It is with great sadness that we announce that our friend and colleague, Penny Chapman, has died, having been diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of brain tumour, in 2023.
Through 25 years at the firm, Penny managed to be both an intellectual powerhouse – with the authoritative presence to give robust and sensible advice on heavyweight governance matters – and a wonderfully kind, thoughtful and sensitive mentor and supporter to so many clients and colleagues.
Penny joined what was then Bircham & Co in 1999 as a partner in the private wealth team. While Penny maintained a significant private wealth portfolio throughout her career, she was instrumental in developing the firm’s Charities practice, seeing it established as a separate specialist department in 2004. Under Penny’s leadership, the team became renowned as specialists in the field, winning awards, being recognised in the Times Best Law Firms and ranked in the legal directories, with Penny naturally ranked as a leading individual.
Clients and colleagues alike had complete confidence in her, appreciating her ability to distil a complex situation into something which was understandable, and solvable – often explained with a dry wit. It is a measure of the huge respect with which Penny was regarded that her practice grew largely through numerous personal recommendations.
Penny had seemingly superhuman levels of drive and energy and seemed to find more hours in the day than are generally available to others. Alongside her busy legal practice, she also played a central role in many other aspects of firm life. In addition to being a member of the firm’s Partnership Board for a number of years, she also spear-headed the firm’s diversity and inclusion programme, and in this she was way ahead of her time, educating partners about the virtues of D&I long before it became de rigeur.
Penny had a strong Christian faith and for many years took responsibility for marshalling the firm’s annual carol service at St Margaret’s, Westminster, for which a festive red coat made its annual appearance.
Notwithstanding the many demands on her time and attention, and her generosity with it, Penny was a devoted wife to Robert and mother to their three sons Joe, Samuel and Thomas. Over the years, Penny would often be found at weekends cheering on one or more sons from a cold and rain-swept touchline or in a (hopefully warmer and drier) theatre audience. The family also indulged a great love of travel with regular trips to far-flung places. Penny also had a love of, and varied interest in, music, from opera at Glyndebourne through Abba, Pink Floyd and Queen to a broad range of musical theatre including Hamilton and, perhaps unexpectedly, Bat out of Hell.
Penny was a force of nature and a tower of strength and support to all those who knew her. She was also enormous fun. She is sorely missed.
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41 responses to “Penny Chapman (a tribute)”
It is with great sadness to hear about Penny’s death. With our deepest sympathy, Mark (on behalf of the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship).
Very sad.
I first met Penny back in 1996 at our old firm Rowe & Maw. Her and our dearly missed James Denker offered me a role at Rowe & Maw which I will be eternally grateful to the pair of them for giving me the opportunity. Penny was a dynamic character, busy as a high flying city lawyer and also bringing up a young family. Penny’s Christian faith was very important to her and when not rushing around could be kind and compassionate to her colleagues. I’m sure BDB Pitmans and the Charity World in general will miss Penny’s passion and enthusiasm. It’s been an absolute pleasure to know Penny, a fabulous character. My thoughts are with Penny’s husband, Robert and her sons during this difficult time. Penny RIP 🙏
I am so very sad to hear of Penny’s passing. I trained under Penny in the Charities team in 2014. She was an excellent person to work for and learn from. Apart from her immense knowledge and passion for the work I also found her to always be fair, kind, and full of integrity. She was also a wonderful example and support for me as a young Christian. I feel very grateful to have worked with her, even though it was brief. I am very sorry for the loss this must be for her family.
Our too brief, professional association with Penny began in 2021, when she guided the Foundation through an extremely important period . On behalf of the trustee board I would like to express my sincere condolences to Penny’s family, friends and colleagues, she will be sorely missed.
Penny was my introduction to private client law: as an articled clerk in 1991/92 at what was then Rowe & Maw, I sat with her for four months, fully expecting to find the seat dull. I am still a private client lawyer over 30 years later. Penny showed me how interesting the work was, and how much more challenging and varied than in my other seats. I saw the relationships she built up with her clients, and wanted to be that kind of lawyer. Penny helped me to get to grips with the range and complexity of the work and was encouraging, kind and thoughtful. She worked incredibly hard for her clients. Those four months stayed with me, and even though I left Rowe & Maw six months after qualifying, I have never forgotten her showing me how to be the best lawyer I could. She continued to do that throughout the rest of her career, and will be very much missed by colleagues, clients and anybody who came into contact with her.
Penny was a fellow trustee of ChipLitFest. She was so knowledgeable and conscientious and kept us on track with her sound advice, always laced with gentle humour. I was very sad to receive the news of her cruel illness, and I’m so very sorry for her family, who must be suffering her loss dreadfully.
I was shocked and saddened on visiting your website to see that Penny has passed away. I instructed her as the then President of the Federation of Synagogues to assist us in developing a new charity constitution, a technically difficult process needing to combine compliance with the Charity Commissioners requirements and the strictures of Orthodox Jewish law. Penny’s expertise and analytical mind together with her pleasant personality were a great support and it is a testimony to her that the final constitution has stood the test of time.
Please pass on my condolences to her family.
Penny was an extremely respected and valued member of the firm, and will be much missed. My condolences and best wishes to all her family and friends.
So sorry to hear this very sad news. Thinking of her family at this difficult time.
Very sad news. Penny was always very kind.
We’re so sorry to hear of the death of one of our valued alumni, and will celebrate her life in our annual Commemoration Service this coming June. If anyone would like more information about that, please email me – [email protected].
We may have known this was coming but it is still such very sad news. Penny was an amazing and groundbreaking woman – on top of her busy and technically demanding fee-earning work, she lead many of the firm’s initiatives to make BDBP a more diverse firm. She will be greatly missed by those at the firm and her clients.
I only spoke to Penny and saw her in action a few times but she was a lovely lady who always had time for anyone no matter who they were as well as being impressive in her work. The world is a worse place without her.
I had the privilege of knowing Penny for over 60 years. As only children, we grew up together as my late mother was her childminder.
When Penny was in her early teens, owing to a sudden bereavement in her extended family, which needed a lot of ‘sorting out’, she made the decision to become a solicitor in order to help people through complex times and situations in their lives.
From that point on, Penny was focused on achieving the necessary qualifications and experience to fulfil that goal, which she did, admirably, compassionately and amiably.
Penny was our family solicitor for over 20 years, advising three generations in her calm and competent manner, and took a keen interest as the fourth generation began to arrive.
Penny is sorely missed by all who knew her, and our hearts go out to Robert, Joe, Sam and Tom, who demonstrated such stoicism during a difficult year.
I am so very sorry to hear this, having happy memories of working with Penny (and James Denker) when I was a newly qualified solicitor at BDB.
Penny was an inspiration to many and a person I really admired. My heartfelt condolences to her family and she will be greatly missed by everyone
Penny was my personal lawyer ever since she turned up in the city, close to 40 years, and she managed to be a quite wonderful person and also a great lawyer. Now always an easy mix.
Her way too early passing is a tragedy to us all, she is hugely missed.
From 2001-2018 I was a partner at BDB.
I have seldom worked with such a kind, charitable, sincere and intelligent friend and colleague as Penny.
We both had strong Oxford connections. Having spent most of our lives as Private Client solicitors we shared a similar devotion and commitment to clients and the Law.
We shared many of the traditional values of the way lawyers and law firms should behave and be committed to the pursuit of the adaptation of the law to the individual.
I and many others will remember Penny and miss her very much indeed.
I am not sure that Oxfordshire Homeless Movement would ever have marshalled itself into an properly constituted, effective and efficient charity without Penny’s wonderful drive and support. Hurdles were nothing to Penny, she just jumped them. We are hugely grateful to have benefitted from her clear and pragmatic advice, her wit and her support. Her term as a founding Trustee was all too short but of immeasurable value. Love and sympathy to her family who have surrounded her with such wonderful love and care.
I didn’t know Penny for long, but in the time i did she made a strong impression on me and she is a huge loss to the firm, her clients and her colleagues. She was supportive of a partner newly arrived with no caseload, and an utter delight to work with at all times. I can see why her clients loved her so much, and so many have expressed their dismay at her leaving us all so young.
Penny was a wonderful champion of D&I and supported me so well with these and other initiatives over my time at BDB as the HR Manager (2014-2015). This is such sad news, my thoughts go to her family and colleagues.
I am so sad to hear of Penny passing away and very much thinking of her family, friends and colleagues at this time. I have lots of memories of working with Penny throughout my time at BDBP and of her support, great knowledge and expertise. She will be very missed.
I feel extremely lucky and privileged to have known and worked with Penny for the past 25 years. Her kindness, thoughtfulness and expertise were always readily available. She will be greatly missed by everyone. My heartfelt condolences are sent to her family and friends.
Penny was a very special person and someone I looked up to immensely. I will never forget the kindness and compassion she showed me when faced with my own diagnosis and treatment. Sending so much love to her family xxx
I am very saddened to hear this news and the world of law – and the world at large – has lost a special person. Penny made a lasting impression from my very first meeting with her. She was superb in her work and handled clients empathetically whilst helping them to easily understand the decisions they needed to make. My deepest condolences to Penny’s family, friends and colleagues.
Deeply saddened to hear about Penny. She was always so patient, kind, and friendly with the team during my time at BDB. My heartfelt condolences go out to her family, friends, and colleagues.
I didn’t know Penny very long when I was at the firm. Nor did I know her as well as others. However I always remember Penny as being kind, thoughtful and supportive whenever she was in Reading. I fondly remember our chats when doing the Reading Legal Walks, where we talked all things Charities and putting the world to rights. I am saddened to hear this and my thoughts are with Penny’s family, friends and colleagues.
A lovely lady. Kind. Funny. Warm. My fondest memories though are off work premises at our annual Christmas choir event. The red coat and Penny always ensured it went smoothly and was a very special event for all.
Deeply saddened to hear this news. Penny is one of the kindest people I knew. She was a pleasure to be with and such a humble and warm human. An exceptional lawyer. I will always remember Penny’s advice when I decided to leave BDB after a long service – she was supportive and reassuring giving me confidence as I transitioned to M&R. Thank you for all your kindness. My condolences to her family.
When I was the firm’s first D&I Manager, it was Penny’s shoes I had to step into, and boy they were big shoes to fill. Penny welcomed me to the firm with open arms, sharing her knowledge and expertise, and even when she stepped away from the ED&I committee work, she remained a huge supporter, and always took the time to check in with me and chat over a tea or coffee. She was such a huge asset to the firm, and will be sorely missed. My deepest condolences go to Robert, Joe, Samuel, and Thomas.
Penny joined the firm with James Denker at the end of the last century. Their arrival was a major boost to the firm . Both tragically died young and in service. Penny was a complete star in so many ways. The tribute on the website and those above confirm this. To me she was a brilliant adviser as Managing Partner and as Head of Department. She took a broad strategic view and always honest, fair and straightforward. She educated me too especially on D&I issues and i was a big supporter of her initiatives in that regard. She was great listener. The clients that I introduced to her knew that they had a expert as an adviser. She was a Trusted adviser to many. I will miss her personally as well as she was always interesting and fun to be with. My thoughts are with her four boys. RIP Penny
A force of nature and an utterly decent person. I’m so sorry to hear this. My condolences to her family and colleagues.
I feel lucky to have benefitted from Penny’s time, expertise, thoughtfulness and kindness while I was a trainee in the Charities department – all delivered despite a shortened seat and knowing I would be qualifying elsewhere. Thinking of Penny’s family, friends and colleagues.
I was aware of Penny’s illness, but this news still comes as a terrible shock and brings with it much sadness. I hope that her family, friends and colleagues will take solace in time from the long list of heart-felt tributes which I am sure will soon appear here. Penny was a fantastic lawyer, but so much more. Warm; friendly; welcoming; super-smart, interesting and interested; and great company. There are people we meet in life who have a real and hugely positive impact on us, when we are in their presence, but also when we are not. Who lift us up and remind us that life is good, and we should live it to the full. Penny was one such person, and I feel immensely lucky to have known her.
Very sorry to hear this news. It was great working with you Penny. Sending my condolences to your family, friends and colleagues. xx
Penny was great – a superb mentor to me and so many others, and I miss her. I only wish I had known, prior to the above tribute, that she liked Abba and Pink Floyd. What a conversation that would have been!
Oh what a sad sad loss to the world. . . . I feel so blessed to have been Penny’s client. Her ability to combine high professionalism and analytical skill with a deep humanity, even in the face of very trying circumstances, was truly remarkable. She was somehow able to maintain generosity of spirit and tenacity of will at times when others would have given up. She was always able to summon a kind word without compromising her principles or intellectual rigour. Although I had not seen her in many years, she will will be missed. Sending condolences to family and colleagues . . .
I worked with Penny at BDB during my time at the firm. I am very sad to hear of her passing. I am sending my condolences to her family, friends and colleagues.
I did not know Penny was ill, but asked after her because I realised I hadn’t worked with her for a while and was really missing her as a knowledgeable, organised, level headed, clever, warm, funny and team oriented colleague. It was devastating news to hear. Heartfelt condolences to her family, friends and other similarly bereft colleagues. Penny, you are much mourned and missed.
So sorry to hear this news. Penny was lovely and always had time for everyone ❤️ 💙 ♥️