The social mobility Twitter campaign #IamtheBar has been extended to the judiciary, profiling judges: #IamtheBench.
The Bar Council’s social media campaign to make careers at the Bar appear more accessible, launched in the summer when 11 barristers turned ‘social mobility advocates’ shared their personal and professional stories with the public, resulting in thousands of retweets. Now the Bar Council has launched a spin-off series for judges.
#IamtheBench profiles three judges, Circuit Judges HHJ Avik Mukherjee and HHJ Sandy Canavan, and Tribunal Chamber president Judge John Aitken. All three have non-traditional backgrounds.
Judge Aitken, in his profile, explains he was given time and encouragement by every judge he asked for advice and says he is ‘surprised by how little I am approached for advice’. HHJ Canavan says ‘I believe it is crucial to explain to kids from a background like mine that there is no reason that they cannot be anything they want to be.’
