While Laraine Del Buono is remembered for her strong advocacy for LGBTQ+ and women's right her friends, Julian Griffiths and Carrie Salzedo recalls her commitment and passion towards work alongside her sense of humour and soprano voice.
Laraine Del Buono (1954-2025) has died at the age of 70. She is remembered for her work as a solicitor, often defending vulnerable people, women and lesbians.
She was a tireless defender of women’s rights, LGBTQ+ families and those facing domestic violence. Laraine combined tenacity and compassion in every aspect of her work. Born Laraine Barnett, she grew up in a part Irish, part Nottingham family on Maud Street in Basford before leaving to train as a teacher. She took the name, Del Buono, when she married and retained it after her divorce.
Laraine made the brave decision to leave her job in the civil service after ten years to retrain as a solicitor. She had been inspired by working with vulnerable people, often women, in her role in social security. Laraine pursued her legal training with determination, and despite challenges, she qualified as a solicitor. She also realised her sexuality, which she said, ‘opened up a whole new world for her’ as she joined the growing women’s movement through marches and Greenham Common.
After she qualified, Laraine began working on defending women and lesbians. She would give talks at women’s events about the law so women could learn how it would help them.
Carrie Salzedo remembered: “She was a working-class woman who wanted to give a voice and support to other working-class women. She wanted to demystify the process of law and make it accessible to people and on their side. She had faced discrimination as a woman and had fought that negative self-view of no one like you can do this. She pushed back and did it.”
Friends recalled her passion but also her kindness: ‘Laraine cared and did her best on every case. Her commitment to women’s rights and her understanding and awareness of domestic violence situations were very important.
‘Women leave these situations with nothing, take out loans, use catalogues, and face the risk of eviction. She worked really hard for people, but she never wanted any fuss made; she was very humble about her work.
We always shared a laugh (Laraine had a wry sense of humour – important in that line of work) but I also remember big acts of kindness, one in particular: when they messed up my pay just before Christmas, Laraine quietly gave me an envelope making up the shortfall, saying, pay me back when you can.’
Laraine joined the firm of Ward and Griffiths, handling divorce, cohabitation, injunctions and family matters.
Julian Griffiths from Ward and Griffiths said: ‘Laraine joined the progressive firm of Barrie Ward and Julian Griffiths in 1992, in order to maintain and develop its family practice. She fast acquired a reputation for strong representation of women and minority groups, for example in obtaining injunctions against domestic abusers. Laraine took her work very seriously but brought a great sense of humour to the office.”
In the 1980s and 1990s, lesbian mothers were often at risk of losing custody simply because of their sexuality. Laraine stood in courtrooms to defend them and help them gain access to their children.
Her advocacy helped one lesbian couple reunite with their abducted daughter. “I’d had no idea such an order was possible,” the mother later said. That child, now an adult, simply called her “an incredible woman.”
“She was a working-class woman who wanted to give a voice and support to other working-class women. She wanted to demystify the process of law and make it accessible to people and on their side"
Laraine was not just a solicitor but helped countless survivors of abuse secure injunctions, gave practical support in matters of wills and housing, and offered advice. One woman recalled how Laraine, a stranger at the time, “became my saviour… asking for no payment but I always felt she pulled me back from despair and I will never forget that outright kindness and the deep connection of hope, security and care that I felt she gave me in those times.”
As well as her legal work, Laraine is remembered for her sense of humour and soprano voice.
“She put people at ease, helped them to relax, especially in situations where people felt out of their depth and disempowered. She had a wonderful sense of humour, a wry wit; being with her in social situations was full of laughter,” Carrie said.
“She had a fabulous soprano voice and a very good ear. She could mimic accents, especially Irish ones. She was a great dancer and a regular attendee of women’s discos and clubs.”
She added: “She kept her married name, Del Buono, which means ‘of the good.’ It seems very fitting to the work she did and the people she helped.”
Laraine's funeral took place on 7 July 2025. Donations in her memory can be made to Juno Women’s Aid via this link.
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