Mentor murmurings on LIPS' agenda

LIPS Committee (L to R): Laura Stanton,  Jayne Edwards,
Elisabeth Pickthall and Lisa Chapman

THE Ladies Insolvency Practitioners Soiree (LIPS) has locked-in sponsors for its end of year all-gender affair, scheduled to be held at the O Bar on December 18.

GraysOnline and M+K Lawyers have dusted off the purses to support the networking event and LIPS committee member Laura Stanton told SiN she is confident that at least two other players in the insolvency space are close to deciding whether to commit.

“We’re in talks with two others. Hall Chadwick, which sponsored us last year and Macquarie Bank,” she said.

Stanton described LIPS' recent Christmas in July function as a genuine success, attracting around 75 female insolvency practitioners and legal professionals to the Royal Exchange on Gresham Street. Perhaps the prizes helped. Champagne and spa vouchers from Bridges Lawyers, make-up from San Francisco-based make up group, Benefit Cosmetics.

Meanwhile LIPS also plans hosting a gathering on November 6 where the focus will be on networking. Work also continues on the design and implementation of a possible mentoring program.

“We’ve had a lot of interest from people who want to be mentees,” Stanton told SiN, adding that LIPS had talked with corporate mentoring specialists PropellHer about the possibility of adapting a software platform that gives effect to insolvency-focused mentor/mentee relationships.

“It’s based on the level of experience. We’ll have partners as mentors for senior associates and senior associates mentoring more junior lawyers and the same in terms of accountants,” she said.

Stanton said that a survey circulated after the last LIPS event had generated plenty of positive feedback.

“A lot of people were really interested in it and we surveyed people about it in terms of women to women.”

She said LIPS had already received commitments from senior professionals such as Kirsten Farmer from TressCox and Kylie Rae from Bridges Lawyers, offering to mentor younger and more junior women embarking on insolvency-related careers in the legal and accounting sectors. And they aren't the only ones.

“We’ve had seven partners or above who have pledged their time,” Stanton said.

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