On Thursday 17 October, we held our Legal First 100 Years event at the Old Courthouse, Cheltenham.
Founder of the First 100 Years project, Dana Denis-Smith, joined Legal team to discuss the power of role models, changes in the legal industry and a focus on diversity and changes in attitude. We were pleased to see so many guests from the legal profession attend the evening of celebrations.
The project aims to celebrate, inform and inspire future generations of women in law, and as this year marks the centenary of the Sex Disqualification Act, there was no better time to celebrate. The 1919 Act paved the way for women to become lawyers for the first time in history, and Hazlewoods has thoroughly benefited from this.
Associate Director, Jenny Staight, said ‘It was great to mark such an occasion and share it with so many of our contacts and clients within the industry. The Courthouse was the perfect setting, with its fascinating history and legal connections.’
As part of our centenary, Hazlewoods has been digging into the archives and has found a few key women of note who had a dramatic impact on the history of the firm. In 1944, Miss Dorothy Broom, who is believed to be the first woman to qualify as a certified accountant from Cheltenham, was successful in passing the final exam of the ACCA. In 2011, Rose Clark, our longest serving member of staff, retired from Hazlewoods.