Jane’s Life

Jane was born 1969 in Thingwall in the Wirral and attended Thingwall Primary and then Birkenhead Public School (she always attributed her academic success to this school).

After O Levels she and her family moved to Solihull and attended Sixth Form at King Edward VI Girls School, Edgbaston. She then went onto study Human Sciences at Jesus College in Oxford from 1988 to 1991. A Law conversion course and then Bar school. She was called to the Bar in 1993 and became QC in 2015. On successfull completion of her pupillage, she joined Keating Chambers.

Jane was a brilliant barrister. She combined a great sense of humour with sharp legal analysis and meticulous and unflagging attention to detail. She desired each point to be fully understood, and backed by the relevant documents to hand. As a result, her submissions and cross-examination were succinct, on-point and extremely effective. If the case threw up a problem or two – or even consisted solely of problems – or indeed to quote Jane, was “the 2 week arbitration of TOTAL DOOM” – she dealt with each issue gracefully, realistically and practically.

Jane’s clients loved her, not only because she was brilliant, but also because she worked collaboratively with them. She always wanted to talk through any problems together, so that solutions were arrived at jointly, as a team.

Unfortunately, it remains a fact that female commercial barristers are rare, and a female commercial QC rarer still. Jane was a cheerleader for women both in chambers and outside. A client and organiser of a ‘women in law’ event at which Jane was due to speak summed it up: “Jane really was an inspiration: you can be formidable and serious in your work but also feminine, and career and family oriented at the same time, fiercely clever with a great intellect but without arrogance, affectation or ego.”

Jane worked on a series of huge cases throughout her career. She contributed academically to Keating’s key textbooks and many people will remember her excellently clear and helpful seminars.

Jane was kind, fun and funny. She was charming, charismatic. She laughed all the time! She was always in people’s rooms in chambers, telling an anecdote, demonstrating a new pair of ridiculously high heels or asking for comments on whether she’d got the analysis of this clause right, or was she going mad?! She loved champagne, of course, and made sure Friday night drinking on Essex Street featured Perrier Jouët and not Dalys’ house brand!

Jane was loved, admired and respected by so many people, as was clear from the deluge of tributes chambers received after she died. As Coulson LJ said, “Jane was an extraordinarily warm and empathetic person, with no side or hidden agenda. Sadly, I think she is irreplaceable.”

We know that there are many people who miss her and love her.
The Jane Lemon Foundation seeks to promote the things that mattered to her.