100 Years of Women in Law

The 18th of December 2022 officially marks exactly 100 years since the first woman was admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales.

Following the introduction of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 it was made illegal to refuse entry to the solicitors’ profession on the grounds of sex alone. Women were officially permitted to train as solicitors. Three years later on the 18th of December 1922, Carrie Morrison became the first woman to be admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales.

After gaining her degree, Morrison and three other women (Maud Crofts, Mary Pickup and Mary Sykes) successfully passed their Law Society exams. Carrie Morrison was the first of the four to cement her name in the history books, qualifying aged 34.

A lot has changed in the last 100 years including the enactment of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. The act has worked towards the abolition of discrimination and the equal treatment of men and women in the workplace and society. A diversity report  was produced by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in 2021 which showed 61% of all Solicitors in England and Wales were female, a figure that truly shows how far we have progressed.

The First 100 Years is a project supported by the Law Society, the Bar Council and CILEx. It has been powered by the registered charity, Spark21 with a mission to celebrate, inform, and inspire future generations of women. The project has committed to harness the power of gender equality and transform the business of law.

Today, thousands of qualified women have embraced the opportunities they have been rightfully given. At Taylor Rose we are proud of having a total of 126 fee earning women, a figure that is only rising each day.

Adrian Jaggard, CEO comments, “With women making up a large number of our employees and consultants at Taylor Rose, we strive to celebrate their achievements and document the amazing work being completed in and outside of the firm. Having been 100 years since the first women qualified as a solicitor, it is more crucial now than ever that we celebrate and uplift women working in the legal profession.”

We are also celebrating 17 newly qualified and 83 trainee women in the firm. Both the men and women in the firm should be enormously proud of their achievements. We’d like to take a moment to commend Keeley Lengthorn, Partner in our family & children department.

The work and commitment Keeley has put into the Miscarriage Leave Bill is a key instance of how women in law can make a meaningful difference.

Alongside her day job, Keeley has been campaigning to change the laws relating to baby-loss after her son, George was born sleeping earlier this year. She has since worked with MPs, appeared on national TV and radio and enacted a baby loss policy within Taylor Rose. She has also become the firm’s first Fertility Officer.

Keeley has truly inspired us all with her determination to ensure there is a strong and equal future for all women both in and out of the legal profession. Her policy could affect over one million men and women who experience baby loss under 24 weeks gestation.

Her inspiration has gone even further as she has won two awards for her effort: Solicitor of the Year at the Inspirational Women in Law awards and Family Law Partner of the Year at the LexisNexis family Law Awards.

Keeley comments, “Having been with Taylor Rose for 10 years, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside some incredibly inspirational women. Being surrounded by such a powerful team of women has helped us all truly embody the firm’s philosophy of smart modern law.”

If you’d like to find out more about support for parents who have experienced a miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, or molar pregnancy before 24 weeks please contact us via our contact form.