Dame Philippa Whipple is guest of honour at Annual Halsbury Society Dinner

Isabel Howarth, President of the Halsbury Society, reports on this year's Halsbury Society Dinner:

Held on 18 May 2022, The Annual Halsbury Society Dinner was a fantastic evening enjoyed by all. We were extremely fortunate to welcome Dame Philippa Whipple, an alumna and Honorary Fellow of the College, as our guest-of-honour and after-dinner speaker.

Dame Philippa shared with us her experiences and the various ‘forks in the road’ in her diverse career path. This ultimately led to her becoming a judge, and since her appointment in November 2021 she has been sitting in the Court of Appeal. Her honest and thoughtful reflections on the sorts of decisions we as current Merton Law students are likely to have to make in our futures were particularly influential, and will certainly be formative as we consider our next stages and career paths.

We were also very grateful to Sullivan & Cromwell for sponsoring the dinner and for joining us. It was great to hear about life at a top law firm, and also to welcome back some past Merton students who now work there. The evening was a lovely way to bring Merton’s Law community together, and to celebrate another successful year.