Helen Molyneux Explained

Helen Molyneux is a Welsh lawyer who founded and was the CEO of the UK personal injury law firm NewLaw Solicitors.

Life and career

Molyneux was born March 1965, in the Welsh town of Caerphilly. She studied law at Cardiff University and qualified as a solicitor in 1991.^[1]

On 24 April 2012 her firm Newlaw became the 1st Welsh and 4th overall practice to be licensed as an ABM by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.^[2] The idea originated when Molyneux met a gentleman on a London train who owned an insurance brokers firm and they talked about the insurance market; they then came up with the idea of creating a law firm that manages personal injury claims from insurance companies and brokers.^[3]

In 2013, Molyneux was named Law Society Business Women of the year for employing over 470 people in the UK, turning over £35m annually in work with leading consumer brands.^[4] Molyneux later sold the firm.^[5]

Legal awards and achievements

Date	Award Title	Awarding Body
2011	Best Women in Legal Business and Welsh Women of the year^[6]	Welsh Women Mean Business Awards 2011
2011	Lexcel Award for Excellence in Practice Management (Highly Commended)^[7]	The Law Society Excellence Awards 2011
2013	Law Society Business Women of the year
2014	Fellow/ Chairman	Institute of Welsh Affairs
2015	Honorary Doctorate of Laws^[8]	University of South Wales

Monumental Welsh Women

In 2016, Molyneux and four others came together to discuss the lack of statues in Wales dedicated to women; they then created the Monumental Welsh Women group with the aim of creating five statues around the country.^[9]

The first statue, of headteacher Betty Campbell, was unveiled in September 2021.^[10] Four more statues of Elaine Morgan, Elizabeth Andrews, Cranogwen and Lady Rhondda were to be created,^{[11] [12] [13]} and a theatre show was planned.^[14]

Women Angels of Wales

Molyneux is one of the founders of Women Angels of Wales, an angel investment group.

References

1. News: Trustees IWA. IWA. 2017-09-28. en-US.
2. News: Double ABS first for NewLaw Legal News Law Society Gazette. Law Society Gazette. 2017-09-28. en.
3. News: Molyneux takes Woman of the Year title at awards. WalesOnline. 2011-03-16. walesonline. 2017-09-28.
4. Web site: Legal Business Woman of the Year - The Law Society. www.lawsociety.org.uk. en. 2017-09-28.
5. https://ukbaa.org.uk/blog/2023/08/15/women-angels-unite-to-invest-in-women-in-wales/ UK Business Angels Association website, article dated August 15 2023
6. https://www.newlawjournal.co.uk/content/helen-molyneux-welsh-woman-year New Law Journal website, article dated March 31, 2011
7. Web site: Lexcel Award for Excellence in Practice Management 2011 - The Law Society. www.lawsociety.org.uk. en. 2017-09-28.
8. Web site: Helen Molyneux. www.southwales.ac.uk. en. 2017-09-28.
9. https://womeninpr.org.uk/events/women-in-pr-cymru-meets-monumental-welsh-women/ Women in PR website, Women in PR Cymru meets … Monumental Welsh Women event, April 26th 2022
10. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/sep/29/wales-honours-betty-campbell-first-black-headteacher Guardian Newspaper website, Wales Honours Betty Campbell first black headteacher, article by Stephen Morris dated September 29, 2021
11. https://monumentalwelshwomen.com/the-statues Monumental Welsh Women website, retrieved 2023-11-07
12. https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/statue-of-feminist-icon-elaine-morgan-to-be-unveiled-in-wales Morning Star Online website, Statue of Feminist Icon Elaine Morgan to be unveiled in Wales, article dated March 18, 2022
13. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-65867326 BBC website, Swashbuckling poet Cranogwen is third woman in Wales to get statue, article dated June 10, 2023
14. https://www.wales247.co.uk/new-theatre-production-to-showcase-the-history-of-monumental-welsh-women Wales 247 website, New theatre production to showcase the history of monumental Welsh women, article dated September 5, 2022