Community and Event Review: September 2026
With the summer holidays behind us and many people returning to their usual routines, September was a busy month across the firm. Colleagues represented Fosters at a wide range of community, networking, charity and professional events, while also celebrating achievements and supporting local causes. Here’s a look back at some of the highlights from the month.
Building connections across Norfolk and Suffolk
The month began with Norwich City Football Club’s Partner Event, held in collaboration with Eleven at the Lion & Castle. The event brought together local businesses and partners for an exclusive beamback of Norwich City’s away fixture against Stoke City, providing opportunities to network, hear match insight from club legends and strengthen local business relationships.
Commercial Director Will Hoy represented Fosters at the launch event hosted by Norfolk County Cricket Club and Arcadia near Fakenham, bringing together commercial partners from across the region.
We also attended The Changing Workplace networking lunch and discussion at Blackfriars Hall in Norwich. Featuring Norwich Theatre Chief Executive Stephen Crocker and other local leaders, the event explored topics including hybrid working, wellbeing, recruitment, retention and building successful teams.
Elsewhere, colleagues joined the local business community at the latest Jarrolds networking evening and attended Norwich Theatre’s Corporate Members event, Be More Human: An Evening in Conversation with Sir Norman Lamb. Representing Fosters, Iain McClay heard Sir Norman discuss the inspiration behind his work and the importance of shared humanity around mental health care and wellbeing.
Sharing expertise and supporting others
September was a particularly busy month for our Court of Protection & Vulnerable Persons team, who represented the firm at a number of community, networking and professional sector events.
Paige Gouldthorpe and Chloe Boswell joined Heart of the Matter Waveney in Lowestoft for a support group session, sharing their experiences of providing legal support to vulnerable individuals and families.
Paige also partnered with Fraser and Fraser to deliver a specialist webinar for professionals, offering practical guidance on preparing clear, effective and legally compliant draft orders to accompany Property and Financial Affairs applications in the Court of Protection.
Meanwhile, Lorna Stoker attended the Professional Deputies Forum Conference in Coventry, joining fellow professional deputies from across the country to hear from sector experts, discuss current challenges and share best practice.
Lorna and Chloe also attended the Pro Gen Private Client Breakfast Network, which brings together legal and financial professionals to support families navigating complex planning decisions.
Investing in future talent
September also saw the firm’s latest Trainee Assessment Day, bringing together colleagues from across the business to support prospective trainees and provide a genuine insight into life at Fosters.
A huge thank you to everyone who gave up their time to support the day, whether by helping candidates feel welcome, sharing their experiences, supporting activities throughout the day, conducting interviews or working behind the scenes. Your enthusiasm, expertise and willingness to get involved played an important role in making the event a success and showcasing the opportunities available at Fosters.
Celebrating achievement
One of the month’s standout moments was the qualification of Joe Oram, who became the first apprentice at Fosters to qualify as a Solicitor.
Joe joined the firm three years ago as Fosters’ first Graduate Solicitor Apprentice and has successfully completed the programme via the SQE route. His achievement marks an important milestone for both Joe and the firm’s commitment to developing alternative routes into the legal profession.
September also brought further recognition for the firm with the publication of The Legal 500 UK 2027 rankings. Fosters was recognised across 13 practice areas, reflecting the strength and breadth of expertise across the business, alongside our continued commitment to delivering practical advice and excellent client service to individuals, families and businesses.
Community and charity highlights
We were delighted to celebrate September’s Norwich City Community Heroes, Dawn Edwards and Tilly Rand, who were recognised for their exceptional fundraising efforts in support of the Community Sports Foundation through Run Norwich. Dawn raised more than £1,100 for the charity, while Tilly became the event’s leading junior fundraiser after raising an impressive £1,300.
We also joined 23 other teams at the Norwich City Fans Social Club Quiz Night at Carrow Road. The evening raised more than £2,000 for the Community Sports Foundation and provided a fantastic opportunity to support an excellent local cause.
Supporting wellbeing and colleague engagement
Colleague wellbeing remained firmly on the agenda throughout the month.
Team members attended a Menopause Awareness Workshop organised by Suffolk Chamber of Commerce and hosted at the University of Suffolk. The session explored perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause, helping attendees better understand the varied physical, emotional and psychological impacts experienced by individuals and how employers can create supportive workplace environments.
Our Sports Committee also organised a number of opportunities for colleagues to get active and spend time together outside the office.
September saw our first ever footgolf event, where enthusiasm outweighed competitiveness and missing scorecards meant the winner remains a mystery!
Later in the month, colleagues also enjoyed a five-a-side kickabout at Goals, bringing team members together for some friendly competition, exercise and fun. To round off the month, we enjoyed breakfast pastries across our offices before heading out for a walk in the warm sunshine to burn off a few of those extra calories.
