Authors:LAG
Created:2015-05-01
Last updated:2023-09-18
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Jenny Beck departure as family law head signals Co-op shift to private work
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Description: may2015-p04-02
Award-winning family lawyer Jenny Beck (pictured) is leaving Cooperative Legal Services, after a four-year stint.
Beck, who is co-chair of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group, surprised many in the profession when she left her post as managing partner of TV Edwards to launch CLS’s family division.
Her departure coincides with a CLS decision to increase its focus on private work, which ‘makes a positive financial contribution to the business’.
Beck, who was named family legal aid lawyer of the year in 2006, said it had been a difficult decision to leave but she was considering her options. She added that her next role would reflect her continued commitment to access to justice.
A CLS spokesperson said: ‘While legal aid will remain a component part of our future service offering, we need to ensure that we reduce our dependency, given the increasing pressure we are seeing from the government on funding.’
The leading mental health lawyer Sophy Miles has joined Doughty Street Chambers, after re-qualifying as a barrister. Miles is chair of the Law Society’s mental health and disability committee and was founder of niche law firm Miles & Partners.