Natalie Sutherland, partner at Burgess Mee Family Law, has been named Woman of the Year at the inaugural Women and Diversity in Law Awards.
Hosted by The Global Legal Post, the awards “recognise – and celebrate – the achievements of the people, teams and businesses helping to make the UK legal sector more diverse and inclusive.”
The ceremony was held on Tuesday night at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square in London.
Natalie, who heads Burgess Mee’s Modern Families department, was commended for “exceptional personal leadership working on a range of fertility campaigns” by the judging panel. She was appointed the firm’s – and the UK’s – first fertility officer in September 2021, and was instrumental in securing Burgess Mee’s accreditation as Fertility Matters At Work’s first fertility friendly employer last year, which included putting all partners and staff through specialist training to better support colleagues facing fertility issues.
Not only has Natalie supported those facing fertility struggles at Burgess Mee, she has also assumed a leadership role on fertility in the workplace: sharing her own fertility journey to give the issue the publicity it deserves; seeking to change how fertility issues are experienced in the legal sector and beyond; and working with fertility groups and politicians to campaign for legally enshrined rights.
In/Fertility in the City, a movement designed to open up the conversation around fertility in the workplace and encourage organisations to improve working cultures, which Natalie leads with Somaya Ouazzani of Mimoza Fleur and fertility at work coach, Emma Menzies, also won an award – in the Age and Life Stage Initiative of the Year category.
Antonia Mee, partner and co-founder of Burgess Mee, said: “On behalf of everyone at the firm, we’d like to congratulate Natalie on her awards win, which is hugely deserved. Since taking on the role of fertility officer, Natalie has worked tirelessly and selflessly to improve the way fertility issues are experienced at work – not just at Burgess Mee, but in the legal sector and beyond.”
Natalie added: “It’s an honour to receive these awards in recognition of the work that Burgess Mee, In/Fertility in the City and I are doing to raise awareness of fertility issues in the workplace. I’m particularly proud that our work is helping to create a culture change, which I hope will benefit many people.”