Tributes to “trailblazer” who paved way for Jersey women in law

Monday 26 April 2021

Tributes have been paid to Jersey’s first female advocate after the “trailblazer” passed away.

Advocate Anita Regal (née Bloom), whose funeral was held last week, also founded Whiteley, a networking group for local businesswomen, in 1990, and was a popular and dedicated member of the island’s Jewish community.

Having moved to the island in the late 50s, she went on to study at Manchester University, completing her law degree in 1964.

She was then sworn in as an Advocate of the Royal Court in August 1968.

As Advocate Barbara Corbett, who knew her from Whiteley, observed: “This was 49 years after the removal of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 in England and Wales. Surprisingly, there never was a Sex Disqualification Law in Jersey, simply, as one senior advocate put it: ‘Women just weren’t encouraged very much.’

“Anita was a trailblazer. It was several more years before she was joined by other women in the profession, a trickle during the 1970s and many more in recent years. Despite this ground-breaking achievement, Anita took it in her stride.”

Pictured: Anita Regal became Jersey's first female advocate in 1968.

Advocate Regal joined the firm Bedell Cristin, where she spent more than 50 years, rising to the role of Senior Partner and in later life acting as Consultant.

“While Advocate Regal led the way, in the years since, the number of female advocates has increased significantly and women now represent approximately 40% of practicing Royal Court Advocates,” the Attorney General, Mark Temple, told Express.

“Advocate Regal made a great contribution to the life of the island and will be missed not only by her family and friends but also by the wider legal family of which she has been a part for the last 50+ years.”

But she didn’t just make her name as a lawyer: she was a champion of charities, an enthusiastic member of the Soroptomists, and a founding member of the Whiteley, of which she was Honorary President at the time of her passing.

“Anita was very supportive of the organisation and new members and modest about her own achievements,” Advocate Corbett recalled.

“A truly modern woman, Anita maintained a long legal career while bringing up her family and being involved in community activities.”

Having married David Regal in 1966 after a romance that started in 1960, the pair had four children: Rachelle, Daniel, Jonathan and Debbie.

She also taught the other Jewish children of Jersey at her house for Sunday school, ensuring that they would learn to read Hebrew and “glean our history from her extensive and encyclopaedic knowledge and wisdom”, her brother-in-law and President of Jersey’s Jewish congregation, Stephen Regal, recalled.

Pictured: Advocate Anita Regal's brother-in-law, Stephen Regal, recalled her great contribution to the island's Jewish community.

He continued: “Anita was deeply religious and firmly believed in the precepts of the Torah, the Hebrew Bible, termed The Old Testament, and indeed lived her life according to the rules of honesty and probity dictated in the Bible. 

“Once again, if all of this were insufficient, Anita served for many years on the management committee of the Jersey Synagogue and, as a trustee, ensured the regulations of her faith was indeed maintained. As an avid member she was on the committee of the ladies guild ensuring that the other services provided by the synagogue were undertaken including social issues were dealt with. She was active in WIZO, the Women's International Zionist Organization, undertaking charity work for underprivileged individuals in Israel.

“At the same time, she enjoyed a varied and active social life, not forgetting her commitment to providing an open house for any person visiting Jersey over the Jewish Shabbat.”

Mr Regal said that she was a “mentor to all that she came into contact”, adding: “Everyone who knew her found themselves under her spell and, to some extent, a little in awe!

“We shall all miss her as a moral compass and leader. Now at rest with husband David, may G-d rest her soul.”