ill-health amongst lawyers and the support that can be put in place for them. She runs a blog called ‘Stiff Upper Lip’ which aims to challenge mental health stigma within the profession.

Sam is a partner in Fieldfisher's technology and data group. He has worked for the best part of quarter of a century in a profession that is demanding and stressful, yet intellectually rewarding and full of fascinating people. This has taught - and is still teaching - him that if we look after ourselves properly, we become better able to look out for others. He thinks the small things that we do each day along that trajectory will ripple out and ultimately result in a better and emotionally healthier legal community.

Susan is a lawyer for Shell International specialising in information management compliance. She leads the Care in Legal Programme for Shell Group Legal and was awarded Shell Legal Leadership team individual award for the Programme . She is passionate about creating a culture that supports mental health and believes that lawyers should “thrive not just survive”. She is a qualified NLP Practitioner.

David is Chief of Staff at international law firm Mills & Reeve. Before moving into law firm senior management, David held several global General Counsel roles in financial services, and has worked in the Government Legal Department. He was one of the co-founders of the Mindful Business Charter and is a certified professional coach.

Nick had a successful career as a litigation solicitor, working in both the private and public sectors before joining Oriel Chambers as Chambers Director. He is a Lawcare volunteer, mental health first aider and OU student coach / mentor.

James is a tenant at Francis Taylor Building, practising in planning and environmental law. He engages in learning, practicing and teaching techniques to support professional performance and wellbeing in the law, believing that the best lawyers are well lawyers. He is a professional organisational and systemic coach, a licensed NLP Master Practitioner, trained in creativity, meditation, hypnosis & non-violent communication.

Wendy has longstanding experience of helping colleagues with mental health issues in the workplace and sees mental wellbeing as key in the legal profession with technological advances making it more difficult to leave work behind at the end of the day. She also tutors at Glasgow University, so sees challenges faced by those entering the profession.

Lloyd Rees is a Knowledge Lawyer in the Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer London office. Lloyd’s main specialism is Brexit and its implications for business. Lloyd has spoken and written extensively about his own mental health conditions to help raise awareness in the legal profession.

Peter started his career as a solicitor before moving into legal education and professional development. He has significant experience of designing learning programmes for lawyers and is responsible for LawNet’s learning programme and quality standard. Peter has introduced training on mental health and wellbeing for LawNet members and has written and spoken widely about his own experiences of anxiety and depression.

Anna retrained as a psychotherapist and clinical supervisor following a long career as a senior immigration solicitor in the City. She has successfully designed and embedded award-winning employee wellbeing strategies at a highly acclaimed boutique law firm. In addition to seeing clients in private practice, being a psychotherapist at HCA Primary Care and a staff counsellor at the Bank of England, Anna offers workplace wellbeing expertise and guidance to employers and stakeholders. Anna also presents on mental health issues within the legal profession and the workplace in general. She is passionate about emotional wellbeing and therapeutic endeavours.

Joanne is the General Counsel of Simply Business, the UK’s largest business insurance provider where she is a passionate advocate for workplace wellbeing. She sits on the board of trustees of Mind, the mental health charity, bringing a compassionate understanding of mental health problems based on experience, and with it the vital message of hope.

Emma practised as a solicitor at Leigh Day for over a decade, initially as a Spanish-speaking solicitor in the international department and then, for almost 8 years, working on regulatory and disciplinary matters, co-founding a professional discipline team in 2018 and specialising in advising legal professionals reporting and responding to the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Emma has seen how wellbeing can affect decision-making and the impact regulatory and disciplinary matters can have on individuals, prompting her to become a LawCare champion. Emma currently lives in New York.

Claire is an Associate at DAC Beachcroft specialising in Clinical Negligence. Claire has worked in private practice for nearly 20 years, but feels that DAC Beachcroft is the first firm she has worked for that puts employees health and wellbeing front and centre. As a member of the firm’s Wellbeing Committee, Claire is passionate about making the workplace a better place for all. She has trained as a Mental Health Champion and writes a regular “Wellbeing Wednesday” blog which covers a wide variety of topics connected to achieving the elusive work/life balance.

Victoria is a family law barrister, practising principally in financial remedy and private law children cases. She is the elected 2020 Chair of the Wellbeing at the Bar Working Group which carries out work on behalf of all barristers, clerks and staff in England and Wales. She is also the Chair of the Family Law Bar Association Wellbeing Subcommittee. Her recent articles include Our Wellbeing Stock, Counsel Magazine, 2020 and Wellbeing: What Has Happened And Where Are We Now? Family Affairs, 2020.

James is extremely passionate about ending the stigma around mental health and runs a Men’s Wellbeing Group for those involved in the legal profession in Scotland. James is also a mental health first aider and has written extensively and appeared on various podcasts discussing his own mental health challenges and the wellbeing challenges within the legal profession as a whole.

As a late-diagnosed autistic and ADHDer, Sonay is passionate about promoting acceptance of neurodiversity in the legal profession. She is keen for the profession to be accepting of all and openly writes and talks about her experiences of anxiety, depression, burnout and imposter syndrome. She has done a TedX talk on autism and ADHD and is also a coach for autistic and ADHD members of the profession.

William graduated from Ulster University in 2018 before qualifying as a Solicitor in Northern Ireland in 2020. Working in Thompson Crooks Solicitors Real Estate Team advising on a range of property matters. Due to an early diagnosis of ADHD William strives to promote more discussions around mental health and wellbeing.

Black Antelope Law is an initiative that brings together solicitors and barristers to drive change in the legal industry and was the first entity to be awarded for Certificate of Recognition for Wellbeing at the Bar by the BSB. Shaheen serves as a Social Mobility Ambassador for the Law Society of England and Wales and is also the Strategic Partnership lead at the Muslim Employment Charter, which aims to help employers better accommodate the needs of Muslim professionals in the workplace. Shaheen was recognised as one of the Top 100 Influential Muslims for Championing and Celebrating Diversity and was ranked in the Top 10 for Influential Muslims in the Legal Industry. Corporate INTL Global Award. Having being diagnosed with High-Functioning ADHD, Shaheen is committed to raising awareness on mental health wellbeing in the legal professional, particularly those from a BAME background.

Richard runs the Mindful Business Charter and chairs the Lord Mayor of London’s This is Me campaign which uses story telling to break down the stigma around mental illness. Richard has his own story of breakdown in the middle of a successful legal career which he told in his 2018 memoir This Too Will Pass – Anxiety in a Professional World. He is a coach and mental health first aid instructor and one of our peer supporters.

Julie, a Legal PA with a background as a junior legal secretary and paralegal, advocates for mental health awareness in the legal profession. Diagnosed with depression and anxiety at 18, she champions a psychologically safe work environment where authenticity and vulnerability are embraced.

Jude is keen for the profession to both understand and reflect our diverse community so that we can better serve and advise it. Jude is passionate about equality, diversity and inclusion. He was a founding trustee of White Ribbon NI, a male led charity to end gender based violence and is a current trustee of PIPS Suicide Prevention Ireland. Jude is an advisor to a number of LGBTQIA+ organisations and is a frequent speaker on LGBTQIA+ issues and history.

Helen first encountered LawCare when she joined CILEx some 15 years ago. During her time there she was a member of the Legal Charities Garden Party planning committee and when she became Chief Operating Officer she continued to support the co-funding of LawCare’s important work via the professions. She then moved on to become CEO of CILEx Regulation, where she continued her relationship with LawCare, delivering the ethos and messages that LawCare promoted to increase awareness of mental health and wellbeing. Helen became a Trustee of LawCare in 2018 and took on the additional role of treasurer in 2021. She stepped down from the Board at the beginning of 2024. Helen is also a mental health first aider and continues to be a passionate supporter of our work we are delighted that she has agreed to come on board as a Champion!

Céline is an employment lawyer at Irwin Mitchell LLP working within their specialist Senior Executive and Professional Discipline employment team. Céline has a particular interest in discrimination, especially disability discrimination and mental health matters. She is passionate about mental wellbeing and is a trained Peer Supporter with LawCare. She mentors junior solicitors at her firm, she co-chairs the IM Junior Professionals network in the London office and provides pro bono legal advice to individuals outside of work.

Henry is a 5 year qualified commercial lawyer with experience on a whole host of commercial contracts, having gained exposure to a diverse range of work through both working in-house and in private practice. Alongside working as lawyer, Henry creates relatable and impactful content on social media. that positively touches the lives of all those who have been affected by negative corporate workplace behaviours. In doing so, Henry strives to promote the importance of mental health and wellbeing in the workplace and challenge such toxic corporate behaviours.

As a trustee and trusted advisor for wealthy families she often encounters sensitive issues which turn on mental health but from a personal perspective, Millie suffered burn out at the start of her career and has experienced alcoholism first hand growing up with an alcoholic mother. She is passionate about wellbeing in the workplace and believes that real change comes from the top with open and honest dialogue. She believes in valuing EQ as much as we do IQ and often talks about how empathy (whether with clients or colleagues) can improve productivity and in turn profits.

Eric is the Client Relationship Manager at the International Bar Association, where he convenes law firm leaders from around the world to represent the global voice of the legal profession. Eric is also a certified professional coach, helping those in law firms to better manage their stress and wellbeing.