Sheila Thompson



Sheila joined Brown Lloyd James in 1998. Her clients include Al Jazeera English, the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board, the Girls’ Schools Association, the Prince’s Teaching Institute and the Judicial Appointments Commission. She was made Executive Vice-President of the London office in 2004.

From 1990 to 1998 she was Head of Information at the then Lord Chancellor’s Department a job which entailed being Press Secretary to the Lord Chancellor (Lord Mackay of Clashfern until 1997 followed by Lord Irvine of Lairg) as well as the Lord Chief Justice. Key legislation during this period included the controversial Family Law Act. Other key issues were legal aid reform and the introduction of both standard and conditional fees for lawyers, the establishment of the Court Service as an executive agency, and the implementation of the Courts & Legal Services Act 1990 and the Children Act 1989. She was responsible for introducing a programme of improved contact between the media and the judiciary, which included setting up a media training scheme and arranging a series of media appearances for the judges, including the first press conference held by a Lord Chief Justice and a ground-breaking television series about the appointment and training of new judges.

Sheila started her career in the Government Information Service as a press officer at the Central Office of Information before being seconded to the Ministry of Defence to handle the media campaign for the introduction of UK-based Cruise nuclear missiles. She was Deputy Chief Press Officer at the MoD from 1983 to 1990 where she handled PR campaigns for NATO, nuclear and chemical warfare issues as well as the MoD’s R&D programme, and conservation and environmental awareness of the Ministry’s estate.