A recent report paints a bleak picture of diversity within the legal profession, says Jon Robins
Subashini Nathan, a 24-year-old Asian woman with a first class degree in law, has just completed her fourth grueling year of applying for pupillage. She recalls waiting in the library of a barristers’ chambers with two white male candidates ready to start a mini pupilage. A barrister walked in, turned to the two men and invited them in for a coffee leaving Nathan sitting alone by herself. “He completely blanked me. He probably thought I was the cleaner,” she said.
Uncomfortable scrutiny
Some of the more unreconstructed attitudes of some at the top end of the legal profession have come under uncomfortable scrutiny in recent weeks. First, Charlotte Proudman named and shamed a senior partner at a City law firm for sending a creepy LinkedIn message praising her “stunning” photo. Then Lord Sumption, in an interview with the Evening Standard, urged the judiciary not to rush the whole gender equality business because British justice was (his words) “a terribly delicate organism”. Lord Sumption is one of 12
