Betty Behn Lifetime Achievement Award

On Friday 6th August Liverpool Law Society presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Betty Behn, only the second such award presented in the Society’s 183 year history.

Betty Behn was one of the first women solicitors in Liverpool, qualifying into the firm of John A. Behn, Twyford & Reece in 1941. She was taken into the partnership a year later, developing a specialism in personal injury claims and probate work, as well as a formidable reputation. She finally retired as a partner in the firm in 1997, at the age of 80. Even after that, she continued to work for several more years.

Friends and family, former colleagues, committee members and past presidents of Liverpool Law society, as well as many professionals who had worked with Betty during her long life in practice, gathered at Betty’s home, a nursing home in Blundellsands, for the occasion. The award was presented by the current president of Liverpool Law Society, Richard Paton of Hill Dickinson LLP, who spoke in tribute to Betty as a pioneer of women in the law and of her major contribution to Liverpool’s Legal history. The Society’s Vice President, Norman Jones, spoke fondly of his own experience of knowing Betty in practice, as a valued mentor and source of guidance, despite not working for the same firm.

On an emotional day for Betty and her former colleagues, Betty had wanted to share the occasion with those whom she had worked with during her years in practice. Betty felt that the award was a tribute to all those colleague, experts and barristers she had worked with over the years, as she had always viewed her work as a team effort.