Our Welsh Identity (Practicing in Law)

ESTHER IFAN – Cyfreithwraig / Solicitor

Wendy Hopkins Family Law Practice

Originally from Aberystwyth, I am a first language Welsh speaker and being Welsh is an extremely important part of my identity. I sat my Undergraduate exams in Welsh and wrote my dissertation in Welsh, however, I realised that in order to pursue a career in the area of Law that I wanted, a lot of my work would have to be in English and that has been quite difficult to accept at times.

However, I am grateful to Wendy Hopkins for being extremely receptive of any ideas I’ve had to promote the Welsh language within our firm and for ensuring that Welsh speaking clients know that they can choose a Welsh speaking solicitor to represent them should they wish. Therefore, whilst the majority of the correspondence and any Court documents we prepare are in English, primarily due the firms on the other side of our cases being English speaking and the lack of Welsh Judges in the Family Court, I am able to advise my clients in Welsh and that gives me great pride.

Also, as part of the JLD committee as a Welsh Officer, I had an opportunity to arrange a Welsh event for junior lawyers in the Cardiff and South East Wales area which was a very successful sold out event. Therefore, if you are a junior lawyer and have a passion for the Welsh language, you are a learner, a fluent Welsh speaker or just generally intrigued by the idea of practicing Law in Welsh, keep an eye out for our next event – we would love to see you!

HELEDD AINSWORTH – Cyfreithwraig dan Hyfforddiant / Trainee Solicitor

Darwin Gray LLP

As a fluent Welsh speaker, being able to live and work through the medium of Welsh has always been important to me. I was privileged to receive the vast majority of my pre-university education through the medium of Welsh.  I studied my undergraduate degree (Law and Welsh LLP) entirely bilingually at Cardiff University.  

I am currently a trainee solicitor at Darwin Gray LLP, due to qualify into the Employment Team in December 2024. A fair number of national agencies function completely through the medium of Welsh, for example Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol (Welsh medium Federal University) and the Welsh Language Commissioner. These agencies amongst others would obviously expect legal services, like most other services, to be provided through the medium of Welsh where possible. At Darwin Gray, we are proud to be in partnership with a number of such national agencies. In addition to some organisations requiring mainly Welsh legal support, a number of other organisations and individuals prefer to conduct their dealings through the medium of Welsh. This is particularly true within Employment law, where individuals may require advice or assistance in drafting employment conditions. At Darwin Gray, I am fortunate to be able to conduct a substantial amount of my professional life working through the medium of Welsh, including drafting claim forms entirely in Welsh. In my experience, such demand is on the increase and this is likely to continue in the future in view of government legislation and stated desire to increase the use of the Welsh language.

During my term of office as Welsh Officer, I arranged a successful Welsh Event with my fellow Welsh Officers, and will hopefully be arranging more similar events in the future – watch this space!