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Women at the Bar who specialise in traditionally male-dominated sectors can still sometimes find they are the only woman in the room – be that a courtroom, a meeting room or even a networking event. Making the connections that are so vital to a successful career at the Bar can be challenging for women in these sectors, especially when they are young or just starting out. It can feel hard to be heard above louder and seemingly more confident voices.
This is why it is so vital to encourage forums where women can connect and share knowledge with other women with the same professional interests. There is a different dynamic at women-only events: they often provide a more comfortable, more supportive and safer space in which to engage with others in your field. They can help give younger women the all-important confidence, and the contacts, they need to break into bigger conferences and mixed events.
This led a group of us who work in the energy sector to form WEConnect (Women in Energy Connect), a network to connect, promote, and support women working in energy in the UK.
The idea was originated by Louise Woods and Ciara Ros of Vinson & Elkins LLP in 2022. They are involved in ArbitralWomen and spotted that there was no equivalent organisation for women specialising in energy work. They approached 4 Pump Court and, together with Laura Sochat of Charles River Associates (CRA), the four of us formed a plan for our first year and beyond.
The aims of WEConnect include offering a supportive platform for women to succeed in the energy sector through sharing ideas, knowledge, and expertise across all levels of experience. We hope to increase the profile of our members and raise awareness about the importance of gender diversity in this field. One of our most important goals is to assist with professional development and networking through holding in-person events.
In our first two years, we have achieved our goal of holding events on a quarterly basis: one flagship networking event and three seminars each year. WEConnect’s launch party was held in April 2023 at the beautiful secret garden in the South Place Hotel. We invited key players in the sector – barristers, solicitors, consultants, clients, in-house counsel, arbitrators, academics – and were delighted that so many turned up. It was a great success: many connections were made, many cocktails were consumed, and the goody bags went down a storm.
Since then, we have held interactive panel events bringing together speakers from across the sector to talk about topics ranging from deployment of carbon capture, use and storage; to the challenges of offshore solar projects; to the resurgence of nuclear energy; to the impact of the Energy Act 2023. We have held drinks parties at the Cadogan Hotel and at Nobu Spitalfields which have been so popular we have had to run a reserve list.
WEConnect is only just starting out, but already our LinkedIn group is full of impressive and inspiring women, and our events are bringing together women of all levels of seniority from all parts of the industry. We hope to build on the success of our first two years to expand our membership, share useful content on LinkedIn, and raise our profile across the industry.
If you would like to join our network, please find us on LinkedIn or contact me at Lmccafferty@4pumpcourt.com.
Being a cost specialist, I am more than used to eyes glazing over when I inform of my specialism. It is niche, I accept. Niche though it may be, it is not immune from a sadly familiar issue: a disparity in visible female leaders.
There are currently six full-time cost judges in the Senior Court Costs Office. One of whom is female: Judge Jenny James. The first ever female cost judge. I am one of three part-time female cost judges.
Chambers and Partners ranks 16 costs silks, three of whom are women. Chambers also lists 36 cost juniors, six of whom are women, including myself. The pattern does not improve if one turns to the ranked cost lawyers: one female cost lawyer is ranked.
These figures do not make for happy reading. However, my own experience shows that there is a vibrant collective of strong, capable and highly skilled women who practise in this field both at the Bar and under other regulatory umbrellas.
Rewind to 2022: I was invited to speak at the annual Cost Lawyer Conference and had the pleasure of being seated on stage next to Cost Judge James. She noted how pleased she was to see more female than male faces staring back up at her, for the very first time. She was right. That struck a chord.
So, the idea of Women in Costs was born. The Board has expanded over the past year to three people: myself, Sharn Khaira and Victoria Weinrich-Cooke. Our aim is to support and empower women to reach their potential and to hopefully become visible future leaders. We do this through a variety of avenues, all of which focus upon developing critical soft skills and encouraging confidence; the latter being a particular issue which can often disproportionality affect women to their detriment.
We run a structured mentoring scheme which not only gives peer-to-peer support but also provides access to former barrister turned coach, Cath Brown. Cath delivers bi-monthly training sessions with topics ranging from how to have difficult conversations to how to give and receive feedback. In two years, we have more than doubled our intake and we have plans to grow again in the coming years.
Our annual conference is held in January and has been a sell-out for the past three years. This year, our speaker roster included keynote speaker Zoe Holland MBE, a C-Suite trailblazer, and psychologist Dr Anna Colton.
However, we are most proud of our remaining two speakers: the Rising Star and our Leadership Star. Both are chosen from the industry and are people who would not necessarily otherwise have a spotlight in which to stand. The Rising Star position is appointed through a competition judged by a panel. Our Leadership Star is personally selected, and this year is Stephanie Kaye, the sole female cost lawyer ranked in Chambers and Partners.
While I speak above of cost lawyers, one of the most reassuring grassroots developments I have seen over the past year or so is the significant increase in female cost specialists coming through from the junior Bar. They are all excellent practitioners. I am very proud to practise alongside them and hope to see them rightly ranked in the legal directories and appearing in important judgments over the coming years.
There is so much that can be done to support and empower the next generation of great junior female practitioners. They are our future leaders and deserve the best support we can provide to enable them to shine.
Find out more at: www.womenincosts.com
Lynne McCafferty KC is a barrister at 4 Pump Court specialising in construction, energy, international arbitration, professional negligence and technology. She is one of the founder members of WEConnect.
Erica Bedford is a senior junior at Kings Chambers who practises exclusively in the law of costs. She is also a district judge and deputy costs judge. Erica is the founder of Women in Costs.
Women at the Bar who specialise in traditionally male-dominated sectors can still sometimes find they are the only woman in the room – be that a courtroom, a meeting room or even a networking event. Making the connections that are so vital to a successful career at the Bar can be challenging for women in these sectors, especially when they are young or just starting out. It can feel hard to be heard above louder and seemingly more confident voices.
This is why it is so vital to encourage forums where women can connect and share knowledge with other women with the same professional interests. There is a different dynamic at women-only events: they often provide a more comfortable, more supportive and safer space in which to engage with others in your field. They can help give younger women the all-important confidence, and the contacts, they need to break into bigger conferences and mixed events.
This led a group of us who work in the energy sector to form WEConnect (Women in Energy Connect), a network to connect, promote, and support women working in energy in the UK.
The idea was originated by Louise Woods and Ciara Ros of Vinson & Elkins LLP in 2022. They are involved in ArbitralWomen and spotted that there was no equivalent organisation for women specialising in energy work. They approached 4 Pump Court and, together with Laura Sochat of Charles River Associates (CRA), the four of us formed a plan for our first year and beyond.
The aims of WEConnect include offering a supportive platform for women to succeed in the energy sector through sharing ideas, knowledge, and expertise across all levels of experience. We hope to increase the profile of our members and raise awareness about the importance of gender diversity in this field. One of our most important goals is to assist with professional development and networking through holding in-person events.
In our first two years, we have achieved our goal of holding events on a quarterly basis: one flagship networking event and three seminars each year. WEConnect’s launch party was held in April 2023 at the beautiful secret garden in the South Place Hotel. We invited key players in the sector – barristers, solicitors, consultants, clients, in-house counsel, arbitrators, academics – and were delighted that so many turned up. It was a great success: many connections were made, many cocktails were consumed, and the goody bags went down a storm.
Since then, we have held interactive panel events bringing together speakers from across the sector to talk about topics ranging from deployment of carbon capture, use and storage; to the challenges of offshore solar projects; to the resurgence of nuclear energy; to the impact of the Energy Act 2023. We have held drinks parties at the Cadogan Hotel and at Nobu Spitalfields which have been so popular we have had to run a reserve list.
WEConnect is only just starting out, but already our LinkedIn group is full of impressive and inspiring women, and our events are bringing together women of all levels of seniority from all parts of the industry. We hope to build on the success of our first two years to expand our membership, share useful content on LinkedIn, and raise our profile across the industry.
If you would like to join our network, please find us on LinkedIn or contact me at Lmccafferty@4pumpcourt.com.
Being a cost specialist, I am more than used to eyes glazing over when I inform of my specialism. It is niche, I accept. Niche though it may be, it is not immune from a sadly familiar issue: a disparity in visible female leaders.
There are currently six full-time cost judges in the Senior Court Costs Office. One of whom is female: Judge Jenny James. The first ever female cost judge. I am one of three part-time female cost judges.
Chambers and Partners ranks 16 costs silks, three of whom are women. Chambers also lists 36 cost juniors, six of whom are women, including myself. The pattern does not improve if one turns to the ranked cost lawyers: one female cost lawyer is ranked.
These figures do not make for happy reading. However, my own experience shows that there is a vibrant collective of strong, capable and highly skilled women who practise in this field both at the Bar and under other regulatory umbrellas.
Rewind to 2022: I was invited to speak at the annual Cost Lawyer Conference and had the pleasure of being seated on stage next to Cost Judge James. She noted how pleased she was to see more female than male faces staring back up at her, for the very first time. She was right. That struck a chord.
So, the idea of Women in Costs was born. The Board has expanded over the past year to three people: myself, Sharn Khaira and Victoria Weinrich-Cooke. Our aim is to support and empower women to reach their potential and to hopefully become visible future leaders. We do this through a variety of avenues, all of which focus upon developing critical soft skills and encouraging confidence; the latter being a particular issue which can often disproportionality affect women to their detriment.
We run a structured mentoring scheme which not only gives peer-to-peer support but also provides access to former barrister turned coach, Cath Brown. Cath delivers bi-monthly training sessions with topics ranging from how to have difficult conversations to how to give and receive feedback. In two years, we have more than doubled our intake and we have plans to grow again in the coming years.
Our annual conference is held in January and has been a sell-out for the past three years. This year, our speaker roster included keynote speaker Zoe Holland MBE, a C-Suite trailblazer, and psychologist Dr Anna Colton.
However, we are most proud of our remaining two speakers: the Rising Star and our Leadership Star. Both are chosen from the industry and are people who would not necessarily otherwise have a spotlight in which to stand. The Rising Star position is appointed through a competition judged by a panel. Our Leadership Star is personally selected, and this year is Stephanie Kaye, the sole female cost lawyer ranked in Chambers and Partners.
While I speak above of cost lawyers, one of the most reassuring grassroots developments I have seen over the past year or so is the significant increase in female cost specialists coming through from the junior Bar. They are all excellent practitioners. I am very proud to practise alongside them and hope to see them rightly ranked in the legal directories and appearing in important judgments over the coming years.
There is so much that can be done to support and empower the next generation of great junior female practitioners. They are our future leaders and deserve the best support we can provide to enable them to shine.
Find out more at: www.womenincosts.com
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