Lawyer Monthly - Women In Law Special Edition

WOMEN IN LAW EDITION LAWYER MONTHLY 19 Can you share an instance when you experienced sexism in the legal sphere, and how you tackled it? Most are too sensitive to share. A recent complex criminal case, though, involved eight counsel: myself and seven men. One of them, a junior tenant, asked very gently if I was on the case because, ‘This one is a bit complex for you girls.’ My response was that, ‘These days they let us out of the kitchen to have jobs and take on complex cases.’ My client was the only person with a decent result in that case. Everyone laughed. In general, I use humour and irony to deflect many instances of sexism. Can you share an instance when you experienced bias, and/ or racism in the legal sphere, and how you tackled it? I can’t pinpoint any of these. I suspect there may have been many instances of unconscious bias but it’s what one learns from one’s experiences that’s important. I have a positive, optimistic outlook on life. Overcoming stereotypes: what is your nugget of advice for those from BAME backgrounds on overcoming stereotypes and implicit bias towards them? There’s not much that I can recommend, really, other than not going everywhere with a chip on your shoulder. Why do you think those from BAME backgrounds may not consider or delve into the legal industry? What can be done to change these predisposed notions? I don’t agree that race, in itself, is holding people back from applying to enter the law, although social class still plays a role across the board. There are now many people from BAME backgrounds who enter the law but, like with gender, there are insufficient numbers making it to senior leadership roles. The issue now is not necessarily how to attract applications but, rather, how to improve retention and progression to partnership and, in my own sector, how to get more BAME QCs and more BAME judges. What do you think is key to unlocking the legal sector, i.e., what can be done to make the industry more accessible? This needs to be tackled at grassroots, in “ “ In my view, men and women are like left and right, and we need both hands to drive change. Q Q Q Q Q