Society's News

President’s Charity of the Year – Bristol Children’s Help Society

                            The Bristol Children’s Help Society is a privately funded volunteer led charity that owns and runs Barton Camp our 100 bed residential children’s centre in the beautiful Mendip hills. Barton Camp operates through the year as a base where disadvantaged local children can enjoy a few … more

BLS features in Bristol Post oldest thriving companies in Bristol

Excerpt from the article: How Bristol’s oldest companies are still thriving after more than 100 years in business They include the city’s last-surviving chocolate maker a wine merchant and a tannery. Why do some companies struggle to survive beyond a year while others flourish for hundreds? Although more than 90 per cent of small companies in Britain will survive one … more

No 12, The Meeting Rooms – Conference, Meeting and Mediation Rooms for Hire

Bristol Law Society’s suite of conference and meeting rooms including a suite of mediation rooms are conveniently located in the centre between the Waterfront Area and the Old City in a modern building situated on the corner of Colston Avenue and St Stephen’s Avenue. There are a number of large public car parks within a 5 minute walk from the … more

President, Nick Lee’s Monthly Blog – April 2019


Happy Financial Year End! I hope everyone enjoyed the long Easter weekend and made the most of the glorious weather.

On 2 April I was honoured to host our annual Managing Partner’s Dinner. We were delighted to see so many new faces complimenting our many valued returning guests. Our guest speaker was, West of England Mayor, Tim Bowles, who talked positively about our profession and gave us some inspiration to elevate our national and international status. It was also great to hear from Elizabeth Rimmer from Lawcare who reminded us of the fantastic mental health support that they provide to our profession- free of charge!

I was very kindly invited by Devon and Somerset Law Society to their Annual Dinner at the Exeter Cathedral. It was great to join them in celebrating the successes within their region.

It was great to celebrate with another law firm as they launched their own BAME Staff Network. BCultured was launched by Burges Salmon at their offices on 10 April at an event entitled “From Diversity to Inclusion”. Their panel of speakers included Mohammed Saddiq, Annie Budd, Saida Bello and Tunde Okewale, who focused on how professional services firms can establish and maintain an inclusive environment for BAME employees and more widely.

At our BLS Council meeting on 16 April we were pleased to welcome two new members- Saida Bello from Bristol City Council and Huw Ponting from Enable Law. We look forward to working with them on the many projects we have planned.

On 25 April I was guest of one of our strategic Partners, Hays Recruitment, at the CBI South West Annual Lunch at St George’s. This was a very well attended event and it was fascinating to hear Ben Legg, Manging Director of Ola, talk about being a market disruptor and taking bold risks to innovate.

Last but by no means least; I attended a very informative event by Datasharp Integrated Communications which was hosted at Osborne Clarke on 29 April. The experienced panel of speakers included Chris Bull (Kingsmead Square), Barry Gipson (Osborne Clarke), Ben Neo (Mitel), Steve Sumner (Taylor Vinters) and Will Wood (Datasharp Integrated Communications). This event focused on agile working and the panel of speakers talked through their experiences of implementing innovative solutions to enable an agile working environment. A Q&A followed whereby the delegates asked the panel questions and also shared their own thoughts, challenges and experiences. As the least experienced person in the room when it comes to Technology, I found the event very thought-provoking and I was inspired by the many positive stories of successfully implementing innovative change. The event reinforced my view that Bristol can be a real contender in establishing itself as a leading hub for Legal Tech.

Just to remind you all that we are working with insight6 who are offering our members the chance to get involved in a customer experience benchmarking project for free. For more information and to sign up please click here.

What’s coming up?

  • 01.05.19- Future of Pro Bono with Bristol Law Centre
  • 06.05.19- The first May Bank Holiday!
  • 08.05.19- MLRO seminar with The Law Society
  • 14.05.19- Creating Mentally Healthy Workplaces with LawCare
  • 15.05.19- Innovation workshop with Nine Feet Tall
  • 16.05.19- South West Legal Support Trust Walk
  • 17.05.19- Dispute Resolution Conference
  • 23.05.19- South West D&I Forum
  • 27.05.19- Another Bank Holiday!

For more information about our events please visit our website and ensure that your colleagues are subscribed to our mailing list.

Nicholas Lee
President
30 April 2019