Judges

Aneeka Muneer Sarwar is vice president of the Lawyers in Local Government (LLG) and joined the board as membership director in 2020.

Aneeka is also deputy national prosecution lead for LLG and has worked as a magistrate’s court advocate for more than 17 years, practising in local government regulatory prosecutions/enforcements.

Her current role is deputy monitoring officer and head of litigation at Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council. Aneeka is responsible for the legal teams in adult social care, childcare, education, employment and criminal/civil litigation.

Chloe is the current President of the Sheffield Junior Lawyers Division and a trainee solicitor at Taylor Emmet Solicitors.

Chloe will qualify as a Family Solicitor in October 2024 working in private children law, domestic abuse and financial settlement. She will also sit on the Sheffield Law Society next generation sub-committee for the coming year and is one of the key organisers of the Sheffield Legal Walk, in aid of the Access to Justice Foundation. Chloe has a master’s degree in International Human Rights Law from the University of York and has worked on a number of published papers, including those prepared for 350.org and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders.

Chloe is a keen fell runner, enjoys yoga and has an ever-growing collection of house-plants.

Danielle is the chair of Leeds Junior Lawyers Division and a family solicitor at Brabners in Leeds.

After practicing in Leeds as a commercial property solicitor for more than forty years David is now retired from practice.

In addition to his involvement with Leeds Law Society being a Director and a Past President, David is a Law Society Council Member representing Yorkshire, Immediate Past President of the Yorkshire Union of Law Societies, Chair of the Access to Justice Foundation Yorkshire and Honorary President of the Yorkshire Pro Bono Committee.

David is also the Under Sheriff of West Yorkshire and a Trustee of the Royal Yorkshire Regiment.

Denney Lau is the president of Sheffield & District Law Society.

Denney is an associate solicitor and higher courts advocate at criminal defence specialist firm VHS Fletchers Solicitors. He defends clients at police stations, magistrates’ court and crown courts. 

Denney was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to the UK in 1992 with his immediate family. 

Unfortunately, he was subjected to racism and bullying. Coupled with the fact that he had limited understanding of English at the time, he knew only too well to be wrongly accused and without a voice to defend himself. It was then that he decided to become a criminal defence solicitor to provide people with a voice and defend them. 

Denney qualified as a solicitor in 2007 and gained his higher rights in 2019.  

Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family and running distances of 5km right up to 135km ultra marathons. 

Eleanor serves as the Chair of the NECCBA and the Co-Chair of the Yorkshire Pro Bono Committee. Additionally, she regularly sits as a Recorder for both the North Eastern and Northern Circuits and as a Deputy District Judge on the North Eastern Circuit.

Emma Pearmaine is managing director of Ridley and Hall Solicitors, with 4 offices across West and South Yorkshire.  

Emma is a winner of the Yorkshire Legal Awards Managing Partner of the Year Award 2020. 

Emma is also vice president of the Yorkshire Union of Law Societies, past president of Leeds Law Society and member of their executive committee. 

Emma is married and is the very proud mother of 2 ‘grown up’ sons. In her spare time, she loves to be with her family and friends, she cooks up a storm in the kitchen, enjoys walking the dog in the countryside and loves curling up with a good book. 

Fariha Akhtar is the president of Bradford Law Society.

Holly is the Vice President of the Sheffield & District Junior Lawyers Division and has also represented the Sheffield JLD at a national level.

She’s also a trainee solicitor at BRM in the firm’s Corporate department, having already completed 8 months in the firm’s Commercial Litigation Team.

Holly completed her LPC in June this year, undertaking the course whilst working part time with BRM. Holly hopes to qualify into BRM’s Commercial Litigation team in October 2025.

James Staton has been a litigation lawyer since November 1982.

After articles at what is now Lupton Fawcett James joined the litigation team at Booth & Co, now Addleshaw Goddard, on qualification.  He joined Wright & Wright (now Gordons) in 1985 becoming a partner in 1989.

He moved in 1997 to Ralph C Yablon and in 2001 joined Schofield Sweeney where he has been a partner and Head of Litigation ever since.

James has a wide litigation practice.  He was President of Bradford Law Society 2012 – 2014 and President of the Huddersfield & Dewsbury Law Society in 2020- 21.

He remains on the committees of both local law societies and since May 2024 has been President of the Yorkshire Union of Law Societies.

Jamie Humpheson is the current president of the Huddersfield & Dewsbury Law Society.

Jamie is an associate in the commercial property team at Eaton Smith Solicitors. He qualified in 2018 and now advises international charities and corporations amongst other clients on real estate matters.

Outside of work Jamie enjoys keeping fit and travelling, his most notable adventure was to Everest Base Camp.

Jason Pitter KC is the leader of the North Easter Circuit and practices from New Park Court Chambers, Leeds.  He is recognised in the fields of serious crime, professional misconduct and regulatory enforcement and compliance.  As such he routinely features in high profile cases attracting national attention.   

He is a recorder of the Crown Court, bencher at Gray’s Inn and sits on the Bar Council.  He is heavily involved in work surrounding access to justice, equity within the legal profession and community engagement. 

Sarah Khan-Bashir MBE is an award-winning solicitor with a career spanning over 25 years. As the founder of SKB Law, she has carved a niche in family law, specialising in the complexities of Islamic divorce and the legal nuances of Nikah-only marriages. Her expertise in these areas has not only made her a trusted authority for clients across the world, but also led her to feature in two documentaries on the topic, one by Channel 4 and a German documentary. During her career at the Office of the Force Solicitor for West Yorkshire Police, Sarah created a protocol to be followed by the courts and partner authorities in order to case manage civil applications brought by the police to the magistrates’ courts; the model has been adopted by several police forces. 

Beyond her individual legal practice, Sarah’s impact extends to national advocacy for the rights and protections of women. She is deeply involved in addressing the challenges faced by women in Nikah-only marriages, often characterised by a lack of legal protection. In 2023, she co-founded Aura Network for South Asian Women in Law, hosting a launch event at the House of Lords with legal professionals from across the UK. She is also the author of Understanding Your Rights: an essential guide to the Nikah Nama and host of Family Matters, a podcast exploring the issues, taboos and realities of divorce and separation in the South Asian community.  

She was named 2023 Yorkshire Lawyer of the Year, 2022 Modern Lawyer of the Year, and is Highly Commended by the Law Society of England & Wales. She is also the recipient of an Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Law. She was awarded an MBE in the 2014 Queen’s Birthday Honours List, recognising her work with Mosaic, a Prince’s Trust educational charity.   

Shanika is team leader partner at Stowe Family Law, where she specialises in complex child matters, private adoptions, domestic abuse cases and high net worth/complicated financial matters.  

Having joined Leeds Law Society in 2019, Shanika has focused on the family court, improving wellbeing in the profession and visibility of ethnically diverse role models in the sector. She assisted in organising and hosting the landmark Diversity and Inclusion Conference in 2020 and 2021.  

Shanika sits on the West Yorkshire Family Justice Board and acts as a liaison for the board and the Leeds Law Society membership to strengthen ties with the judiciary, court staff and family practitioners/professionals with a view to improving the experience of those working within and going through the Family court. She also regularly assists with arranging training events for practitioners presented by the judiciary.  

Shanika’s focus for her presidential year (June 2023 to May 2024) has been to “improve visibility of diverse role models in the profession, retain and increase diverse representation in the sector and promote Leeds as a centre of excellence”. She is the first ethnic minority practitioner to hold the prestigious office of president and is determined to make the most of her presidency.  

She won Rising Star of the Year at the Yorkshire Legal Awards 2020 and Family Law Associate of the Year at the National LexisNexis Awards in 2022. Therefore, she knows first-hand the importance of the Yorkshire Legal Awards. 

Wendy is the current president of the Harrogate & District Law Society, a partner at Hartlaw LLp, and Trustee of the local charity Horticap

Wendy has practised law in the Leeds/Harrogate area for over 3 decades, starting out dealing with Wills Trusts and Probate, now specialising in Property Law.

Outside of work Wendy is proud mum to 2 boys and has recently become a grandma