I. Stephanie Boyce FKC (LLM Public Law & Global Governance, 2010) was named King’s Alumna of the Year in 2022 at the prestigious King’s Distinguished Alumni Awards. Stephanie was recognised as a member of the alumni body who has achieved exceptional success in their field and demonstrated outstanding personal achievement. Stephanie regularly campaigns for equity and inclusion within the legal sector, and her vision is to ‘leave the profession more diverse and inclusive that the one [she] entered.’

In March 2021 Stephanie made history as the 177th President of the Law Society of England and Wales, the sixth woman, and the first person of colour to hold this position. A solicitor with a wealth of experience in corporate governance, regulatory frameworks, commercial and civil, and professional regulation, her accomplishments have also included becoming the first black office-holder, and the second in-house solicitor to become president in almost 50 years.

Of Afro-Caribbean descent, Stephanie was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, and brought up in a single-parent working-class household. She was the first in her family to stay in education after the age of 16 but faced barriers to securing a training contract and climbing the career ladder. Nonetheless, in her words, she ‘nursed a dream of becoming a solicitor’ and ‘never listened to the naysayers’. She supports the progression of women into senior roles and addresses inclusivity in relation to Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, LGBTQIA+, disability, social mobility and other under-represented groups.

Having gained a Master of Laws LLM in public law and global governance from King’s in 2010, Stephanie was elected to the Law Society Council in June 2013. Her now extensive professional experience has been gained in advising some of the largest not-for-profit bodies and charities, regulators, and local and central government in both paid and voluntary capacities. She is a member of the Joint Tribunal Service and of Thomson Reuters Foundation’s Transforming Women’s Leadership in the Law Advisory Board, a commissioner of the National Preparedness Commission and the Shinkwin Commission, has chaired the Educational Appeal Panel and Exclusion Review Panel of her local authority. She is also a member of the independent taskforce commissioned by HM Treasury and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to boost socio-economic diversity at senior levels in UK financial and professional services.

In 2021, 2022 and 2023, Stephanie was named in the Power List 100 Most Influential Black People in the UK, and she was the joint recipient of the 2022 Burberry British Diversity Awards-Inspirational Role Model of the Year. Also in 2022, she was awarded The High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire Award in recognition of her leadership and contribution to the field of diversity and inclusion. Stephanie has been awarded Honorary Doctorates of Law from Keele University, the University of East London and the University of Law for her work on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and contribution to the legal profession and recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Women & Diversity in Law for her work on EDI and her contribution to the profession.