A new Legal Livery Group for the City

During the past year the serving Sheriffs have presented a series of City & legal events at the Old Bailey with a programme of impressive speakers and subjects. Past speakers include Baroness Theresa May (modern slavery and supply chains), the Rt Hon Rory Stewart OBE (prisons) and the BBC’s retired Legal Correspondent Joshua Rozenberg KC (transparency and the courts).

These events are inspired by the fact that the current Aldermanic Sheriff Gregory Jones KC is the first serving Barrister in the post. Anyone interested can attend these interesting and free events – contact CCCSecretariat@cityoflondon.gov.uk to get on the mailing list, tickets are booked through Eventbrite.

On 16th September Sheriff Jones presented his final event entitled ‘The Legal Livery Group’. To celebrate the 800th anniversary of the 1225 reissue of Magna Carta by King Henry III, a new Livery Group was formed on the evening by the signing of a memorandum of understanding. The three ‘legal’ Livery Company Masters attended and signed the document – The City Solicitors, the Arbitrators, and the Scriveners.

Members may know that there are numerous Livery Groups formed for mutual interest; our own Leathery Group, the Financial Services Group (FSG), the Wet 10, the Wood Group, Food, Metals, and Textiles to name a few. This list of trade groups now has a new member.

The re-issue of the Magna Carta established a foundational reaffirmation of liberty, due process and the rule of law. The speaker on the evening was none other than the Attorney General of England and Wales in the serving government, the Rt Hon The Lord Hermer. His theme was ‘Business and Human Rights’. Lord Hermer spoke about the vital role of the rule of law as an engine for growth and prosperity. It allows businesses to invest with confidence knowing that contractual obligations will be defended and that a degree of certainty and stability can be relied upon, attributes always sought by business. Other advantages flowing from the rule of law are an independent judiciary and human rights protection.

The incoming Sheriffs for 2025-2026, Alderman Robert-Hughes-Penney (Cheap) and Deputy Keith Bottomley (Bridge & Bridge Without), were installed on 26th September, and plan to continue a new series of events at the Old Bailey. These events will promote the importance of the English rule of law to businesses, schools, diplomats, charities, the City Livery, and leading arts figures.