Beck Fitzgerald celebrates 10 years!

Last week, the team celebrated the 10th anniversary of Beck Fitzgerald and all we have achieved both directly for our clients and in our pursuit of systemic change to make our family justice system better for the children and families we serve.

Below is Jenny’s speech as well as photos from the evening.

Huge thank you to Frederique Bellec for the wonderful photos.

10 years ago, shortly after celebrating my 50th birthday for the first time (!) Sue and I set up Beck Fitzgerald with a tiny team. We had a dual intention. Firstly, as a niche family law practice to deliver legal services, but also to campaign for systemic change so that we could deliver those services in a way which really addressed the needs of the children and families we are here to serve.

I had become increasingly concerned that our system was failing those who needed it most and that there had to be more that solicitors at the coalface could do to highlight and fix some of the issues. Setting up a campaigning firm seemed like a good plan.

With great enthusiasm I recall popping to the bank for the required loan to set up and presenting the business plan Matt Howgate and I had diligently hatched. I think I tried 6 banks in the end. All of them gave the same response, a firm reliant in any way on legal aid was simply not considered economically viable… The answer to the request for funding was a deafening NO… This was particularly irritating because 20 years prior when I first became a partner at a fully legal aid practice the same banks had been falling over themselves to loan me huge sums. To me this spoke volumes about our priorities as a society, if we have allowed real justice to become economically non-viable, we no longer have a workable system and we have undermined the rule of law… even more reason I thought, to crack on with fighting for change. BF was set up regardless

I’d like to quickly pause the story there just to give the first of our big thank yous. I want to thank Eko who not only worked tirelessly behind the scenes to set this wonderful firm up but has and continues to be behind every sensible decision I have ever made. I also want to thank Sue for setting out on this incredible journey with me. For tolerating and accommodating all of my crazy ideas (some good, some not so!) but also for being the most fantastic friend and colleague. Thank you both.

But back to the story… without external funding, set up was a considerable challenge. To be frank legal aid rates for family work have been static for 30 years, they are derisory and simply have to change. We, like most, have built our business by subsidising with private work and working too hard for too little. We are blessed with the most astonishing team of committed social justice lawyers. Their dedication to our core values of bravery, integrity and kindness make BF they most wonderful place to work. They are nothing short of inspiring. Thank you all, the marvellous BF family.

Together we have delivered and challenged critical legal and systemic issues over the last decade. From cases such as H and N and Re Y which deal with rising social issues, such as the silencing domestic abuse survivors to challenges to access to justice via strategic litigation such as GR [R (on the application of GR) v Director of Legal Aid Casework [2020] EWHC 3140] which went to the heart of legal aid eligibility, we have pressed the edges of change via the courts.

However, much of our quest for change falls outside the courts. We gather data and monitor how the system is really working for the children and families who pass through it. We collaborate, galvanise and encourage others to work with us to be part of a fix. Family Law Advice for the Neurodivergent Community (FLANC) is just one example of how we can all get involved in positive change. I’m delighted to see my fellow FLANCETTES here. I’m equally delighted to see the justice team at The Law Society and the wonderful LAPG team who push for the betterment of our system. These initiatives, the small incremental changes, the showcasing of better, kinder practice are going to be how we challenge the larger systemic failure which are letting our system down.

The marvellous Lisa Harker CBE and colleagues at Nuffield Family Justice Observatory have been reimagining the Family Justice System, they have a real plan… it starts with a shared vision. We need to have more conversations about the part we can all play.

Two years ago, around the time I was celebrating my 50th birthday for the 8th time, great fortune shone on BF. Rebecca and Molly (having been with the firm for years) agreed to join me in partnership. They bring skills I will never have, and without which our team could not have grown from 4 to 34. Don’t be deceived by the fact that they, and our other amazing directors Amy and Sarah have clearly not yet reached the first of their 50th birthdays, their commitment to our team, our clients and to the betterment of the system is hardwired in…they, together with our senior management team, have the knowledge, skill and tenacity to take us all to the next level.

My final ‘thank you’ before I promise to shut up and let everyone enjoy the evening, is to you. We are grateful to you because you have helped us in so many different ways. Advice, professional and otherwise, collaboration, and support.

As I look around the room I see senior judiciary, lords, politicians, members of the bar, civil servants, policy makers and influencers – all bound by a fundamental desire to work together to improve our system. I know this because of what we have already achieved together. The people in this room and our wider friends and community are why I’m optimistic that we will rerail a better family justice system focussed around and for families before I celebrate my 50th birthday for the 20th time.

At BF we know we are great at the law, that’s what we all trained to be, but we also recognise our roles as changemakers. Molly, Rebecca, the team and I stand ready to work with you all to support our clients both on an individual basis and more widely to find better, kinder, more inclusive ways forward.

For more information about our work in this area see our news and views