The Ministry of Justice and the Legal Services Board (LSB) today announced the appointment of Christine Nwaokolo as a non-lay member of the LSB. She has been appointed for four years, from 1 May 2024 until 30 April 2028.
Dr Gary Kildare has also been reappointed for a second four-year term as a lay member of the LSB, from 1 April 2025 to 30 March 2029. Gary’s initial four-year term started on 1 April 2021. Alan Kershaw, LSB Chair, says:
‘We are delighted to bring Christine onboard. Her broad experience will bring extra depth and new perspectives to the Board. We are looking forward to benefitting from her knowledge and skills.
‘We are also pleased with the reappointment of Gary who has been instrumental in helping to drive forward our ambition to help shape the future of legal services.’
Christine Nwaokolo says:
‘I am really pleased to be joining the LSB board at this exciting stage and keen to contribute to the reshaping legal services strategy.’
Christine qualified as a solicitor in 2011 and since then she has specialised in family law. She is a Law Society Children Accredited Panel Member and has Higher Rights of Audience in Civil Law. Christine has worked at various high street firms where she has been appointed to roles such as managing teams, supervising trainee solicitors, and managing Legal Aid Contracts.
Most recently, she has moved into undertaking legal work as a Consultant Solicitor. She is regularly instructed in proceedings involving neglect, non-accidental injuries, mental health difficulties, substance misuse and abuse representing children, parents and other relatives involved in such matters.
Christine has also worked for two local authorities: London Borough of Tower Hamlets and the London Borough of Lewisham. At Lewisham she was a senior lawyer and the lead court advocate.
Alongside a legal career, Christine has developed her practice in panel decision making roles. From 2018 to 2021, Christine sat as an Independent Lay Member for the East Sussex School Admissions Appeal Panel. In 2021, she was appointed as an Independent Lay Panel Member for Five Rivers; a charity which helps children recover from trauma or family breakdown, where she sits on the foster panel. In 2022, she became an Independent Lay Chair for the Nursing and Midwifery Council, Fitness to Practice Hearings. In 2023, Christine was appointed as a Legally Qualified Chair of Police Misconduct Hearings.
Dr Gary Kildare is the former Chief HR Officer Europe and Global Head of Labour Relations for the IBM Corporation. He is also a Non-Executive Director to the Insolvency Service; a Non-Executive Director for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation in the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Chair of the People Committee; and a board member of the British Quality Foundation.
Gary is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Personnel and Development, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a visiting professor in Business at Edinburgh Napier Business School.
