YouSaid · the spoken record

Stephanie Boyce

lines on the record: 24
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

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“Something happens. I have made it my mission to leave this profession more diverse and inclusive than the one I entered, and I'm absolutely clear that it must be a shared ambition with each and every one of us playing our part. And I have been amazed and emboldened by the way we as a profession have galvanized ourselves in making a difference to keeping the conversation going. But equally aware that whilst much has been done, there is a lot more to do.”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, I've got a number of advice that I would give. It is incumbent upon us to ensure that we leave the profession in better shape than we found it for the next generation. So the advice that I would give is to never give up. Determination, resilience, perseverance perhaps is how I would describe my journey to becoming president of the law society. But equally we need to run our own race, write our own story. You know, the cemeteries are filled with people whose dreams died with them. You owe it to yourself. You owe it to the world to never give up, to birth that dream if you have it. Otherwise, you'll watch someone else doing it. But ultimately, I absolutely believe that every door is open if you push, you persevere until someone”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Absolutely, it is incumbent upon us all to leave the profession in a better state than we found it for the next generation to come. And we must ensure that through a number of programs and initiatives, for instance the diversity access scheme for the Law Society supports over the last 10 years.”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Absolutely. And as I say, you know, our judges, our courts are revered around the world for the fairness of their judgments, the independence of their decisions and so forth. We are respected as a nation, one of our greatest exports around the world, but we must ensure that we have a justice system, as I say, worthy of its name, and that people will still want to come here and litigate if you like.”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's not the bare minimum 15%, but overall 9%. So we are continuing to work with government to campaign to ensure that solicitors get back their minimum recommendation of 15% to ensure the viability, the sustainability of the justice system, our criminal justice system.”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So we have seen what we've seen of late is in the last spending review, the government has set out that it's prepared to invest in training contracts to get individuals going into the criminal justice system. But what we're clear is that the government must invest in the entire system. There is no point investing in training contracts to train people to come into a system that may no longer be there or worthy of its name. Sir Christopher Bellamy conducted an independent review of the criminal legal aid system and called for a bare minimum of 15% increase in fees to defence practitioners. And of course there are some parts where we have seen the government pledge that 15% and it's welcome but what that means for solicitors”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“The judges, the people who work in the system, court buildings where we've heard stories about the infrastructure of the court buildings, the court estates leaking roofs and courts not being operational because heating isn't working. But we're also seeing an aging profession from the defence practitioner perspective. A quarter of the profession is aged 35 and under the average age for a defence practitioner is about 50 years of age. But not only that, some parts of the country where you will struggle to get a legal practitioner to represent you in court. And that is a real concern for us as the law society, but indeed should be a real concern for us as a nation, as a country.”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Absolutely. If the rule of law is fundamental, it's one of the pillars of our democracy. Our justice system is revered around the world. People come here, clients, individuals come here, organizations come here to litigate. But our criminal justice system and parts of our civil justice system is in crisis. And that means that the government must invest. And if, for instance, I take the criminal justice system, there has been no real significant increase in fees to defence practitioners in almost 25 years. I know of no other profession where people have worked for that long with no pay increase. And it's not just the fees, it's the whole system, the investment is needed in the whole system, the infrastructure of that. So as I say previously about”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And not only just in the justice system, but in terms of the infrastructure around the court system, in terms of buildings, in terms of judges, practitioners who practice within the court system to enable the justice system to continue to thrive.”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, absolutely, the backlog in the court system is of deep concern to the law society. When we talk, we talk so much about ability to access justice. And when we have a backlog, there is delay in the system for the defendant, for witnesses, for victims who are having to wait for their opportunity for their day in court either to clear their name or to get the justice they deserve. And the backlog, so the government's ambition to get that backlog down to 53,000 by 2024, we feel that there needs to be greater investment, greater ambition to get that backlog down far further than the 53,000 proposed. And that will take significant investment from the government.”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And for members of the public, would close. The way we were able to galvanize the profession behind our skin and get the solicitors regulation authority to not close the fund, but to extend it for a further year.”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I'm not sure there is, especially over the last year or so. You know, my tenure has presided over a number of world crises in terms of the war in Ukraine, Afghanistan, the situation in Afghanistan, the pandemic. But equally, the challenges that the legal profession faces in terms of becoming a more equitable profession. And the role that the president plays as the president of the law society is in terms of being an ambassador for the profession, but being able to influence in terms of some of the conversations with government from other stakeholders, but to galvanise our profession as we did, the Law Society did around when it was proposed that the Which of course is the insurance, if you like, for solicitors”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, absolutely, inasmuch as I say, four attempts that it took me to get here. And I don't view those previous attempts as, you know, I didn't succeed in those previous attempts, but for me they weren't failures. I don't like the word failure. That for me has a negative connotation to it. They were three attempts to try again and to perfect, to hone my offering and, as I say, to try it again. And after forest hence, I was successfully elected. And I'm quite open about the fact that, you know, if I needed to go a fifth, a sixth or seventh, I would have kept going. Such was my belief and determination in getting into this position. And as I say, it's an absolute privilege, a remarkable opportunity to be here, to serve my profession as president. And it's a remarkable platform to achieve Change to make a difference.”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So it's fair to say that the company's been dormant since I took up my post as Deputy Vice President in 2019. But before that, I'd worked with a number of professional bodies, membership bodies, a number of religious organisations as well. But quite rightly in governance, which I hold a master's in, but going into organisations, doing their governance reviews, change management. So that has fueled my appetite to then go on to become a fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute. But a real passion for governance, but as I say, having not worked in the consultancy since 2019 because I've absolutely devoted myself to being Deputy Vice President and then Vice President. President full time because I, you know, a remarkable opportunity.”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I just remember my recruitment agent telling me that because I hadn't trained in the city, I hadn't worked in the city, practiced in the city, you know, it was unlikely that I'd get into the city and that my salary expectation was unrealistic. I did listen to her. I got myself a different agent, one who shared my dreams and subsequently landed my first job in the city with the General Council of the Bar in 2004. And then that has been started off my in-house career and I've gone on to work for a number of organisations. But I joined Law Society Council in 2013 to represent the Women Lawyers Division. Within two years of being on council, I put myself forward for the first time as a DVP candidate and four attempts later. Was successfully elected as Deputy Vice President in 2019.”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“By virtue of the fact that somebody else had dropped out and wasn't able to take that contract, I went along and had an interview and I was successfully awarded the training contract. But again, once I finished training, conveys him was the boom of the day. I wanted to be a litigator. So I left where I had trained with no job to go to. So having qualified as solicitor a mountain of debt, but no job to practice as a solicitor with. So I embarked on doing a few gardens and other jobs, you know, to pass the time until I got my first post-qualification job. But then again, having done that for, you know, within two years, I've been made redundant twice in as many years. And then I decided I wanted to come into the City of London, Japan.”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, as you said, having spent six years in America and graduated from American high school, my ambition was always to return to this jurisdiction, England and Wales, to study law. But I came up against my first obstacle was that my American high school diploma was not recognized here at that time. So I had to take a conversion course, if you like, doing part-time over two years, the higher qualification route into education that allowed me to then go on to university part-time initially when I entered London Guildhall in 1999. And then subsequently going on to do the legal practice courses, you said. And then the training contract again was another hurdle. My father happened to be in the right place perhaps at the right time. And, you know,”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Taking the school bus it knows kids who lived in the poorer neighbourhoods, including myself, were busting into school where the other kids were driving because they lived a lot closer. But interestingly, we're driving and could turn up when school was about to start as opposed to being kept waiting outside for an hour or so. But I think it was those different experiences that I saw just absolutely drove me to wanting to make a difference and felt that law was and something that I'd wanted to do from such a young age, that law was a tool, an instrument to be able to effect that change and make that difference. That's a great, great answer. And of course you came back, you gained an LLB from London Guildhall University in 1999 and then the LLPC from the College of London. In Guildford, and we're missed as a solicitor in 2002.”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“As I've said previously, inasmuch that the US being taken from rural Buckhamshire as it was at that time to initially an American military base and being engrossed in that society, that culture, which was all new to me, but also seeing the difference in treatment through rich and poor and those who had a different colour of their skin, I was taken back by some of those challenges, some of those obstacles, absolutely overwhelmed by it. And I think, you know, at times that's what absolutely drove me from my experience in high school to the”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“But later in life, when we'd reconnect after I came back from America just and watching his career as it progressed and always being on hand to give that older sister advice as to how he could navigate the choppy waters, if you like, of football. Fantastic. In your own teens you relocated to the US, not unlike one of our earlier guests, Jackie Wright, and he lived there for six years before returning to the UK to study law. And I'm keen to understand the nature of the difference between the educational system that you experienced in the US to that you previously experienced within the UK. And also, what were the motivations that took you towards studying law?”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“A professional footballer was a professional footballer and now coaches the Barbados National Women's Team. And I'm keen to understand the nature of the relationship you had as a child growing up with siblings and your younger brother and the extent to which you provided a sense of influence in his own career path. Absolutely. So yes, Emerson is one of two younger brothers that I have and we share the same father. So we didn't live in the same household growing up, but certainly when I saw him at the weekends and on holidays and there's seven years between he and I. And he'd always, you know, from a young age had a talent for initially cricket and then switched to football. But of course Emerson went away at quite a young age to football academy football school.”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“In the community, the Caribbean and the life that they had been left behind, the life they had left behind. But the stories that they told. And I just remember because I grew up in an era where children were seen but not heard. And just listening behind the door in the corner somewhere, just listening to the richness of those stories. But definitely remembering that as a child growing up in a single parent household of sort of those economic, those financial challenges that a single parent household would bring. But just remembering that there was still that richness of conversation and just the love and supportiveness of the community. Fantastic. Referencing family, you have a younger brother, Emerson Boyce, who is”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Can I say firstly, thank you very much for having me, inviting me to be a guest. But thinking back to my childhood and just from some of my earliest recollection, growing up in a single parent household because my parents had separated by the time I was four years old, was that it was a communal meeting place, if you like. On a Sunday where family, friends would gather over good food and I just remember the conversations that flowed over the table in terms of what was going on around the world, what was going on in our own communities. And some of those injustices that people spoke about that was happening domestically and globally, but also just that reminiscent for home and home being for the elders.”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Stephanie, welcome. And can I say it's a delight to meet you today. Welcome to off the agenda and thank you so much for being our guest today. I'm going to start by taking you all the way back to the beginning, if I may. Your mother was born on the island of St. Vincent and at the age of 15 in 1967 came across to the UK. Your father indeed had come across from Barbados three years earlier. You were born in Aylesbury and your mother raised you as a single parent at that moment in time. What were those early memories, those early childhood experiences like growing up in your community? What were the challenges and opportunities that presented themselves at that time?”
undated · Off The Agenda · I. Stephanie Boyce CBE: First Person of Colour as Law Society President | Off The Agenda | OTA Media · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source