The First 100 Years, a project charting and celebrating the journey of women in the legal profession, has launched its first crowdfunding initiative and aims to raise £100,000 in 60 days. The project is calling on anyone connected to the legal profession to give £100 or more to support the creation of a digital platform. The platform will be archived at the British Library and consist of 100 original stories featuring women who have shaped the legal profession since the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 paved the way for women to become lawyers. With nearly 180,000 lawyers practising in the UK, the project is hoping to reach its initial £100,000 target by November.

Donors sought

The project is the brainchild of Dana Denis-Smith, founder and CEO of Obelisk Support. She commented: 'It would take just 1,000 lawyers to give £100 each for us to reach our target. However, donations of any amount are welcome.'The project is inviting individual and corporate donations, with those giving £100 or more featuring on a digital list of donors at the British Library. Donors of £1,000 or more will become members of Club100, the project’s patron circle, and receive exclusive updates about the project as well as free invites to its events. Donations can be made online via crowdfunding site Indiegogo, where the project’s fundraising video can also be viewed.

Leading women in law

The £100,000 the project aims to raise by November will be used to commission and produce 100 films of leading women in law. Already signed up to be featured are: former High Court judge Dame Linda Dobbs; the director of Liberty, Shami Chakrabarti; June Venters QC; former Simmons & Simmons senior partner Dame Janet Gaymer and Rosemary Martin, general counsel at Vodafone. However, if the project is to realise its aim of creating 100 videos, it needs to generate new funds. The project has been funded to date by Obelisk Support.

Lonely place

Dana Denis-Smith says: 'Many women practising law up until recent times would have found themselves lonely in professional circles. This is not a long forgotten past, but the current journey of women in the legal profession today. We need these stories - both past and present - in order to understand what the future holds for women lawyers. I urge everyone in the profession to donate and help us chart women’s role in law and create a strong and lasting legacy for future generations.' The project also runs a series of events about women’s role in the profession. It will host its inaugural annual conference at Simmons & Simmons on 2 November, SPARK21, which will be chaired by BBC Radio 4’s Dame Jenni Murray. The keynote address will be given by Dame Stephanie Shirley (DBE), founder of a pioneering all female software company in the 1960s. Tickets are now on sale and discounts are available for academics and students.

Charting the journey

The First 100 Years is a ground-breaking project charting and celebrating the journey of women in the legal profession. Launched in 2014, the five-year project began with the aim of creating an online library of 100 stories about women who have shaped the legal profession from the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 to the present day. As support from all corners of the profession has grown, The First 100 Years has blossomed into a celebration of women’s role in the profession, with an extensive programme of activities and events planned in the run-up to the centenary of the Act in 2019. Its legacy will be a deep understanding of the past combined with a celebration of today, to ensure a strong, and equal, future for all women in the profession. For further information go to: The First 100 Years