Lynne joined Richards Butler in 1997, was made partner in 2003 and equity partner in 2007.

Lynne started life as a construction litigator and took charge of the construction practice within the Real Estate Group growing it into a team of six. Partner, Andrew Jenkinson who had worked with Lynne for 18 years in the Real Estate Group spoke at the memorial service and shared some of his fondest memories of Lynne. He describes her as, “exuberant, witty, astute, loyal to a fault, sometimes thrill seeking, often rebellious, deeply caring and protective, generous and wonderful company and, of course, a very good lawyer.”

Lynne was famed for her personal touch. She had a unique way of personalising our profession and our business and reminding us of the human impact of everything we do. Lynne has had a huge impact on the direction of the firm and particularly our talent development efforts, displaying an accepting, caring, dedicating and nurturing approach to the development of our people which is an excellent example to us all.

After a short illness, Lynne passed away in 2015. To honour the great contribution made to the firm by Lynne, Reed Smith introduced ‘The Lynne Freeman Award for Talent Development’.  The Lynne Freeman Award is presented annually to anyone in the firm whose contribution best exemplifies the characteristics she embodied.

Lynne was also instrumental in supporting WeAreTheCity when the Rising Star awards were first launched back in 2015. To honour her memory and all she did to support women in the workplace, our award for Law is named in her honour.