Manchester Law Society

20/10/2025

07/10/2025

This month, we asked: Where is the best place for coffee in Manchester? What's your coffee order?☕

Here’s what our Talking Heads had to say:

• Jillian Josephson says she is a Starbucks fan, but she has been introduced to the “iPad coffee” at her offices at Arkwright House.

• Craig Johnson says his favourite spot has to be The Bake House in Hazel Grove, where they also have tasty bakes🍰.

• Nawal Nadeem says if you are searching for the best coffee in Manchester, Foleys stands out and is a true gem. Her go-to order is a vanilla latte.

• Helen Hama says the best place to grab a coffee has to be Bold Street Coffee it is her go-to.

Check out all the recommendations ➡️https://lnkd.in/dKj5uJwM

📖 Read the full article ➡️https://lnkd.in/d6KuPBuC

Where do you think the best place in Manchester is? Please comment below 👇

Want to be the next Talking Head? Please email us at messenger@manchesterlawsociety.org.uk

03/10/2025

Introducing you to our Family Law Conference speakers! 🗣️

As well as the speakers below, we are also delighted to be joined by Her Honour Judge Gaynor Lloyd, Designated Family Judge for North Wales, who will be discussing the Pathfinder model, its rollout, and its impact on children's law proceedings.

💬 Alienating Behaviours & Refusing to Allow Contact
Natalia Levine is a prominent and well-respected barrister at St John's Buildings with a practice spanning over 17 years. She has significant specialist expertise in children law (both public and private), adult social care, and Court of Protection.

💬 Children’s Matters & Perspectives: The Child's Voice
Jonathan Jackson is a family law specialist and has practiced at 18 St John Street Chambers for almost ten years, dealing with all aspects of children work. He has appeared in all levels of courts up to the Court of Appeal, and was appointed in 2025 to sit as a Deputy District Judge on the North Eastern Circuit in both civil and family cases.

💬 Financial Remedy Update
Samantha Hillas KC is a family silk at St Johns Buildings based in Liverpool specialising in financial claims. Sam has a busy financial remedies practice with a particular expertise in complex and high value matters.

💬 Mental Health, Stress & Burnout
Jeannette is a biochemist, elite sports scientist, published author, and recognised authority on burnout, physical performance, and mental resilience.

💬 The Most Perplexing Mystery: The Impact of AI in Legal Services
Matthew Leopold is Head of Brand, PR and Marketing at LexisNexis and has led brand and insight marketing for FTSE 100 and NYSE listed businesses in the UK, USA and in a number of countries around the world.

💬 Coercive Control in Divorce Cases
Edward Boydell KC is highly experienced in all aspects of family law, but particularly financial remedies (including civil partnerships). Particularly well known for his family finance work and recognised as one of the “Leaders at the Bar”

👆 Find the full details in our bio!

📧 Book on TODAY by emailing events@manchesterlawsociety.org.uk

01/10/2025

Make sure you have registered for this Friday's FREE webinar on managing change in the workplace!

Have you got a Reggie the Resistor in your team? Or have you got a Change Survivor Susie? In this webinar, Mike from Potential Unearthed will discuss why some people love a spot of change and why some push against it. Mike will also help you identify change opportunities, prevent yourself from buying into change and understand how YOU can impact the change culture of your team.

Register now: 80ed1e76-9e0b-47d5-87ac-2775868a3c3c@ee2dd11e-bcc2-4dff-91dc-e67af47a235d" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/80ed1e76-9e0b-47d5-87ac-2775868a3c3c@ee2dd11e-bcc2-4dff-91dc-e67af47a235d

26/09/2025

Our MLS Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Committee are working with the Islamophobia Response Unit to look at ways in which we can raise awareness around Islamophobia and how we can work together to challenge bias, increase accountability and create fairer opportunities for all.

The Islamophobia Response Unit (IRU) is an independent charity that provides legal support for people affected by Islamophobic incidents, including anti-Muslim hate crime, in England and Wales.

The IRU are holding an event in Manchester on the 14th October - 'Challenging Islamophobia in Sport and Society - An Evening with the IRU and ISSE' and all members are welcome to attend this free of charge event.

To find out further details and to book tickets please click here➡️ https://lnkd.in/eGE-tRFS

We are delighted that MAJID IQBAL, Chief Executive Officer & Solicitor and Head of Legal at The IRU is attending our next ED&I Committee on 30th October to continue our discussions. If any member would like to attend, or would like to forward an agenda item, please get in touch with Chandre at ChandreMay@manchesterlawsociety.org.uk

25/09/2025

We are pleased to announce the release of our Family Law Conference programme! 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

Date: Wednesday 8th October
Time: 09:00 - 16:35 (morning/afternoon tickets available)
Location: Manchester Hall, 36 Bridge Street, M3 3BT

The conference, kindly sponsored by Lextox, will be exploring everything from the Pathfinder model to the potential use of AI in legal services.

Chaired by Iwona Durlak, our sessions include:

'Pathfinder Court Model: Understanding its Rollout and Impact on Children Cases' by Her Honour Judge Gaynor Lloyd, Designated Family Judge for North Wales

'Alienating Behaviours & Refusing to Allow Contact' by Natalia Levine, Barrister, St John's Buildings Barristers'​ Chambers

'Children’s Matters & Perspectives' by Jonathan Jackson, Barrister, 18 St John Street Chambers

'The Significance of Analytical Cut-Offs' by Lextox

'Financial Remedy Update' by Samantha Hillas KC, Barrister, St John's Buildings

'Mental Health, Stress & Burnout' by Jeannette Jackson, Director, Manchester Stress Institute

'The Most Perplexing Mystery: The Impact of AI in Legal Services' by
Matthew Leopold, Head of Brand, PR and Content Marketing, LexisNexis

'Coercive Control in Divorce Cases' by Edward Boydell KC, Barrister, Deans Court Chambers

🎟️ Full day and morning/afternoon only tickets are available, so attendees can choose what sessions best suit their specialisms or attend for the day for a full family law update. The morning will cover children's law while the afternoon focuses on finance.

Full Day:
MLS Members: £125.00 + VAT (£150.00)
Non-members: £165.00 + VAT (198.00)

Morning/Afternoon Only:
MLS Members: £80.00 + VAT (£96.00)
Non-members: £110.00 + VAT (£132.00)

Secure your place at our Family Law Conference by emailing events@manchesterlawsociety.org.uk today 📧

‼️ When booking, please specify whether you would like to book a morning/afternoon slot or attend for the full day.

22/09/2025

Huge thank you to everyone who came out and took part in our 5-a-side Football Tournament in aid of We Love MCR Charity!

Thank you to Powerleague for hosting and to G2 Legal for sponsoring!

🏆 Congratulations to JMW Solicitors LLP for winning!

👏 And in great spirits, congratulations to Bexley Beaumont for taking home the Sportsman trophy!

Hope to see you all again next year!

19/09/2025

⚽ Looking forward to seeing everyone at the five-a-side football tournament!⚽

It’s going to be a great afternoon of , friendly competition

Wishing all teams the best of luck — may the best team win!🏆

15/09/2025

Our Private Client Conference is happening THIS THURSDAY! ⌛

📅 Thursday 18 September
🕘 09:30 - 15:00
📌 Manchester Hall, 36 Bridge Street, Manchester, M3 3BT

👉 Find out more here: https://manchesterlawsociety.org.uk/event/2025/9/18/private-client-conference-2025/

Take a look at just one of our incredible speakers 👇

Nicholas Nesbitt is a private client partner at Forvis Mazars, having been with the firm for nearly 16 years. He is a Chartered Financial Planner and Investment Manager by training and specialises in technical pension planning and IHT advice to a client base that is a mix of high net worth individuals and business owners

Given the proposed changes to the IHT treatment of pension funds, this session will cover:

→ What are the planned changes and what do they mean for our clients?
→ Changes in client behaviours and advice
→ Long-term changes to pension planning (accelerated drawdown, annuitisation, death benefit nominations)
→ Challenges for estate administration
→ Client case studies

❓ Interested in attending? There is still time to get booked on!

📧 Book TODAY by emailing events@manchesterlawsociety.org.uk

15/09/2025

Nominations Open for the Greater Manchester Pro Bono Awards! 🐝🏆

We are pleased to notify you of the Second Annual Greater Manchester Pro Bono Awards, taking place on Thursday 6th November 2025, from 5 PM to 7pm, at the Manchester Civil Justice Centre (1 Bridge Street West, Manchester, M60 9DJ).

This event will celebrate the exceptional contributions of individuals and organisations to pro bono work across Greater Manchester. It offers an opportunity to recognise and honour those who have demonstrated a deep commitment to access to justice and community service.

The Greater Manchester Pro Bono Committee are now welcoming nominations for individuals, teams, and organisations who have made a significant impact through pro bono work.

👉 Submissions should be made via Microsoft Forms using the following link: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=hKe-Z7qc00aB1Ep87CZq_wXDky5HshlFrGVbLr3LKiZUMEJXNEZURUo3REZOMFVHUkI1UFlFSTYwNy4u

Please submit one form per nomination.

⌛ The deadline for submissions is 9:00 AM on Monday 6th October 2025.

Award Categories:

• Chambers of the Year
• Chambers Individual of the Year
• Law Firm of the Year
• Law Firm Individual of the Year
• Junior Lawyer of the Year
• Charity/Frontline Agency of the Year
• Educational Institution of the Year
• Student Contribution of the Year
• In-House Contribution of the Year

You can find more information on each award here: https://manchesterlawsociety.org.uk/2025/09/15/nominations-open-for-the-greater-manchester-pro-bono-awards/

Best of luck in your application!

10/09/2025

Next up in our Private Client Conference speaker lineup is Steven Appleton, Partner and Head of Private Client (Manchester) at Brabners! 🗣️

Steven's session 'Planning Post Budget for Business Owners' will cover:

→ A review of the changes introduced by the 2024 Autumn Statement as they relate to business owners
→ The impact of those changes to existing Will planning and what changes might be required
→ IHT planning opportunities
→ Funding IHT on business property

Steven specialises in advising multiple generations of business owning clients on their personal succession planning and its interaction with the business. He is a professional trustee of over 80 trusts and routinely advises on trust creation and administration for HNW clients and those with complex circumstances.

He is former chair of Manchester Law Society’s Private Client and EDI Committees and leads Brabners’ strategic board for all matters diversity, equity and inclusion, the Together Action Group.

🎟️ Book your tickets to the Private Client Conference 2025 today by emailing events@manchesterlawsociety.org.uk

👉 Find the full details here: https://manchesterlawsociety.org.uk/event/2025/9/18/private-client-conference-2025/

05/09/2025

Happy International Day of Charity! 🤗

To celebrate such an important occasion, we wanted to use our Talking Heads feature in The Messenger to raise the profiles of some deserving charities.

We were blown away by the response from our members - so eager to show their favourite charities some love! All the organisations listed do some incredible work in our community and beyond, so we are delighted to support them in any way we can.

Some charities that we'd like to give a shout out to:
—> We Love MCR Charity - our President's Charity of the Year
—> The Proud Trust - the charity partner of our Pride Afternoon Tea!

To read the responses, and donate if you are able to, visithere ➡️ https://www.legalrss.co.uk/themessenger/september2025/index.html =34

How about you? Do you have a charity that is close to your heart? Let us know in the comments and give them the shout out that they deserve ❤️