I spend a lot of time meeting and speaking with lawyers from around the world, in my role as International Development Partner at Mishcon de Reya. In pre-pandemic days, I would regularly have a coffee and chat with visiting lawyers a couple of times every day, in our famous client lounge area – if you've never visited, please do come and see us! And as the pandemic seemed to be going away, I was looking forward to again extending a warm Mishcon de Reya welcome to you all.
And then the unimaginable happened – lawyers, partners in law firms, who I have met in my office, or at lawyer conferences, were suddenly being bombed, and were becoming soldiers. I was emailing them a week before to say I hoped they were doing ok, and some of them were replying to tell me not to worry so much. And then the everyday lives of Ukrainians erupted, and the images and stories of refugees broadcast on our televisions and our social media feeds have become almost unbearable to watch. And as lawyers, I suspect we largely sit and watch, feeling a bit helpless. Mishcon de Reya has partnered with a number of leading organisations to create the Ukraine Justice Alliance.
Of course this edition of Mishcon & The World addresses the issue of sanctions. And perhaps we could have stopped with that. But the reality is that painful though it is to think of other things when people are being killed in wars, other things do go on. We have chosen a selection of articles covering a diverse range of activities, from International Women's Day to my colleagues attaining Gold Tier status in the latest World Trademark Review rankings, and the leading role of English law in driving global commerce. Perhaps most uplifting is a piece on youth engagement at COP26 – we have to hope for better times, without war, and with a sustainable approach to our planet.