Out and About

Helen Boddy and Kate Matthews were delighted to attend the launch of the International Forum of Senior Executive Advisers and its inaugural event at the iconic historical venue in the Gladstone Library of the Liberal Club. The Boddy Matthews team enjoyed plenary and breakout sessions with their international colleagues exchanging views on risk management , legal and wealth planning, wellbeing and resilience, reputational perspectives and more. With greater business mobility, strategic planning for the workforce is essential in the modern world.

The first Meeting of the New Year 2020 for Encouraging Women Into Franchising (EWIF) for the South Region was chaired by EWIF South Chair Kate Matthews of Boddy Matthews Solicitors at the offices of Stevens & Bolton in Guildford. With lively discussions on actions for the year 2020 in the franchise industry and Awards ahead, the Region hopes to see the EWIF profile and brand continue to grow stronger. With thanks to the two guest speakers, EWIF South explored some of the challenges in the franchise industry and how the Ambassadors for women can really make a difference.

The Boddy Matthews Solicitors Annual professional lunch took place again at Cote in Reigate. Helen Boddy and Kate Mathews enjoyed toasting the New Year 2020 with fellow professionals and wishing all a successful and prosperous year ahead.

The Boddy Matthews team had a lovely evening out for the festive season at Winter Wonderland. After cocktails at a rooftop bar we went on to enjoy amazing performance by Cirque Beserk in which acrobats and aerialists performed gravity defying feats in the MegaDome. We also explored the beautifully crafted world of snow and ice sculptures in the Magic Kingdom which told the story of a Christmas Carol.  This journey through the spectacular ice and snow sculptures was very festive, if not a little chilly at -10°C!

Some of the Boddy Mathews team enjoyed the joint Reigate Offices Christmas outing starting with cocktails at Urban 9, followed by authentic tapas at Carmona’s Tapas Bar restaurant with a few festive colleagues finishing the night at the nightclub….

Boddy Matthews Solicitor supporter Jerry Clarke delighted with his prizes at the Reigate Business Guild tombola at the Christmas Fayre, Reigate High Street. The £300 of Employment Law Advice had already been won by another lucky contestant!

ELA’s annual lecture this year celebrated The First 100 Years of Women in Law – and the Second – with an eminent panel including Dame Janet Gaymer DBE QC (Hon), Harini Iyengar, barrister at 11KBW and Linden Thomas, President of Birmingham Law Society amongst others. There were some very amusing anecdotes of yesteryear, while looking forward to see how the workplace needs to change for everyone over the next 100 years to allow gender equality to be fully realised. Even in 2019 you see articles with titles such as “Can you be a mother and a senior law firm partner?” and women are underrepresented at partner and QC level. Boddy Matthews partners Helen and Kate broke the glass ceiling some time ago having been senior equity partners throughout the 21st century!

Helen Boddy very much enjoyed the action packed agenda of this full day seminar in Chancery Lane, which provided a workshop based around the key topic of worker status and also focused on thorny practical issues around calculating pensions loss, unfair dismissal, the scope of legal privilege, tips for investigations and defining PCPs.

Partner Helen Boddy participated in this debate in relation to a Consultation on the economic profile of the area, which is the biggest piece of research undertaken to date into the economy and the area’s potential. The ensuing analysis will inform the local industrial strategy to be negotiated with government early next year and, when published, will prioritise intervention and investment in the local area.

The British Franchise Association hosted an inspirational event Empowering Women in business in Oxford. Kate Matthews represented Boddy Matthews as one of the delegates benefitting from insight into the incredible personal journeys shared by guest speakers Grace Harding of Ocean Basket franchise and Sara Winckless the former Olympic Games Medallist in rowing.  Penny Haslam was the award winning motivational speaker and former BBC presenter who engaged the audience with her thoughts on banishing imposter syndrome for women and how to be the best you can be to succeed.