Melanie Carter

Melanie is a senior partner at London law firm Bates Wells and leads its’ Public & Regulatory department. She has been active around issues affecting women all of her life, being formerly involved as a volunteer or trustee with Rape Crisis, Womens Aid, Rights of Women and more recently B-eat (the eating disorders charity).She has specialised in public law and information law for over 25 years, in a career that has taken her originally from the third sector to the public sector (Home Office, Treasury Solicitors Department, Commission for Racial Equality), eventually to the private sector where she has remained since 1998. The legal directories recognise Melanie as a leader not only for her expertise in public & administrative law, but also in local government, elections, professional regulation, and information law. She is a tribunal judge in the First Tier (Information Rights) Tribunal, is an international adjudicator on sustainability of fisheries and is a national leader on public sector audit work for local government and NHS trusts. She is the founder of the Public Law Solicitors Association.

The Law Society and Bates Wells worked on the Practical Toolkit for Women, for women in the profession and in particular those with access to few support resources or groups. We hope this is practical resource helps groups be set up or gear up.