Stories of women at Ashurst Stories of women at Ashurst In celebration of the centenary of women being permitted to practise law in the United Kingdom 1 2 FIRST WOMEN Foreword Any anniversary of one hundred years naturally prompts reflection about what happened “back then” and how things might have changed since. The events of 1919, when legislation was passed to allow women to practise law in this country, were fundamental to the profession and women’s rights. However, in many ways the stories told in this publication are as interesting for what they reveal about what happened before 1919, about the changes in the firm during the most recent fifty years and, perhaps most important of all, what is happening right now. The story before 1919 goes right back to the remarkable family of William Ashurst, who founded the firm in 1822. Throughout much of the 19th century, he, his wife, their children and grandchildren were all deeply engaged with issues of social justice, including gender equality. Despite their vigorous efforts (and those of other prominent women and men), not much happened to liberalise attitudes towards women working in the law for a very long time. The position established by legislation and the courts before 1919 seems patently ridiculous now, but it must have been enormously frustrating and dispiriting for those affected at the time. We can then move forward in time to 1964, when Linda Humphreys-Evans became the first female Ashurst trainee. That development itself seems to have taken a very long time after the change in the law – indeed, it is somewhat startling that it happened so relatively recently. It is intriguing that the legislation (and its interpretation by the courts) was not the only impediment to women practising law, with social expectations no doubt playing a part until the 1960s and 70s. Further progress was very much incremental for a number of years after that and the stories told by Linda Walker, Elizabeth Morris, Susan Roy and Jan Sanders are truly pioneering tales. All of them were at Ashurst when I arrived from New Zealand in 1993, but I don’t think I had any appreciation at the time of the significance of what they were doing. Indeed, I expect they had little time to spend thinking about their place as “first women” and how they were blazing a trail for women who came after them. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for the difference they have made, by being role models, agents for change and by inspiring other women who could see what they were achieving. I think we can safely say that the environment for women lawyers today is very different. I recognise there is still much to do to achieve genuine equality in the profession, but I believe we have made great progress. I also take tremendous encouragement from reading the stories of some of the women who have joined the profession and the firm more recently. Advances in technology, along with evolving social and workplace norms, continue to provide a fair wind for further change – and all of us benefit from many aspects of the flexibility they provide. My optimism is also reinforced by observing the group of lawyers who have run this project. Their energy, enthusiasm and commitment leaves me in no doubt that we have a healthy new generation ready to tackle the next challenges to equality in the legal profession. I am confident that the Ashurst family from the 1800s would thoroughly approve of their approach! I would like to thank the First Women project team for their efforts in initiating and running this wonderful project. I very much hope you enjoy the fruits of their work. Ben Tidswell Chairman STORIES OF WOMEN AT ASHURST 3 Contents Introduction 5 The Ashurst family tree 6 Part One: William Ashurst & Family 7 The Muswell Hill Brigade 8 Votes for women 10 The Ashursts against slavery 14 Friends of Italy 16 Literature, writing and translations 18 Eliza, Gwyneth and the 1919 Act 24 “First Lady Law Agent” 25 Part Two: Women at Ashurst 27 Linda Humphreys-Evans (née Watson) 28 Hilary Jordan (née Graham) 30 Linda Walker (née Bailey) 32 Elizabeth Morris (née Gatling) 34 Susan Roy 36 Jan Sanders 38 Mary Padbury 40 Angela Pearson 46 Ruth Harris 48 Gabrielle Samuels 50 Aileen Johnson 52 Sarah Sivyour 54 Helen Burton 56 Cristina Calvo 58 Jasmine Tiw 60 Karen Davies 62 Caroline Rawes 64 Nicole Williams 66 Catherine Gokah 68 The male perspective 70 Part Three: Shaping the Future 75 100 in 100 76 Learning to say “no” 77 Ashurst Digital Ventures 78 Advice from a (reformed) box checker 82 A letter to those who will follow 84 Taking up space 86 A founder’s firm 88 Male champions of change 90 The future of women in law 92 Women of Ashurst: a photo mosaic 94 Maud Crofts 1889-1965 95 Acknowledgements 96 Behind the Scenes 98 4 FIRST WOMEN Introduction “The plaintiff in this action, a spinster, in December 1912, filled up and sent to the Law Society a form of notice, issued by the Society, of her intention to present herself at their preliminary examination on February 5 and 6, 1913, with a view to becoming bound by articles of clerkship and ultimately being admitted as a solicitor. She enclosed the requisite fee. The Society returned the fee, and informed her that if she presented herself for examination she would not be admitted, giving the reason that she was a woman, and therefore could not be admitted as a solicitor…” Bebb v Law Society 1913 Gwyneth Bebb, the plaintiff, was the sixth woman to study law at Oxford University and received first class marks in her final examinations in 1911. When the Law Society refused Gwyneth’s application, she asked the English court for a declaration that she was, in fact, a “person” within the meaning of the Solicitors Act 1843, and therefore ought to be admitted. Her case was dismissed. In reaching his decision in the Court of Appeal in 1913, Baron Cozens-Hardy, Master of the Rolls, felt constrained by the current state of the law which, he found, did disqualify women from the profession on the basis of sex, but noted that “in point of intelligence and education and competency, women… are at least equal to a great many, and, probably, far better than many, of the candidates who will come up for examination”. He invited Parliament to legislate on this issue and, shortly after the end of the First World War, the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 was passed. A few of us heard about Gwyneth Bebb and the 1919 Act at an event in the summer of 2018. We realised that we knew very little about the history of women in law and decided to try to find out about the first female lawyers at Ashurst so that we could learn their names in time for the centenary. We started to reach out to Ashurst alumni to ask for their stories. We soon discovered that we would not only learn the names of our first women, we would be able to meet them: the first woman lawyer at Ashurst, Linda Humphreys-Evans, joined in 1964 and she was happy to speak with us about her time at Ashurst. We were surprised that it had taken so long for women to join the firm, particularly given the socially progressive views of William Ashurst (the founder of the firm) and his family in the nineteenth century. Our research on William and his family forms the first part of this book. In the second part of this book, we share with you some of the stories of women at Ashurst in the last few decades. Along with our first female solicitor, we have spoken with our first three female partners, the first woman with the right to return after maternity leave, and the first woman on the Ashurst board, amongst many others. We thank each of these women for their contributions to the firm, as well as this project. In the final section, we consider some of the themes arising from our research, as well as the future of women in law. We also share some of the advice we have heard along the way. As the next generation of lawyers enter the industry and continue to break boundaries, we are confident that the next 100 years will see greater equality, as men and women from all social backgrounds keep progressing through the industry, and leave the door open for those behind them. First Women Project Team London and Glasgow, 2019 STORIES OF WOMEN AT ASHURST 5 The Ashurst family tree William Henry Ashurst 1791 – 1855 m. Elizabeth Brown 1810 1792 – 1854 Elizabeth Caroline Matilda William Emilie Henry 1813 – 1850 1816 – 1885 1817 – 1866 1820 – 1893 1819 – 1879 m. 1848 m. 1844 m. 1837 m. 1 Sydney Hawkes 1844 m. 1846 divorced 1860 Jean Bardonneau James Stansfeld Joseph Biggs Elizabeth Ogle 2 Carlo Venturi 1861 no issue no issue no issue Joseph James Elizabeth Caroline Maude Kate Ada Stansfeld Ashurst Biggs Ashurst Biggs Ashurst Biggs Ashurst Biggs 1852 – 1928 1838 – 1905 1840 – 1889 1856 – 1933 1859 – 1901 6 FIRST WOMEN Part One William Ashurst & Family STORIES OF WOMEN AT ASHURST 7 The Muswell Hill Brigade BY CLARA YEO Portrait of William Henry Ashurst. “Equal to Paradise before the fall” – socialist Robert Owen, political reformer William James The Muswell Hill Brigade Linton and American abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. It is Sunday afternoon. You step over the threshold of the Garrison had high praise for the Muswell Hill residence, house in Muswell Hill, North London, unsure what to expect writing that it was “a perfect gem of a place, quite equal except the unexpected.