Polly Botsford

United Kingdom

Contributor at Freelance

My back is turned on Twitter. please find me on Threads, Insta @pollyabotsford

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Articles

The ‘Q3’ in legal

3 weeks ago | ibanet.org | Polly Botsford

Statistics show that within current and future generations, many people are being given ‘extra time’ in their professional lives as life expectancy increases. In-House Perspective investigates how lawyers can and should rethink the new ‘Q3’ and their journeys into retirement. It is a truism universally acknowledged that we are living longer than previous generations.
Supreme Court gender ruling: From street protests and court battles to calls for 'clarity and confidence' - Legal Cheek

1 month ago | legalcheek.com | Polly Botsford

Polarised responseWhen Lord Hodge handed down the Supreme Court’s judgment in For Women Scotland on the meaning of man and woman in the UK’s Equality Act recently, the court was, he said: “Well aware of the strength of feeling on all sides.” That may be the understatement of the year. Within days of the decision, which found that the UK’s main equality law refers to biological sex, protests were held outside Parliament and the Supreme Court by trans rights supporters.
Book review: Susskind's 'How To Think About AI' - Legal Cheek

1 month ago | legalcheek.com | Polly Botsford

Polly Botsford delves into Professor Richard Susskind’s ‘darker’ latest book and wonders: ‘Where has Reassuring Richard gone?’Richard Susskind has always been an optimist, thinking and writing about tech and the law without being a doomsayer, never a naysayer, an everything-possible kind of guy. Even when he was talking about the end of lawyers, it sounded like a positive (even for lawyers).
Supreme Court rules ‘woman’ has biological meaning

2 months ago | legalcheek.com | Polly Botsford

Top judges unanimous decision that ‘man’ and ‘woman’ in UK equality legislation mean biological sexIn a dense, 87-page judgment, the Supreme Court has found that UK equality legislation refers to biological sex “as a matter of ordinary language”. Interpreting ‘sex’ as including trans men or women who have a Gender Recognition Certificate would not have been workable as a matter of statutory interpretation, and “would cut across the definitions … in an incoherent way”.
Trump’s executive orders under siege — but is he already winning? - Legal Cheek

Mar 12, 2025 | legalcheek.com | Polly Botsford

As legal challenges mount, US President escalates his attack on law firms In just the first seven weeks of his presidency, the Trump Administration faced an astonishing 119 legal challenges — an average of two per day, according to data from Just Security, a journal of the Reiss Center on Law and Security at NYU School of Law, which is tracking the litigation.
What is a woman? Supreme Court hears landmark legal case

Nov 26, 2024 | legalcheek.com | Polly Botsford

Top judges hear case on whether trans women can be considered female under Equality ActIn a case that could have UK-wide implications for single-sex spaces such as women’s refuges, hospital wards, prisons and changing rooms, the Supreme Court is hearing arguments today about who falls within the definitions of ‘woman’ and ‘man’ in anti-discrimination law and whether they include people who have been certified as such with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).
The general election could see another lawyer PM. But will it make a difference to lawyers’ lives?

Jun 13, 2024 | legalcheek.com | Polly Botsford

Polly Botsford looks at legally trained PMs of the past and the potential impact of Starmer in No.10With betting odds at an astonishing 1/33 that Labour will win the election on July 4 and Sir Keir Starmer our next PM, the UK looks set to have a barrister in Downing Street. It’s not clear, however, whether this will be a boon for the legal profession. A review of the Labour Party’s manifesto launched yesterday is a mixed bag.
Parliament opens with first King’s Speech for 70 years

Nov 8, 2023 | legalcheek.com | Polly Botsford

Lawyers on the lookout for new laws as Lord Chancellor bows before monarch in historical ceremony Charles, in full regalia, gave his first ‘King’s Speech’ as part of the state opening of parliament yesterday. The speech, drafted by the UK’s prime minister but delivered by the new King, contained proposals that will keep lawyers busy for months to come covering the climate, education, sentencing changes, and further bans on the sale of tobacco and vape marketing.
Can you be a good lawyer if you're not a good person?

Nov 2, 2023 | legalcheek.com | Polly Botsford

Ethics takes centre stage at IBA conference in ParisDo good lawyers need to be good people? This question formed part of wider discussion around ethics at this week’s International Bar Association (IBA) conference. Delegates at the IBA, held near La Défense, Paris’s main business district, were encouraged to “stay idealistic” and “help make the world a better place”.
From soft law to the hard edge of business

Sep 26, 2023 | ibanet.org | Polly Botsford

Wednesday 27 September 2023 New mandatory legislation for companies on human rights due diligence shows how ‘soft’ law is becoming ‘hard’ law. Global Insight asks what this means for lawyers. Professor John Ruggie, author of the UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), said the guidance ‘marked the end of the beginning’ in tackling the more concerning byproducts of corporate power and practices.