User:Vigilem/sandbox/I. Stephanie Boyce

Ingrid Stephanie Boyce (born 1972), known professionally as I. Stephanie Boyce, is a British solicitor (admitted in England & Wales), a fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute, formerly the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) and an inspirational speaker. Boyce is professionally known as I. Stephanie Boyce due to a dislike of her first name, Ingrid which is abbreviated to I.

Boyce is best known for her role with the Law Society of England and Wales (officially the Law Society), the professional association that represents and governs solicitors for the jurisdiction of England and Wales. It provides services and support to practising and training solicitors, as well as serving as a forum for law reform.

Boyce is the Law Society’s first elected black office holder. Boyce became Deputy Vice President of the Law Society in July 2019. The Law Society has three elected office holders: the president, vice president and deputy vice president who each hold office for one year.

Each year the Council elects the deputy vice president; the previous year's deputy vice president becomes the vice president and the vice president becomes president. The handover takes place at the annual general meeting in July each year. The office holders are the Law Society’s main ambassadors and represent the organisation at home and abroad.

Boyce will serve as Law Society President in 2021-2022 and will become the Law Society’s first ethnic minority President since the Law Society was founded in 1825.

Early life and education
Boyce was born at the Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital in Aylesbury, in 1972. She is the daughter of Melvin Boyce, a Barbadian born security officer, and Pamesta Boyce, a Vincentian born cleaner. Boyce grew up in Aylesbury until her mother’s remarriage where she emigrated to the United States of America with her mother in 1985. Boyce was educated at St Mary’s Church of England school moving on to Bearbrook Middle School and on to The Grange Secondary school in Aylesbury. Graduating from Norristown High School in 1991.

From 1996-1999, Boyce studied at London Guildhall University, where she resided in Mile End, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws with Politics (Hons). Boyce completed the Legal Practice Course from 1999-2000 at the College of Law, Guildford. From 2008-2010, Boyce studied at King’s College, London graduating with a Master of Laws in Public Law and Global Governance (Merit) whilst working at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the global body for professional accountants.

Legal Career
Boyce was admitted as a solicitor in 2002 with Horwood and James solicitors, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Boyce took up her first post qualification role in the litigation department of Winters Solicitors in Huntington, Cambridgeshire in November 2002. Boyce subsequently joined Conway & Company solicitors in 2003. Having been made redundant twice in as many years Boyce moved in-house in 2004 becoming solicitor to the then lay Complaints Commissioner of the General Council of the Bar, Major-General Michael Scott.

Since qualifying, Boyce has spent most of her career working in complex environments with a particular expertise in overhauling governance arrangements. Career experiences have included central and local government appointments and professional regulation. In 2005-2006 Boyce undertook a series of locum roles eventually taking up post as Senior Investigations Officer with Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Professional Standards Department in 2007. Within six months of joining ACCA, Boyce was promoted to Committee Manager and Clerk to the Disciplinary and Regulatory Committees. Whilst at ACCA, Boyce studied part time for a Master of Laws degree at Kings College London.

After five years with ACCA, Boyce went on to complete a number of assignments for the Pensions Regulator in Brighton and the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) in London. Whilst at Ofsted, Boyce was headhunted to join the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) where she became its Director of Legal Services. Following a restructure at CIArb, Boyce's title changed to Director of Corporate Affairs. In her most recent roles, as General Counsel and Company Secretary Boyce delivered strategic change in complex environments, bringing clarity to strategic planning and delivering improved legal services in challenging financial circumstances.

City of Westminster and Holborn Law Society
Boyce is the past honorary secretary of the City of Westminster and Holborn Law Society (2010-2012) now titled Westminster and Holborn Law Society.

Law Society Council Member
In 2013 Boyce became a Council member of the Law Society representing the newly created Women Lawyers Division.

In 2015 Boyce made her first attempt as a candidate for Deputy Vice President of the Law Society, she would become successful upon her fourth attempt in 2019, having enlisted the help of lead campaign manager, and fellow Law Society council member Alan East, the Coventry University law school academic and chair of the Law Society's Education and Training Committee.

Boyce is a non-executive director of the Law Society of England and Wales as a Council member representing Women Lawyers. Boyce is a former member of its Regulatory Affairs Board, as well as former Chair of its Conduct Committee. During Boyce’ tenure as chair of the Conduct Committee she introduced a number of radical reforms to the Law Society’s complaints process and bye-laws.

Other Appointments
Boyce is a solicitor adjudicator member of the Joint Tribunal Service, Chair of the Independent Education Appeal Panel, Chair of the Independent Review Panel, and the Independent Person of the Standards Committee for Buckinghamshire County Council.

Law Society Deputy Vice Presidency (2019–2020)
The inauguration of I. Stephanie Boyce as the 178th Deputy Vice President took place on July 4, 2019 at the Law Society’s headquarters in Chancery Lane, London. Boyce is set to become the Society’s 177th President, the sixth female President and the first ethnic minority President.

Boyce has set out her priority areas she will focus on during her time in office, cited below. Boyce has said she will continue with the positive narrative of the value of solicitors and promoting the legal profession. Boyce will seek to build constructive and trusting working relationships and will focus the efforts of the Presidency on the following areas:


 * Social mobility and addressing the barriers to entry, which is automatically stacked against those from a non-traditional background.
 * Mental health and wellbeing in the legal sector is a growing concern. We will work together to ensure good mental health and wellbeing is valued.
 * The Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) – the new way in which we train and qualify solicitors is due to go live during my year as president (2021). While some people believe it will remove artificial barriers to qualification, there’s still a lot of detail we don’t know about it. The Law Society is working closely with the SRA and others to ensure the profession is kept up to date with developments as well as representing the views of members.
 * The environment – law firms don’t necessarily think it affects them, but of course, it affects all of us. I want to look at what advice the Law Society can be giving to law firms and organisations on the impact of our carbon footprint as a profession.
 * Access to justice – I am passionate about the fact that legal rights mean nothing if you’re not able to access or enforce them. Being able to access these rights should not be dependent on your wealth or ability to self-fund in a civil society such as ours.
 * In-house – the fastest growing sector in our profession. I am the first in-house office-holder in almost 50 years, which provides an opportunity to highlight this area of our profession.
 * Global governance and the rule of law – to continue our work to assist government nationally and globally in building a sustainable, secure, prosperous and just world. I also believe that law should be regularly taught in schools to enable individuals to better understand and promote the rule of law.

Personal Life
Boyce is unmarried and has no children. Boyce’s mother Pamesta (born 1952), was raised in St Vincent and the Grenadines emigrating to the UK in 1967. Boyce's father Melvin (born 1947), a Barbadian who emigrated to the UK in 1964. Boyce parents divorced when she was four years old. Boyces’ brother is Emmerson Boyce the former Premier League professional footballer who in May 2013 captained Wigan to win the FA Cup over Manchester City.

Books
Boyce has featured in a number of books, Career Management for Lawyers: Practical Strategies to Plan your Next Chapter and First 100 Years of Women in Law.