President's Vision - April 2025

So after 11 months as President, this is my final blog instalment. What a year it has been! It has flown - both literally (ref: Skydive) and metaphorically.  

Before I begin my Oscar-worthy tributes, I will let you know what I have been up to this past month.  

First up, I attended the local law societies’ luncheon. This initiative has been spearheaded by Michelle and is now a regular feature on the calendar. Michelle has created a wonderfully supportive community, where everyone is generous in sharing ideas and best practice. With attendees this time from as far afield as Cornwall, I have no doubt it will continue to evolve and thrive!

I also had the pleasure of speaking at a Newly Qualified careers event held by BCL Legal in conjunction with Nottinghamshire Junior Lawyers Division where I was (hopefully) able to share some tips and tricks to the attendees as they approach the next stage in their career.

My final event this month was – of course – the Annual Awards Dinner! The pinnacle of the NLS year!

I went into the evening somewhat anxiety-ridden at the prospect of hosting the evening on stage to sea of 400 guests! For anyone that knows me, you will know that public speaking is not something that I relish or feel natural in doing, but actually this year has given me an opportunity for personal development in all sorts of ways, but in this area in particular. It was a wonderful occasion to be at the helm of and it was a privilege to be able to present the awards to all the very worthy winners. We really are very lucky to have such talent in Nottingham!

The charity presentation from the representatives from Harmless and the Tomorrow Project was hard-hitting, impactful, and necessary in my view. It shone a light on something that is seldom talked about and I feel very proud to have been able to support such a worthwhile cause this year. Thank you to everyone for making such generous donations.

And of course, once all the formalities were out of the way, we had the wonderful Annette Curtain and The Baroness to help us get the party started!  

And now, as I reflect on my year, I want to pay particular thanks to my fellow Council members and the committee members. They all generously give up their time for the Society and it could not function without them. I want to give special shout outs to my Vice President (Marie Dancer) and Deputy Vice President (Drew Dennis) for all their support and Kathryn Meir (Secretary and Co-Chair of the International Committee) who has steered me right on all of our international adventures to Karlsruhe and Ghent – I could not have done them without her!

Last but not least, I must of course mention the wonderful Michelle Foster. Michelle is an absolute powerhouse and undoubtedly the Society would not be the success that it is without her. She has been a wonderful supporter of me and my crazy endeavours throughout the year. Thank you so much!

Lastly, it has been a pleasure getting to meet lots of you throughout the year at all of our events. I like to think we have offered something for everyone and it is fantastic to see the sustained levels of engagement throughout the year.  I look forward to attending lots more next year as a guest.  

And now it is over to the brilliant Marie Dancer – you are in safe hands!!

Lauren Crow

President 2024-2025