Founder Erica Bedford announces Woman of Impact Award for costs industry
The third annual Women in Costs networking brunch ran last Friday in Manchester, with around 140 people packing out the room at the Edwardian Hotel.
The aim of the event is to showcase inspirational women discussing issues affecting everyday working lives for those in the costs world. It was sponsored by the ACL, along with law firms Fletchers and Irwin Mitchell, with Kings Chambers organising the day.
Founder Erica Bedford, a costs barrister at Kings Chambers as well as a deputy costs judge (and district judge), also had two announcements: the launch of the Women in Costs website, and creation of a Woman of Impact Award.
Sponsored by Kings Chambers, this will celebrate a standout professional in the costs industry “who exemplifies the core values of Women in Costs: authentic leadership, courageous empowerment, and empathetic support”. Applications will be open from September and the winner announced at next year’s brunch.
She also revealed that Vikki Weinrich-Cooke, an associate Cost Lawyer and head of the Leeds office of MRN Solicitors, had joined the Women in Costs team to head the mentoring programme. She has since doubled the mentoring intake and developed a more structured programme “to maximise peer support alongside bi-monthly training sessions to actively develop soft skills”. The other member of the team is vice-chair Sharn Khaira, an associate Costs Lawyer at Irwin Mitchell.
Women in Costs has also delivered a series of standalone talks from Rebecca Bidwell, co-founder of Bidwell Henderson, the costs firm bought in 2021 by Frenkel Topping Group, and now the group’s director of strategy and implementation.
The theme of this year’s brunch was ‘courage in authenticity’ and began with keynote speaker solicitor Zoe Holland, chief commercial officer at personal injury giant Fletchers. She spoke about the small charity she set up from home during Covid, Silk Elephant, delivering ‘simple acts of loving kindness’ to vulnerable people and bereaved families all over the world.
More than 110,000 handmade gifts were sent to people across the UK, Europe and US, created by 600 volunteer ‘makers’ and with the help of ‘kindness ambassadors’ who built the distribution network.
Ms Holland, also vice-chair of the SBA – the Solicitors’ Charity and a parent ambassador for Young Minds, was awarded an MBE in 2023.
She spoke about “the power of women’s community” and how “the best leadership I have experienced comes from those who are truly energised by what they are doing – seniority or a fancy title don’t mean anything”.
She was followed by Dr Anna Colton, a clinical psychologist who also spoke at last October’s ACL London conference, who talked about the importance of feedback to professional growth.
She detailed how there was an automatic, “primal” response to potential criticism in the form of “fight, flight, freeze, fawn or flop”, but urged people to “take a pause so you can reframe your thoughts”. Realise, for example, that “I’ve no indication the feedback is going to be bad”, or “If it is negative, I’ll cope”.
Lawyers needed to embrace a “growth mindset”, acknowledging that “this is how I learn and improve”. They then needed to commit to implementing the changes the feedback indicated, breaking it down into “small, manageable and measurable steps” – unless they really disagreed, in which case “you have to have a conversation”.
As to how to give good feedback, Dr Colton said it should be done “frequently and with planning” and kept specific. Negative feedback should be given as soon as possible – do not raise it six months later.
Feedback must be work focused and not personal (for example, “You’re such a woolly thinker”), and look to the future. It should also balance positive and negative comments. “You do need the positive,” she said. “It helps us feel valued and that we have a purpose.” But avoid layering negative feedback in the middle of positive feedback – “it is confusing and feels disingenuous”.
Finally, you should “be clear in your expectations” and give “actionable improvement recommendations”.
Each year, Women in Costs names a ‘Rising Star’ and she was introduced by last year’s, Emma Hughes, a senior associate in the costs team at Eversheds Sutherland, who described how the award “has given me the courage to speak louder”. She has spoken at big events run by her firm and had women from around the world approaching her as a result. She now mentors other women in costs, as well as A-level students.
This year’s Rising Star was Billie Spooner, a 24-year-old costs technical analyst at Irwin Mitchell, who outlined how she had risen above the expectations of her school and looked at the dangers of imposter syndrome. “Remember – you are where you are because you deserve to be,” she declared.
The final part of the day saw Ms Bedford interview this year’s Inspirational Leader: Stephanie Kaye, a partner at Leeds firm Clarion and the only woman to be listed in the costs section of the Chambers & Partners directory (a section that only came about due to ACL lobbying, it is worth remembering).
Ms Kaye stressed the importance of the team around her, including the support she has received from Clarion’s head of costs, Costs Lawyer Andrew McAulay. She recalled how her coach said it was clear she believed the people around her wanted her to succeed: “It’s a massive part of how I’ve been able to get to where I am now.”
Ms Bedford said she knew “plenty of women” who could be in Chambers, saying how she kept “a folder of nice things people have said about me”, which she reads when she’s feeling down but also helped with submissions to the likes of Chambers.
Ms Kaye highlighted the importance of building a personal brand and “authentic” connections with colleagues and clients.
ACL Council member Victoria Morrison-Hughes was among those at the brunch. She said: “As a woman who has practised in costs for many years, it is only through events such as Women in Costs that you realise the many challenges that women face throughout their career, which ordinarily I would have swept under the carpet for fear of being deemed ‘oversensitive’ or ‘making a fuss’.
“I have left all three events actually feeling empowered by the fact that perhaps I am oversensitive, perhaps I am making a fuss but it is those feelings that give us the skills to be, and continue to aspire to be, leaders in our field.
“Having spoken to another professional female colleague who told me that it is though Women in Costs that she feels able to celebrate and champion the nurturing side of her character – which, thankfully, her employers are also keen to support – this is a feeling clearly shared throughout our female community.”
Ms Bedford told Costs Lawyer: “I am absolutely thrilled that the Women in Costs community continues to grow and develop. The WIC 2025 conference was once again a sell-out event, showing that there is real appetite within the industry to create a supportive community which wants to celebrate our successes and empower others.
“In particular, there was great support in the room for both our Rising Star Billie Spooner, who spoke eloquently on imposter syndrome, and for our Inspirational Leader, Stephanie Kaye, who inspired us all with her passion for the importance of building an authentic personal brand.
“WIC has really grown and developed its community in the last year, particularly in respect of the mentoring scheme, which now has in excess of 40 people on it with more seeking to join following the conference last week.”