Editorial Board

Ida Abbott

Ida Abbott has been advising professional service firms, professional associations and corporations about developing, managing and retaining talent since 1995. With more than 30 years of experience as a lawyer and consultant, Ida is an internationally recognized leader in the fields of mentoring and professional development, and has been in the forefront of efforts to advance women in the legal profession.

Ida is a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management, Director of the University of California Hastings Leadership Academy for Women, a leadership development program for women law firm partners, and Director of the Professional Development Roundtable for Global Law Firms.

Ida serves on the Advisory Boards of LawyerPrep and the Women in Law Empowerment Forum. She has authored numerous books and articles, been a columnist for Diversity & The Bar Magazine ®, and publishes a newsletter, Management Solutions©, which can be seen on her website.

Ida Abbott Consulting
Claire Gilman

Claire Gillman is an experienced journalist, writer and broadcaster. She contributes to many leading women's magazines and national newspapers, specialising in health, parenting and travel. In the past, she was the editor of a number of consumer and specialist women’s magazines including Health & Fitness magazine and Girl About Town.

Claire's first book, 'PARA: Inside The Parachute Regiment', was published by Bloomsbury in May 1993. Since then she has published a further seven adult health and parenting books, the most recent being Cope with Infertility for Hodder in association with This Morning TV.

She has also written eight children’s books, some under the pen-name of Rory Storm. Her latest book entitled ‘The Curious Girl’s Book of Adventure,’ was published by Elwin Street in March 2008.

Claire is married with two adolescent sons and lives on the edge of the West Pennines with her family.

Marilynne Miles Gray

Marilynne Miles Gray brings with her a varied background of teaching at the university and public school level. Her work has been primarily with immigrants to Canada. She holds 3 university degrees plus teaching certification in two provinces in Canada with specialization in English literature (Hons.), English as a Second Language, Curriculum Design and Educational Administration.

She left academia to co-found Mentoring Solutions Inc. One of her roles has been to help design and deliver mentoring, skills-coaching, and knowledge transfer programs typically for career professionals. An adjunct role has been designing those materials and field testing them in corporations, government agencies, educational institutions and non-profits in Canada, the USA, Australia, and Asia.
 
The company she co-founded currently has some 42 copyrights and the programs have won a number of awards. She began her software development journey in 1997 and sees further copyrights and potential patents in her company's future. Currently her firm is working on version 5 of its second web-based collaboration software.
 
Since 1986, she has edited and produced MentorInk Newsletter -- the world's longest-running such publication for subscribers around the world who are interested in the all-encompassing subject of mentoring. As well, she has conducted global surveys in her field and written a number of White Papers and case studies covering topics such as: expertise, program design, diversity, and executive development, to name some of the topics she has dealt with.

Marilynne maintains a strong, research-based  interest in: creativity / innovation, sustainability of HR programs, and organizational capacity-building. As well, for years, she has had a keen interest in the development of women-owned businesses and entrepreneurship.

On a personal level, she is a Director for her local Community Arts Council and has been recently nominated to act as the focal point for mentoring in British  Columbia for the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (Women in Technology division).

Rocky Gupta

Rocky Gupta is a corporate, commercial and Tax lawyer. Over the last 14 years he has advised some of the world’s leading real estate companies and banks. Over the last five years, he has acquired significant technical and operational experience in the field of outsourced legal services and remote processing.

Rocky is pro-active in social activities and is using his legal background to provide legal education, knowledge and training to the sections of the society in need of legal know-how. In this endeavour he has devised and conducted workshops on the rights of women at their work place and their rights in general. Rocky is associated with Bharat Sewak Samaj, one of the biggest NGO in Inda as its Joint Secretary. Rocky has advised and worked with United Schools Organisation and Coordinating Committee of International Voluntary Service (C.C.I.V.S.), UNESCO, Paris.

He is actively engaged in issues of wealth management for women and offers advice and training with Dr Linda Spedding and, together with Colin Chapman, he is assisting in the positive promotion of wills for women: www.wills4women.co.uk

Paramjit Mahli

Paramjit Mahli is responsible for directing and overseeing the marketing and business development of Sun Communications Group. She brings with her a broad range of experience spanning three countries: England, Canada and the United States. Her area of expertise encompasses a wide range of experience including teaching journalism and public relations.

Paramjit is a former award winning journalist who has worked with international news organizations including CNN Business News, and now helps small to mid-sized law firms increase their visibility, build their reputation and helps them grow their business by using public relations.
 

The Sun Communication Group
Jim Melton Bradley

Jim Melton Bradley originally qualified and worked as a secondary school teacher, but has been a Civil Servant since 1983.  He spent seven years at the Treasury Solicitor’s Office, the government’s civil lawyer, where he worked on both land and probate issues, specialising in conveyancing and bona vacantia.  During this time he gained an honours degree in English Law from the University  of Westminster. He joined the Charity Commission in 1990 since when he has worked in the full range of the Commission’s registration, charity support, advice and guidance work. He is also an experienced trainer, having been involved with the legal/technical development, not only his colleagues, but also of hundreds of trustees and other stakeholders working in the charitable sector. In addition he has twice represented the Commission overseas in its International Programme, and for two years led the Commission’s Faiths Project, which itself led to the establishment of its Faith and Social Cohesion Unit.

In his personal capacity, Jim is Visiting Lecturer in Charity Law at the University of Gloucestershire, where he is currently specialising in the new developments in Charities and Public Benefit.

His interests include running, cycling, and Jane Austen.  However, his real passion is music – everything from the baroque to the blues, from Gregorian Chant to Captain Beefheart.

Ramni Taneja

Ramni Taneja is an Advocate practising in the Supreme Court of India, the High Court of Delhi as well as other courts and forums in Delhi and in India. She has her own law firm, Law Office of Ramni Taneja, in New Delhi, India, which handles corporate transactional work and litigation.

Born in New Delhi and educated in Mumbai and in London where she studied in Grey Coat Hospital, London, United Kingdom, completing her school education in 1973-1974, [University of London, GCE Ordinary and Advanced Levels], Ramni Taneja also obtained her BA Honours degree [First Class Honours] from Elphinstone College, University of Bombay in 1977 in English Literature [Honours] and French Literature [Subsidiary] and an LLB Degree [First Class] from Government Law College, University of Bombay, in 1980. She was admitted as an Advocate on 17th October 1980, by the Bar Council of Maharashtra; subsequently transferred to the Bar Council of Delhi on 20th October 1997. She was also admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales on 3rd March 1997. She is also a Notary, appointed by the Government of India on 19th July 1999. Trained in Mumbai between 1908 and 1982 at Little & Co., Advocates and Solicitors Mumbai, Ramni Taneja headed the branch office of Little & Co. in New Delhi between 2002 till 2006.

Her international legal experience has focused on the Middle East where she practised as a legal consultant, duly licensed to do so in Dubai, United Arab Emirates between 1982 till 1989 and from 1990 till 1997. She has written extensively for legal journals both in India and overseas.

Melinda Wallman

Melinda Wallman is a partner with global attorney search firm, Major, Lindsey & Africa. She is founder of the firm's London and Hong Kong offices and has responsibility for the firm’s international operations. Melinda specializes in senior level search and has particular expertise assisting organisations to expand internationally.

Melinda received her LL.B. from the University of New South Wales, Sydney in 1992 and her B.A. from the University of New South Wales in 1990, completing part of the degree on a DAAD scholarship at the Free University, Berlin. Prior to joining MLA in New York in 1999, Melinda practised corporate and technology law at Gilbert & Tobin, Sydney and completed a secondment at the Public Interest Law Clearing House, where she first developed an interest in alternative legal career opportunities. In 1997 Melinda relocated to London where she commenced her recruitment career with a major British consultancy, developing their cross-border UK-Australia business.

Melinda is an active member of the Legal Education and Professional Development Committee of the International Bar Association, an International Coordinator for her law school alumni association, a member of the Planning Committee for the American Bar Association - International Section, and a member of the editorial board of Women in Law. Melinda writes and speaks frequently on issues concerning cross-border search and the globalization of the legal profession.