Celebrating International Women's Day 2018 Ethnic Minority Lawyers Division - The Law Society
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Celebrating International Women’s Day 2018
Ethnic Minority Lawyers Division
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Message from Chair and Vice-Chair
Ethnic Minority Lawyers Division (EMLD)
We are honoured and delighted to have been elected Chair and Vice-Chair of the
EMLD. We are both committed to promoting inclusion in the legal profession and
reflecting the diversity of our society. The EMLD Committee are actively collaborating
with various regional BAME representatives to ensure we support all our lawyers
throughout England and Wales.
To achieve these aims and objectives we are working on delivering a number of
projects in 2018/19. These projects and initiatives will both promote the extraordinary
achievements of BAME lawyers through our annual EMLD lecture and Black History
Month, as well as mentoring the next generation of BAME pioneers through various
projects including our law careers EMLD Roadshow and the Peer Support Project.
We are delighted to support International Women’s day (IWD). BAME women have
made tremendous strides in the profession. They are represented across all sectors,
in public and private practice and in-house. To celebrate IWD, the EMLD has
produced this booklet to highlight the positive contribution of BAME women lawyers
on our Committee - sharing our individual journeys into law to help inspire and
promote the profession:
Koser Shaheen (Chair) Page 4
Evelyn Ofori-Kori (Vice-Chair) Page 5
Nwabueze Nwokolo Page 6
Sophie Khan Page 7
Marcia Longdon Page 8
Maria Seale Page 9
Leena Savjani Page 10
Angeli Vadera Page 11
Koser & Evelyn
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My journey into law: Koser Shaheen
I was a civil servant for around 10 years. But I
found out how captivating law could be when I sat
as a lay member on an employment tribunal. So I
decided to do a law degree rather than stay in a safe
and predictable civil service job.
I was born and brought up in a ‘ghetto’ in Birmingham. I didn’t go to school after the age
of 11. I enrolled to study an LLB at Birmingham City University after I turned 30. The
admissions tutor refused to offer me a place so I promised him a first. He said: ‘You haven’t
got A-levels Koser, how can you promise me a first?’ After a three-hour interview he finally
relented and offered me a place. I got the highest first in my year. A first was not enough
though, I faced greater challenges in obtaining a legal work placement as most online
application forms asked for A-level grades and I didn’t have any! It was fate that Freshfields
Bruckhaus Deringer LLP was the first portal that allowed me to fill in the application form
without providing A-level grades.
I did my training contract and qualified into corporate (capital markets) at Freshfields.
For someone like me, growing up the way I did, it was an unforgettable experience. The
intensity and pressure of working towards tight deadlines was addictive. Working tirelessly
with high quality clients and amazingly talented lawyers has made me the lawyer I am today.
My family-orientated reasons to move to non-transactional work have not dimmed my
passion for the law and the work/life balance at Cleary Gottlieb has enabled me also to
realise my other passions. As a member of the firm’s diversity committee I am very active in
co-ordinating our involvement in numerous events, partnerships and initiatives.
The hardest challenge I’ve faced is getting over my own stereotypes, accepting myself
for who I am and believing myself to be equal to those around me. I think this was because I
was a latecomer to law and also because I was the only lawyer wearing a hijab in the whole
office. Perhaps I felt more pressure because I was easily identifiable. I get many emails from
girls who want to apply for training contracts in Magic Circle firms and also wear hijabs. For
the most part they’re scared that the firm will see the scarf, not them. My advice - if you don’t
put barriers up for yourself, no one else will do that for you. And if you break barriers, you’re
opening doors for others to follow.
Positivity is on the horizon. I see greater efforts by the legal industry to work towards
better integration and diversity. With increasing opportunities in the emerging markets, there
is a growing need for lawyers who are au fait with these markets and the language and
culture. I’m happy to see that all law firms, irrespective of size, are becoming increasingly
diverse and are realising the potential of no borders and no boundaries.
Holding ‘the doors open’ for the next generation of BAME lawyers is vital. To this end I,
like many on the EMLD Committee, have taken up several voluntary positions, which have
enabled me to ‘give back’ to the legal community and communicate with BAME lawyers from
all around the world. In addition to being the Chair of the EMLD, I am a Law Society Council
Member, General Secretary of the Association of Muslim Lawyers and a board member of
Faiths Forum for London. I have been humbled by several awards over the last ten years,
the most recent being listed on the Debrett’s 500 as one of the most inspiring and influential
lawyers of 2017. If I can do it, you can too!
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My journey into law: Evelyn Ofori-Koree
I was born in Ghana, West Africa. My mother will tell
you that my journey to law began aged 7 when, having
moved to the UK two years earlier, her hitherto quiet
daughter received a birthday gift, a t-shirt inscribed
“Kids are people too”.
Those words profoundly impacted me I felt I had
acquired “superpowers” of courage and determination
and began to speak up on behalf of myself and others. I initially tested these new found
powers on playground bullies and felt destined to be a lawyer. My family moved back to
Ghana and I was prematurely catapulted into secondary school at age 9. It was then I first
experienced the “imposter phenomenon”, struggling to adapt to a more conservative system,
where age was often equated to intelligence and independent thought not “encouraged”. I
successfully completed “O” and “A” Level examinations and a year of compulsory national
service but was not offered a place on any of the law courses available in the three
universities that existed in Ghana at that time.
I returned to the UK aged 18, enrolled at a university but soon dropped out as I still felt like
an “imposter”; unable to adapt to this more independent study model. Frustrated, I abandoned
my plans to study law, became a care assistant and contemplated a career in nursing. Three
years later I accompanied a colleague to an open day at London Southbank University. A
chance conversation reminded me of my young self and all my hopes and aspirations to help
vulnerable people. I registered for the LLB (Hons.) degree that very day. The feedback from
my first assignment was instrumental: 41% with the added comment: “Have you no thoughts
of your own?” This was my gauntlet and I was determined not only to demonstrate the
independence of my mind but also my “superpowers”.
I finished top of my class - the only student to be awarded a First. I became a Wolfson
Scholar of Lincoln’s Inn; was called to the Bar (Very Competent), received an LLM at the
University of Cambridge, cross-qualified as a Solicitor-Advocate (All Higher Courts) and
became an Attorney of the State of New York, USA.
Today, I am a Director and the Principal of Descartes Solicitors, a High Street practice in
Chiswick which was established over 10 years ago and was one of the first in the UK to be
awarded Alternative Business Structure status. Supporting others means giving up your time
and I hold a number of voluntary positions at The Law Society: Council Member Vice-
President of the Ethnic Minority Lawyers Division, appointed to the new Law Society Policy
and Regulatory Affairs Committee and in 2017 I was honoured to win a Ghana UK Based
Achievement Award and a UK Diversity Legal Award.
I thought my journey of achievements would act as “Wakandan vibranium” against any
barrier to my career progression. I was wrong. The greatest barrier was me and today, more
than ever I am committed to supporting others move out of their own way. I am no longer an
imposter. I deserve my seat at any table and so do you!
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My journey into law – Nwabueze Nwokolo
I was inspired to the law by my father and
the fictional Perry Mason. My legal life has
taken me to many places and enabled me to
work and make a contribution in my native
Nigeria and in my adopted England.
I started out as a State Counsel in the
Ministry of Justice, Kano and Owerri,
Nigeria. I was then seconded to the Federal
Ministry of Commerce (Corporate Division). Moving north to Jos, I obtained work in the
Federal Mortgage Bank Bauchi. This required a three hour commute there and back daily.
When the expected opening at the Jos branch did not materialise, I left and set up a branch
of the family legal practice. My brother is at the helm of affairs presently, with branches in
Aba, Abuja and Nbawsi.
Legal practice remains mostly general in Nigeria. One is expected to be able to deal
with any kind of legal problems that clients bring to the practice. I requalified in this
jurisdiction with the help of the Civil Service which paid part of my fees and supported me by
granting both paid study leave and a one year leave of absence without pay whilst I was at
the College of Law Chester doing the Law Society Finals (LSF). I joined the now defunct
Handsworth Law Centre and then obtained a training contract in the first firm to pass the
inspection to get a Legal Aid contract.
My work was primarily in Family Law, in all its ramifications, with attendances at the
County Court, in Bull St. Birmingham. Other strands of work included Immigration, Housing
Disrepair, Welfare Benefits, Occupational Deafness, Crime and the occasional
conveyancing and will drafting (fall out of matrimonial proceedings). I joined a centralised
lender refreshed my residual knowledge and experience in mortgages. It was a very
supportive employer that encouraged all staff to acquire professional training and
qualifications which it paid for.
An opportunity arose to set up a general practice in Gloucester (consultant) and since
then I do consultancy work in the area of regulation and compliance, based upon
experience gained by close interaction with the SRA over a sustained number of years, with
the aim of making regulation of black solicitors fair and proportionate. The law is the
bedrock of civilised society. The rule of law makes it possible for all of us to interact with
each other, recognising the rights, both personal and material, that we each possess. The
law upholds equity, fairness and justice. This end is achieved by the enactment of laws
which are enforced and upheld by appropriate personnel and institutions. The system of law
is not perfect; but it is always evolving.
There should be the equivalent of the NHS: The National Law Service (NLS),
administering a universal provision of legal services for all that dwell in a civilised society. I
believe that with the advances in technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI), law will become
democratised and easily assessible to all. May that day come soon.
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My journey into law – Sophie Khan
From a young age, I was expected to become a
professional. I initially set my sights on medicine,
but when I fainted at a work experience placement,
during my A-Levels, I decided to turn to law.
My father, was and still is a Criminal Defence
Barrister and although, I have ended up practising
in civil liberties and human rights law, I have been
fortunate to have his guidance throughout my career to allow me to overcome hurdles and
obstacles as an ethnic minority lawyer.
My experiences fortunately have been nothing like those of my father, who being the first
Muslim barrister in Leicester, faced discrimination and prejudice from the all- white Bar in
Leicester. Although, the times have changed, and Leicester is now the country’s multi-cultural
model city there is still much that needs to be done, before we can say that we have equality in
the legal profession, especially in advocacy. The civil and commercial Bar is still predominately
all-white and male, and the same can be said of civil liberties and human rights law. There are
very few solicitor-advocates practising in civil liberties and human rights law, and of those I am
one of the first, ethnic minority women, especially in my niche area of specialism - Actions
Against the Police and Inquest Law.
My commitment to seeking redress for my clients against abuses of power, also drives
me to stand-up and work with others to challenge the inequality in our legal profession. As well
as being a Committee Member of The Law Society’s Ethnic Minority Lawyers’ Division, I am
the first Chairperson from an ethnic minority background to sit as the Chair of The Law
Society’s Civil Justice Committee.
My presence as a leader among the predominately all-white and male practitioners has
given me the opportunity to show everyone that irrespective of your ethnic background, if you
have the knowledge, skill and dedication to your profession you can succeed and achieve your
life goals.
Going forward, I can see myself being a mentor for the next generation of ethnic
minority lawyers, and the guide that my father was to me when I started off my career. I hope
that the work that we, as a Committee are doing now will make it easier for the next generation
of ethnic minority lawyers to progress to the heights in the legal profession. The path is not
easy, but if I and others like me can bring down the barriers that remain and change the
perceptions in the legal profession towards ethnic minorities, there is hope that one day, in the
near future we will have equality for all, at every level.
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My journey into law – Marcia Longdon
I was born in London and grew up in the inner city.
I remember riots in London being common place and
black people suffering extreme racism by police.
I was watching the news recently and they spoke
about the current issue with stop and search and
how black people are 5 times more likely to get
stopped and searched then white. I was so sadden because this could have been a report
from the 1980’s and not 2018! The Brixton Riots were memorable for me as I grew up in
South London and being at home unable to leave due to the trouble and tension.
I was angry and vowed that the only way I could help was by getting inside the system,
and that was the reason I became a lawyer. I went to the University of Westminster and
studied law and was the inaugural group who undertook the death penalty internship
programme. I went to South Carolina and worked for the public defender’s office. My job
involved me taking witness statements from, mainly black men, who were on death row and
trying to overturn their convictions or argue to get their sentences commuted to life. I was
passionate about the issues around the death penalty. When I returned from the US I worked
as a paralegal in crime and obtained my police station accreditation which allowed me to
represent people at police stations.
I then started working for a general practitioner, because in those dates you didn’t have
legal aid franchises and high street firms practiced in all areas. That’s how I got involved in
asylum and human rights cases, which allowed me to “fight the system” on behalf of clients.
You had the Iraq, Bosnia and Rwanda crisis so human rights became my focus and fight!
I was struggling to obtain a training contract, despite applying for hundreds of positions. I
approached the Law Society and explained that I had been doing client type work under
supervision and applied for an exemption.
At the time I had to go before a panel at the Law Society and demonstrate that I had
contentious as well as non-contentious experience. A few days later I received a letter from
the Law Society which stated that I was to going to be granted 19 months and 3 weeks
exemption. They apologised and said I couldn’t be granted anymore as there was a new
process that required completing the Professional Skills Course, financials.
My route to qualifying was unconventional but I love what I do. I was the first black
partner at Kingsley Napley LLP (KN). When I was asked to join the partnership I was at Ernst
& Young (EY) and didn’t want to leave. When I did research into KN’s history I realised it was
the type of place I wanted to be part of. David Napley, one of the founding partners was an
observer at the Steven Biko trial in South Africa. My nephew’s middle name is Biko named
after the activist! I therefore, felt it was fate!
8My journey into law – Maria Seale
I was 15 years old when I decided that I wanted to
be a lawyer. I had been watching Crown Court on
television whilst doing my English homework. My
chosen topic was Legal Aid and how it allowed access
to justice and equality for all who sought redress.
I remember colouring in the green Legal Aid logo
and referring to Law Centres and the Citizens
Advice Bureau as advice centres. I don’t want to age
myself but that was back in 1985! My English Teacher asked me to discuss my homework with
him. I assumed he was impressed by my research. I explained to my teacher that I wanted to
be a lawyer when I left school and the homework had helped me realise my goal.
He stared at me, paused then said: “you are a black female from a single parent family, I
would advise you to think of another career as working in the law would not suit you”. I felt hurt
and upset. I didn’t listen and I continued to look into a legal career. I didn’t qualify via the
traditional law finals route due to my desire to experience working in a law firm so after my A
levels I took the decision not to go to university. I felt a great desire to experience law in action
rather than in the classroom.
I remember being offered my first job as an Outdoor Clerk with a firm of Solicitors in
Welbeck Street, W1. They said they loved my enthusiasm and if I proved my abilities, they
would support my desire to train as a Legal Executive. I was exposed to so many new
experiences within my first year there. I was playing out my dream and having so much fun.
I went on to a new position and it felt like I had started a new training seat as I was now
exposed to company formations, civil litigation and immigration. Most of my clients were from
Kuwait and when the Iraq war broke out, they were in need of a representative to deal with
embassies and the Foreign Office as they homes and families had been dispossessed of their
properties due to the invasion in their country. I recall demanding a meeting at their embassy
with representatives from the Foreign Office to allow my client’s voices to be heard. It was a
successful exchange and ensured their status in the UK was secure during the war.
My career path followed a similar route, through serendipitous events and chance
encounters, I am carving out an interesting a fulfilling career that has led me to qualify as a
Solicitor and specialise in professional regulation as well as support others in their legal
choices. It has not been without many disappointing experiences such as an employer who
refused to shake my hand when I attended an interview and openly saying that he was not
aware of my colour as I have an English name or the firm who wanted to pay me less than the
Solicitor I was training. It has been a shame but a learning experience on how manage the
prejudices of others.
As I was the first person in my family to become a lawyer, I came to the law with ideas
about fairness, integrity and honesty and equality. I am pleased to say these qualities have
developed from the experiences I have had and are entrenched in how I work with others and
my personal life.
9My journey into law – Leena Savjani
Although I was born and raised in Britain, I did
not speak English until I was about 4 years
old and started school. This was because my
parents were first generation immigrants from
Africa.
My dad moved to London from Kenya in the
1970s and my mum arrived around the same time
from Uganda (just prior to the expulsion of
Ugandan Asians by Idi Amin in 1972). They were
of south Asian descent and spoke Gujarati. Despite English not being my first language, I
went on to develop a flair for the language and it eventually became my strongest asset.
I had an intense passion for reading and writing from a young age. I was, to all intents
and purposes, a ‘bookworm’ and recall reading a book a day from my early teens – I’m still
not sure how I found the time! My passion for literature and creative writing meant that I
excelled at subjects like English and History. When it came to career choices I was torn
between journalism and law. Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, was the book which
‘sealed the deal’. I was moved by the author’s exploration of social inequality and themes of
compassion and social justice- it confirmed in my mind that I most definitely wanted to be a
lawyer!
I vividly recall a conversation with one of my A-Level teachers in 1998 when I was
preparing my UCAS applications. I had been predicted an A in his subject but he warned me
that despite being intelligent, driven and motivated, a career in law as an Asian woman would
be ‘difficult’, would ‘come with many challenges’ and that I should perhaps consider other
options. I’m sure he didn’t appreciate the implications of his advice and meant well, however
this is just an example of the unhelpful mind-sets that existed at that time – thankfully, I did
not heed his advice and pressed on, full speed ahead with my law degree firmly in sight.
My parents did not attend university and so I was the first in my family to take this route.
Being the ‘first generation’ to attend university presented a huge sense of achievement and
pride for my family. My parents were keen for me to explore the opportunities that they did not
have and invested significant time, cost and support in mine and my siblings’ education.
I commenced a Training Contract with national law firm Irwin Mitchell LLP in 2006, after
achieving an LLB Law degree at the University of Sheffield in 2003 and completing my LPC
in 2005. My career has thrived at Irwin Mitchell and I am proud to be working at a progressive
and dynamic firm. I am now a Senior Associate in the medical negligence department and co-
chair the firm’s diversity group ‘IM Respect’ in London. Our future is bright and more
importantly it is diverse. It is fantastic to see that the legal profession is united in its aim to
promote and facilitate diversity and inclusion. There is also a lot to be said about the
resilience and tenacity of people from BAME backgrounds - the women profiled in this
brochure itself illustrates that despite challenges and bumps along the way, they have
flourished in their careers. I hope that by celebrating these achievements we will inspire the
future generation of lawyers.
10My journey into law – Angeli Vadera
I decided I wanted to become a solicitor after
landing a work placement in a local law firm in
Bolton, Greater Manchester at the age of 16. In
enjoyed the different challenges faced by solicitors in
a fast-paced environment.
The prospect of working with other people
whether face to face and/or on the phone
appealed to my enjoyment of working in a team. I
was one of the lucky ones. After being placed in a
failing state secondary school which was due to close
down at the end of the school year, my parents
decided to move me into an only girls’ private school called Bolton School. At the time of my
education, it was one of the largest girls’ school in the UK. This is where my passion and spirit
for equality and diversity began. The transfer of my schooling from the worst to the best school
in my town gave me a deeper understanding and acceptance of people of different
backgrounds.
The single gender learning environment gave me the confidence and passion that a
women can do anything that a man could do. There are no reasons for glass ceilings to exist in
society and/or in any profession. I left school with three As in A Level and ended up achieving
a 2.1 from the University of Manchester.
After the finishing law school, with a distinction in my LPC, three years of training contract
rejections and four months of legal assistant job application rejections, I submitted an
application at the Insurance Litigation firm Keoghs Solicitors in respect of a vacant legal
assistant position in one of their personal injury departments. It was not my preferred area of
specialism as I really enjoyed studying property litigation and insurance law but I chose not to
be fussy.
I received the job offer within thirty minutes of having the interview. I worked my way up
eventually taking up a senior legal assistant role in Keoghs Property and Coverage Team. The
training contract rejections continued including one from Keoghs. I persisted and after seven
years of failed training contract applications, Keoghs offered me a training contract. I qualified
as a Solicitor in September 2017 specialising in Property and Insurance Litigation. The
persistence paid off!
Outside my role at Keoghs, I engaged in voluntary work with the Hindu Lawyers
Association which me to becoming Chair of the organisation in January 2017. The role has
allowed me to drive forward my passion for greater equality and diversity in the legal profession
and facilitate access to justice for community members. My path to law was challenging and it
did take a significant number of years more to qualify as a solicitor than I anticipated. However,
it has made me a better solicitor with a greater interest in my work.
11Join Us! The EMLD provides an opportunity for solicitors from black and minority ethnic backgrounds and their allies to have their voices heard, allowing us to represent our members effectively. We are keen to engage with all our lawyers and encourage you to contact the committee with your thoughts and ideas. With this interactive engagement we hope to build a national database of BAME Groups. The database will be used to build partnerships and alliances, which would further increase our visibility and open up more opportunities to engage with our BAME constituency. To join the Ethnic Minority Lawyers Division, sign up to My Law Society (http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/log-in/) and tick the Ethnic Minority Lawyers box in Specialist Interests. You will receive regular email updates and tailored content will appear on your My Law Society homepage. For more information, please email ethnicminoritylawyers@lawsociety.org.uk …and don’t forget to follow us! Twitter: @LawSocDI
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