Our Co-Founder Samantha Is Honoured With A Purple Plaque
On Monday, our co-founder Samantha Woodham was presented with a purple plaque, recognising her innovation in Family Law.
There are thousands of blue plaques across the UK, celebrating the achievements of influential and pioneering figures, yet women feature on only 14% of them. The UK Government and Innovate UK therefore launched the purple plaque scheme, ensuring pioneering women are recognised and inspire the next generation.
Samantha’s old school, The Abbey, is providing a home to the plaque, and put on a huge event yesterday attended by over 400 people. The Abbey arranged a private view of the ‘100 Years of Women at the Bar’ exhibition. Samantha, Lady Justice Geraldine Andrews and Dana Denis-Smith gave keynote speeches. Pupils at The Abbey, The Holt and the John Madejski Academy put on theatrical performances inspired by the true stories of the first pioneering female barristers, and all the young people attending had the opportunity to explore a future in law with the many lawyers who chose to give up their time to attend.
As Samantha said to the young audience in her speech:
‘One thing I’ve learned in the 25 years since I left school is this: you never master anything. There is always more to learn. And that realisation gives you an extraordinary freedom. Because if you can never learn everything, then there’s no time like the present to sit back and ask yourself: ‘Well, what do I think?’ That’s where my innovation came from- I asked myself, ‘If I had a blank piece of paper, what do I think the Family Justice System should look like?’ And the joy of indulging in in your own thoughts is that you don’t have to revise what you think- they’re your thoughts! There is so much to learn from books, but there is also so much within you that the world can learn from. That’s where future of innovation lies- it’s within all of you in this room. Building The Divorce Surgery with Harry has been the highlight of my career and, most importantly, brought me joy every day. I hope this may encourage you all to take the leap and follow those lightbulb moments when you get them! Thank you for giving a home to my plaque, I am extremely honoured and grateful.’
Thank you to The Abbey, Innovate UK, Lady Justice Geraldine Andrews, Dana Denis-Smith and everyone who attended. It was an unforgettable evening.
Author Name: Editor
Published content by The Divorce Surgery Editorial Team.
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