Karen Jackson
Managing Partner

The force behind didlaw is Karen Jackson, a solicitor and Notary Public. Karen graduated from University College London in 1989 with a First and worked in the City for Arthur Andersen, J P Morgan and finally at Union Bank of Switzerland as a futures broker. After 7 years of non-stop stress on the trading floor she graduated law school with a Distinction and trained as a solicitor at Mishcon de Reya in London. Karen then became Head of Legal UK and Eire for the cosmetics giant L'Oreal, where most of her work focussed on employment. Karen founded didlaw following successful heart transplantation surgery at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge in 2006. She is highly attuned to the issues around illness and disability in the workplace although her experience was more positive than most. She enjoys putting her technical and people skills to good use.

Karen says: “I'm passionate about didlaw. The best thing about my job is the satisfaction of helping people and businesses through difficult times. I like using my energy to manage tricky situations, which are really stressful and time consuming, achieving a positive outcome.”

Karen loves: long walks with her three dog pack, swimming, opera, baking and her Texan husband's fantastic food. She has appeared in The Guardian, Red and Prima magazines to talk about her experience of transplantation and also on the Charlie Crocker Show on BBC Radio Solent. For obvious reasons she is an ardent promoter of the Organ Donor Register.

Right now more than 10,000 people in the UK need
an organ transplant that could save or dramatically
improve their lives. But each year around 1,000
people die while waiting for a transplant.

Help us to give these people the chance for a new life.

To join the NHS Organ Donor Register and give the gift of life,
click here or call 0300 123 23 23.

Katie Phillips
Solicitor

Following a degree in Geography and Planning at Cardiff (2:1) Katie achieved commendations at the College of Law in Guildford for both the Graduate Diploma in Law and the Legal Practice Course. Katie trained as a solicitor at Blandy & Blandy in Reading and took an early interest in employment law during her training. "I love employment law as it affects so many people's daily lives – we spend more time with our work colleagues than with our loved ones". Prior to her training Katie trotted the globe and worked Down Under in Sydney for a couple of rather large law firms to fund her travels. She enjoys being pampered and spending a lot of time in the gym where she met her soon-to-be hubby Sean . Her ideal job would be to have a starring role in Sex and the City: she has a weakness for shoes (observed), handbags (observed) and champagne. In the meantime she's very happily ensconced at her desk drafting legal agreements.

Emily Yeardley
Trainee Solicitor

Emily graduated from the University of Portsmouth with a First in Law and Criminology and passed her LPC at the College of Law in Guildford with Distinction. Other accolades include being a former winner of the Able Child Competition for the county of Hampshire and winner of the Oxford University Press Law Prize for best dissertation. Emily is Hampshire born and bred which ranks her alongside Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. At the risk of her appearing to be a total swot we would like to point out that she is not a boffin at all. Emily loves to play badminton and has a creative bent: she has been known to make and sell her own jewellery. She's not afraid of scary things – she has quad biked and zorbed and she likes to cook. Her baking is apparently very scary. Her favourite hobbies are in fact boozing and socialising - she's very partial to a G&T.

Richard Southerden
Financial Controller

Richard was recruited to the officer programme of the RAF but decided instead to embark on a 30 year career with Lloyds Bank. His last role was managing personal banking for four branches in the Liphook and Haslemere area where he has lived with his wife Heidi for 22 years. Since retiring from banking Richard has acquired new skills in bookkeeping and accounts and more specifically Solicitors' Accounts. A former county/divisional level hockey player he's now into golf and skiing. Richard's motto is “Live life to the full”.

When he's not controlling finances, being Treasurer of his golf club and Assistant Treasurer for Transplant Sport UK, he and Heidi like to party and sit on white sandy beaches.