Talking Law with Dr Sally Penni MBE

Sally Penni MBE is Talking Law with Susanna McGibbonSusanna McGibbon is His Majesty’s Procurator General, the Treasury Solicitor and the Permanent Secretary of the Government Legal Department, or GLD. She is the most senior civil servant who gives legal advice to the government of the day. Susanna and Sally discuss the important distinction that whilst she and the GLD act in their client’s best interests, they are politically impartial. They reflect on Susanna’s passion for e...

Sally Penni MBE is Talking Law with Dr Shaun Wallace and Tom LyasDr Shaun Wallace is a Barrister at Great James Street Chambers and is also well known to the public as a celebrity quizzer. He was the first black man to win Mastermind and is now a permanent staple on ITV’s The Chase.Dr Wallace tells Sally about how he’s been driven to be a lawyer since the age of 11, but he hasn’t always been regarded as intelligent. Dr Wallace shares how you should never rest on your laurels, as each new mile...

Sally Penni MBE is Talking Law with Chad Doellinger. Chad is the Senior Vice President; Deputy General Counsel, and Chief Operations Officer for CBRE's global legal department.Chad balances his day job with a teaching position at Chicago Law School, alongside life with four children and four dogs. He tells Sally all about his career history and his route to becoming Deputy General Counsel.Sally and Chad share their views on Diversity, Equality and Inclusion. They come to the conclusion that i...

Sally Penni MBE is Talking Law with Lord David Pannick KC, a Barrister at Blackstone Chambers who specialises in public law and appellate advocacy. He is also a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford and a Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords.David talks over his 40 year career and some of his most memorable cases including the case for Gina Miller on the unlawful prorogation of Parliament in 2019, he tells Sally all about the experience of dealing on such a public and politically significant c...

This week Sally Penni MBE is Talking Law with Erin Shoesmith, partner at Addleshaw Goddard where she leads the health and safety practice. She is regularly instructed by the firm's leading corporate clients and individuals facing prosecution or investigation by the Police, HSE, Local Fire & Rescue Service. Her practice also covers inquests and public inquiries, including most recently the Grenfell Tower and Manchester Arena Inquiries.Erin reflects on one of the most poignant cases of her ...

This week Sally Penni MBE is Talking Law with Christina Blacklaws, a former President of the Law Society of England and Wales who now runs her own consultancy business providing strategic advice particularly in the areas of transformational change, technological developments and diversity and inclusion.Hear Christina reflect on a fascinating portfolio career with roles ranging from advising government on the use of Artificial Intelligence in the law, to helping the The Co-operative Group set ...

This week Sally Penni MBE is Talking Law with Shelley McGivern, partner in the Corporate team at Addleshaw Goddard and co-head of the Firm's SciTech sector. Shelley has a wealth of experience advising both corporate and institutional clients across a number of sectors with a particular focus on acquisitions and disposals and joint ventures in the real estate sector.Shelley talks about ‘flexing’ her career; progressing professionally whilst juggling a busy home life with her children – somethi...

This week Sally Penni MBE is Talking Law with Alice Stephenson, Founder & CEO of Stephenson Law.Hear how Alice struggled with progression in the law whilst being a young Mum, and became so disillusioned with the profession that she even decided to quit. Inspired by her entrepreneur husband, she then started her own law firm to see if she could carve her own path within the industry. Alice and her firm are extremely creative in their use of social media and Alice says authenticity is...

This week Sally Penni MBE is Talking Law with Jo Sidhu, a criminal barrister who is widely regarded as one of the leading criminal trial lawyers in the UK and has appeared in some of England’s most serious prosecutions. Jo served as the Chair of the Criminal Bar Association in 2021-22.Jo explains what motivated him to become a criminal barrister, and tries to explain why many in the profession are protesting; a response to what he describes as a ‘process of attrition and by neglect from succe...

This week Sally Penni MBE is Talking Law with Ayo Onatade who is a personal assistant to judges based at the Supreme Court. Ayo describes her many roles and responsibilities, and details what it’s like to work at the highest court in the United Kingdom.Ayo is also a freelance commentator on crime fiction, writing articles and featuring on panels about the genre. Ayo explains how she found her love of crime fiction, and shares some of her favourite novels.Ayo also reflects on what it was like ...

This week Sally Penni MBE is Talking Law with Iain Simkin.Iain Simkin is renowned for his expertise across the range of regulatory cases and he also specialises in serious crime.Iain recalls the extreme determination it took to begin his career and reflects on some of the most memorable cases of his career, including his work as prosecuting counsel in the case of Reynhard Sinaga, and the difficulties he faced in presenting evidence in that case.Iain also shares his experiences of being a tran...

This week Sally Penni MBE is Talking Law with Dinah Rose KC, who is a barrister and member of Blackstone Chambers. Dinah was also appointed President of Magdalen College, Oxford in September 2020. She is the 43rd President of the College since its foundation in 1458, and the first woman to hold the post.Dinah describes how she juggled her career at the bar around raising two children. She also recalls one of her most memorable cases; an employment tribunal on behalf of Jane Couch also known a...

This week Sally Penni MBE is Talking Law with Margaret Casely-Hayford. Margaret was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Honours list in 2018, for services to charity and for promoting diversity upon ending her term as trustee and Chair of international development Charity ActionAid UK.She was Director of Legal Services and Company Secretary for the John Lewis Partnership for nine years. Before that she worked for twenty years with City law firm Dentons where she had been a partner and jointly led an...

Welcome to a brand new season of Talking Law with Sally Penni MBE!This week Sally Penni MBE is Talking Law with Banke A. Odunaike, Head of Legal in EMEA at CBRE. CBRE is a real estate firm that offers a range of services to help companies with all their property needs. With over 100k employees across 100 different countries, they are the largest company of their kind in the world.Banke shares how her love of the judiciary began at an early age, earning her the nickname ‘The Shortest Jud...

This week Sally Penni MBE is Talking Law with Alison Fagan. Ali is a Construction Disputes Partner and the Head of the Infrastructure Funds Sector Group at DLA Piper UK LLP. Ali provides risk management advice on distressed, high value or strategically critical infrastructure projects for a wide ranging pool of clients, from private sector partners to delivery contractors. Alison talks about her organisation which, despite being in a male-led industry, is demonstrating a wealth of ...

In this episode, Sally Penni MBE is Talking Law with Leroy Logan. Leroy was a highly-decorated Superintendent with the Metropolitan Police – a career that culminated with his work on the Olympic Security Team overseeing the London 2012 games. He was a member of the Black Police Association for over 30 years and was 1st National Chair 1998-99 and London Chair 2000-04, as well as being a founder member for both the London and National BPAs.Leroy reveals how Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen ...

This week Sally Penni MBE is Talking Law with Daniel Winterfeldt. Daniel is a Managing Director and the General Counsel for EMEA and Asia at Jefferies. He is a senior corporate and securities lawyer with over 22 years of experience in London and New York.Daniel reveals what it was like arriving in London as an openly gay man at a time when sexuality was not discussed, and how his experiences led to him starting the Interlaw Diversity Forum as an LGBT+ network for legal professionals.Daniel al...

This week Sally Penni MBE is Talking Law with John Croft.John is president and Co-Founder at Elevate, a legal services company which provides legal expertise to clients all over the world. In today’s episode hear how John champions diversity and inclusion at Elevate as well as how he manages work-life balance, particularly amongst colleagues who are working across multiple time zones.This episode is supported by Elevate.Presented by Sally Penni MBE, barrister at law at Kenworthy’s Chambe...

This week Sally Penni MBE is Talking Law with Paul McFarlane.Paul is a partner at Capsticks and manages a team of lawyers providing the full range of employment law advice to health, police and emergency services clients.In this episode Paul reveals why he was always fascinated by employment law and shares his motivations for being a Board Director for the Black Solicitors Network. He also discusses the various work of the BSN and its role within the profession and wider society. P...

This week Sally Penni MBE is Talking Law with Sandie Okoro.Sandie was born and raised in London, but currently lives and works in Washington DC. She qualified both as a barrister and a solicitor and is currently the senior vice president and general counsel at the World Bank Group. Among her many awards and accolades she has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Black Solicitors Network, and has been named as one of the top twenty global General Counsels.In this episode Sandie ...