20 December 2018 

Lawcare Announces New Trustees 

Legal mental health charity LawCare has appointed three new trustees to its board from January 2019.

LawCare promotes and supports good mental health and well-being across the legal community in the UK and Ireland through their confidential helpline, peer support network, and resources, information and training.

The three new trustees joining LawCare for a four year term are Alexandra Marks, Helen Whiteman and Kayleigh Leonie.

Alexandra Marks qualified as a solicitor in 1983, and was a partner at Linklaters (1990-2003). She now sits as a Deputy High Court Judge, Recorder and First Tier Tribunal Judge. She was recently appointed by the Minister for Universities as the Independent Statutory Reviewer for Access & Participation Plans for the Office for Students. She was a Judicial Appointments Commissioner for six years until January 2018, and a Commissioner at the Criminal Cases Review Commission (investigating potential miscarriages of justice) for five years until October 2018. In 2008-09, she was Master of the Worshipful Company of Solicitors of the City of London, and President of the City of London Law Society. Alexandra is now Chair of CEDR (the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution), and a Council member of JUSTICE (the law reform and human rights organisation). Formerly, she chaired Amnesty International Charity Limited; JUSTICE’s Executive Board; the Law Society’s Law Reform Board; and Prisoners’ Education Trust.

Helen Whiteman is Chief Executive of CILEx Regulation. She studied Law at De Montfort University, before undertaking a Masters in IT at the University of Warwick. After initially working in investment marketing and

PR, then lecturing in law and e-business, she joined the legal field managing practice development and marketing for a law firm in Leicester. She joined CILEx in 2008 as head of corporate affairs having served as

director of member services at LawNet. She became chief operating officer at CILEx in 2012, and was responsible for overseeing CILEx’s membership, qualifications, journal, international and regulatory affairs functions. She became Chief Executive in September 2015.

Kayleigh Leonie qualified as a solicitor in July 2012 and specialises in employment law. Kayleigh has been involved with the Junior Lawyers Division of The Law Society (JLD) since 2010 and is extremely passionate about the resilience and well-being of junior lawyers in England and Wales, an area she has researched for the last two years through an annual wellbeing survey of JLD members. She also prepared best practice guidance for law firms on supporting the resilience and well-being of junior lawyers in February 2018, and runs regular roundtable breakfasts for law firms on this issue to help promote mentally healthy workplaces.

Trustees retiring from the board are Laura Malcolm and David Thomson.

Elizabeth Rimmer CEO of LawCare said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome three new trustees in January. We have exciting plans for 2019 and the knowledge, commitment and enthusiasm of our board will be vital in helping us provide support and information to the legal community. We would like to thank our outgoing trustees for the invaluable contribution they have made to LawCare.”

ENDS

For all media enquiries contact Gemma Matthews, Communications Manager on [email protected] or 07813 949633

LawCare is the charity that promotes and supports good mental health and wellbeing across the legal community in the UK and Ireland.

Our helpline is a safe place to talk without judgement. You can call us about anything – no problem is too small. We’re here to listen.

As well our helpline, LawCare offers one-on-one peer support, and a wealth of information, resources and factsheets at www.lawcare.org.uk

 

We are here to help all branches of the legal profession: solicitors, barristers, barrister’s clerks, judges, Chartered Legal Executives, paralegals, trade mark attorneys, patent agents, costs lawyers and their staff and families.

Our support spans the legal life from student to training to practice and retirement.

The helpline number is 0800 279 6888 Mon-Fri 9am – 7.30pm, weekends & bank holidays 10am – 4pm. There is also information, resources and factsheets at www.lawcare.org.uk