Letter from the editor: Goodbye and farewell

It is with some sadness that I find myself writing my last foreword for Women Legal. Taking advantage of the ‘new year, new start’ philosophy, I will be emigrating to Asia in January to pursue an exciting new opportunity and as such will be waving a fond farewell to Ark Publishing and you, the readers of Women Legal.
My year and a half as editor has been a truly fascinating learning experience in which I have not only had the pleasure of getting to know women working in the legal sector across the world, but also the opportunity to immerse myself in the world of law-firm gender diversity. It is an experience that has enabled me to witness real and impressive progress with regards to diversity within the profession and also to recognise that the journey to true equality in the law-firm environment is far from over.
I hope that Women Legal will continue to provide you with a valuable resource which you may use to tackle any obstacles you may face along that journey.
Certainly, it will have been made a harder one by the redundancy announcements, budget cuts and restructuring that have come to characterise the financial downward spiral of recent years. Many firms reacted to uncertain economic conditions by putting mentoring, diversity initiatives and inclusion schemes on the backburner. Over time we will learn what the true cost of such a reaction has been.
In the meantime, many now face a future in the legal sphere clouded by uncertainty in which job security cannot be taken for granted and the appeal of private practice and partnership has noticeably waned. In this environment, the ability to effectively manage your career to take advantage of alternative career opportunities has taken on a new significance. Those with a clear idea of where they want to be in the next 12 months and beyond face a much more secure future. What path have you chosen?
I would like to thank you all for your support of the magazine and particularly the magazine’s fantastic editorial board, who have gone out of their way to help and advise me throughout. And, of course, I would like to thank all of you who have contributed the extremely high standard of articles to the magazine to date.
If you have any feedback, or any ideas for features you would like to see in the magazine, contact kclifton@waterlow.com. I hope you enjoy this issue.

Lucy McNulty,
Editor