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07 July 2023
Issue: 8032 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Career focus , Diversity
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NLJ this week: Government Legal Department tears down socio-economic barriers

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Government lawyers should reflect the society they serve, Susanna McGibbon, Treasury Solicitor and Permanent Secretary to the Government Legal Department, writes in this week’s NLJ.

McGibbon, who is the second female Treasury Solicitor, reflects on her own ‘culture shock’ on starting pupillage in London as the first person in her immediate family to go to university. She sets out the Government Legal Department’s action plan to increase access and improve social mobility. In particular, she wants to ensure socio-economic background is not a barrier to starting a legal career.

McGibbon writes: ‘I believe we achieve this by integrating principles of fairness and inclusion into everything we do—from recruitment to training and career development.’ 

Read more on social mobility in government here.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

Daniel Burbeary, office managing partner of Michelman Robinson, discusses launching in London, the power of the law, and what the kitchen can teach us about litigating

Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

Firm welcomes partner with specialist expertise in family and art law

Birketts—Álvaro Aznar

Birketts—Álvaro Aznar

Dual-qualified partner joins international private client team

NEWS
Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
In a striking financial remedies ruling, the High Court cut a wife’s award by 40% for coercive and controlling behaviour. Writing in NLJ this week, Chris Bryden and Nicole Wallace of 4 King’s Bench Walk analyse LP v MP [2025] EWFC 473
A €60.9m award to Kylian Mbappé has refocused attention on football’s controversial ‘ethics bonus’ clauses. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Estelle Ivanova of Valloni Attorneys at Law examines how such provisions sit within French labour law

The Court of Appeal has slammed the brakes on claimants trying to swap defendants after limitation has expired. In Adcamp LLP v Office Properties and BDB Pitmans v Lee [2026] EWCA Civ 50, it overturned High Court rulings that had allowed substitutions under s 35(6)(b) of the Limitation Act 1980, reports Sarah Crowther of DAC Beachcroft in this week's NLJ

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