(L-R): Awards host David Mitchell, Travers Smith's Margaret Chamberlain, City of London Law Society chairman Ed Sparrow

This year's recipient of the City of London Law Society (CLLS) Lifetime Achievement Award was Margaret Chamberlain, the founder of Travers Smith's financial services and markets department.

Chamberlain qualified at Travers in 1985 and became a partner in 1991; a role she played for 25 years before recently becoming a consultant. She started life as a corporate finance lawyer before moving into the emerging field of regulatory law post-'Big Bang'.

She led the team that advised the Bank of England on the establishment of the CREST settlement system, which now daily settles trades with a value in excess of £1trn. Other notable achievements during a period of unprecedented regulatory change include being a council member of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association for 18 years and the immediate past chairman of the CLLS's regulatory committee.

"There is much, much more to Margaret than her professional achievements," said CLLS chair Ed Sparrow, who presented the award. "Margaret is also a trustee of two charities, Parkinson's UK and Target Ovarian Cancer. At Oxford, she rowed and has a boat named after her. She still gives her 'handbag talk' to Travers' trainees, in which she focuses on the importance of good behaviour, integrity, common sense and the need for independent thought."

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