Julie Norris, Partner, Kingsley Napley LLP

Julie is a regulatory and investigations partner at Kingsley Napley LLP. She specialises in advising clients in the legal services sector on legal ethics, investigations and regulatory compliance. Julie’s recent experience ranges from advising firms in investigations arising out of counter inclusive behaviours and in SRA investigations concerning breaches of the money laundering regulations.
 
Julie is ranked as Band 1 in Chambers & Partners Guide to the UK Legal Profession. She is listed in the Hall of Fame in the Legal 500.
 
Julie is a recognised expert in her field and regularly speaks at industry events, including for The Law Society and the International Bar Association. She is a Contributing Editor and Consultation Board member for Thomson Reuters Practical Law Practice Compliance & Management and the Treasurer of the Alternative and New Law Business Structures Committee of the IBA.

Emma Williams, Director of European Risk & Compliance, Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett LLP

A City-trained litigator with various stints on in-house client secondments and in professional education, Emma has found her calling in the world of risk and compliance, particularly in the context of US law firms, where she has spent most of the last decade. With a passion and enthusiasm from professional ethics to AML, financial crime to data privacy, and everything in between, she believes it is all our business to get it right.  Emma is a proud member of the Law Society’s Money Laundering Taskforce and will speak at length on AML if given the chance!
 
In her “spare time”, Emma is a certified mindfulness coach and has a particular interest in wellbeing in the legal profession and a trustee of LawCare.

James Graham, Managing Director - Professional Indemnity, Bond & Specialty Europe, Travelers UK

James Graham is an expert in professional indemnity insurance for the UK legal sector having worked in a small national and large international broking house and has spent the last 2 and half years in an underwriting role, representing Sole Practitioners up to and including the international law firms.
 
James' expertise is focused on identifying where the risks are greatest in the legal sector, understanding how to minimise these risks, and ensuring that Travelers PI insurance products provide comprehensive solutions in a competitive market. James is responsible for Travelers SME Solicitors portfolio which includes Sole Practitioners, Freelancers, Non- Reserved Legal Activity Practitioners and everything in between up to the larger National firms. James joined the insurance market in 2008 and has more than 10 years’ experience in tailoring value propositions to law firms.

Sharon Glynn, Director - Professional Indemnity, Bond & Specialty Europe, Travelers UK

Sharon is a qualified solicitor and in 2007 joined Travelers’ FPS claims department, as it was called then, from private practice. Sharon was promoted into the role of Senior Claim Professional in 2016 and in 2018, joined the Bond & Specialty underwriting team as Senior Development Underwriter with responsibility for the Platinum Solicitor’s book. In 2022, Sharon was promoted into the role of Director, Underwriter, maintaining responsibility for the Platinum Solicitor’s book.  

Sharon is chair of the Women and Allies Diversity Network for Travelers Europe and also sits on the committee of the Gender Insurance Network.  

Tom Filby, Partner at Mills & Reeve 

Tom is an insurance and commercial disputes lawyer advising on corporate civil liability, commercial crime & fidelity, cyber, directors & officers and professional indemnity. Often with international focus he routinely works alongside our network of best friend firms worldwide. On Tom’s corporate risk matters relating to fraud, clients benefit from his award-nominated schemes in respect of asset preservation and recovery.
 
The breadth of Tom’s practice is a product of his reputation for thinking differently about complex cases and situations, whatever the subject matter; from creating leading-edge law on disclosure against the police, to a legal first in serving injunctions by Facebook overseas, and, most recently, success before foreign courts in the tracing and preservation of stolen Bitcoin.
 

Alisha Alinia, Partner & COO at Pogust Goodhead

Alicia is an exceptional business leader and lawyer with extensive experience of delivery focused on strategy and growth. She started her career as a lawyer having been involved in many high-profile cases representing institutional and individual clients.

At Slater & Gordon, having displayed considerable talent as a litigator Alicia was promoted to senior management taking on the role of Chief People Office and Managing Director, Consumer Legal Services, leading the business’s overall strategic direction and operational management. In 2022 Alicia moved to Pogust Goodhead as Global Chief Operating Officer.

An already accomplished law firm leader, she now provides strategic leadership across the firm with a specific specialism in transformation and change, culture change, performance improvement, restructuring and turnaround.

Alicia, a brilliant networker, maintains relationships with a number of key stakeholders across many different sectors. She pioneers the public campaigning work that the firm does on air pollution and emissions cases as a result of the Dieselgate scandal. She is an experienced public speaker and media commentator across TV, local and international news. Recently, Alicia launched a human rights initiative in the House of Commons that will work to counter abuses of the Iranian regime that has consistently abused women’s rights.

Felix Zimmermann, Partner at Simmons & Simmons

Felix is a partner in the firm’s Insurance and Construction group and is based in London, with three main strands to his insurance market practice. First, he has 20 years’ experience of advising on defending claims made against professionals (including solicitors, brokers, financial advisers and construction professionals) and directors and officers, usually with the support of their professional indemnity/ FI/commercial D&O policies and insurers.

Secondly, Felix regularly advises on coverage issue and disputes arising out of PI policies (e.g. on post-Grenfell claims) and on management liability/D&O policies, FI/Bankers Blanket Bond, Warranty & Indemnity Policies, Tax Liability, Political Risk and Trade Credit, cyber policies and aviation policies. Having acted for one of the defendant insurers in the FCA Business Interruption Test Case, Felix also has extensive experience of property and Business Interruption insurance. Finally, Felix is increasingly called upon to advise insurers on the drafting of insurance policies in these classes of business