JUNIOR LAWYERS DIVISION
Continued from previous page We were the first Magic Circle firm to ban the use of “Dear Sirs” and other firms followed. It felt to me at the time that we were creating a seismic shift with what could be viewed as a “small” change. Another effort was the creation of the Every Day Gender Equality (EDGE) Commitment: I worked with the other co-chairs of the London Women’s Network to create and then launch a pledge for people to commit to taking ten actions in their everyday working lives to combat the problems that still persisted to hinder equality. Examples included, planning client events that are inclusive and calling out non-inclusive behaviour when it happens. More than 2,000 people had initially signed the Commitment and I believe it both raised awareness and caused meaningful actions to take place. 7. What advice would you give to women in general who are entering the legal profession? Use your voice and be your authentic self. It may not always be easy to do this, and so if it ever feels difficult, connect to a force bigger than you: our collective place in society as women. 8. What advice would you give to women in the legal profession, who have children or those who are considering motherhood, with regards to juggling the dual priorities of work and motherhood? Always remember that you have so much to offer as a lawyer, and I believe even more so as a mother with all of the unique and superhuman abilities you acquire. Employers have a responsibility to do everything they can to ensure that you are able to show up at work and thrive! As Gloria Steinem, the legendary women’s rights activist, said, it was not her job to make women feel grateful
for what they have; it was her job to make them feel ungrateful, so they keep going. I wish for all of us to take this to heart be ungrateful and ask for and then demand more. 9. What are some of the inclusive changes you would recommend, that law firms should incorporate to ensure and enable women maintain successful legal careers like their male counterparts? Listen to the women as to what they want and need, and then act on it. Be willing to put people over profit. Live your values and if you say you care about retaining women, then demonstrate that in your actions, policies and behaviours. Otherwise, it is purely lip service, which actually harms women because it masks the reality of the situation. Also, embrace changes to the billable hour model and the “always working” culture. For example, implement a four-day work week or shorter days; I believe this would significantly benefit everyone’s life and well-being, and also has the additional benefit of increasing inclusion because people (such as working mothers) who want or need to work less won’t be viewed or treated as less committed or less capable or like they are inconveniencing the system or the team. 10. Finally, what progress do you think has been made thus far, in the strive for equality and elimination of bias in the legal profession? I believe many people are now aware that bias exists; I believe there has been a lot of work done to identify the problem and its causes. I would like to see this continue to translate into more meaningful and transformative actions being taken – for all of us to work together to create the vision we can see and, I believe, is within our reach. ■
WHLS JLD T
he Westminster and Holborn Law Society Junior Lawyer’s Division had a busy end to 2021! As a committee, we carried out a recruitment drive for vacant committee roles and also reached out to new members. In November we enjoyed a virtual workshop in conjunction with 33 Bedford Row and Law Care, called “Drafting like a pro; living like a human”. The workshop was designed to teach our members about two key topics that we need to know about as a legal professional – drafting and wellbeing. A very insightful session and we hope everyone enjoyed it as much as we did. December was upon us quickly and we hosted winter welcome drinks in Central London. It was great to be joined by some of our new committee members and members and have a good chat over some mulled wine! Of course, we also had the fantastic annual WHLS party held at Middle Temple Hall which we thoroughly enjoyed too. We look forward to sharing what’s to come in 2022 with you all – watch this space! ■
28 | CENTRAL LONDON LAWYER
Events 2022 Spring 2022 – Enforcing judgments post-Brexit Join us for what promises to be an engaging and topical panel discussion considering how English judgments can be enforced in the EU and how EU judgments are set to be enforced in England & Wales one year on from the end of the Brexit transition period. This event is co-hosted with our colleagues at the Rechtsanwaltskammer Köln (Cologne Bar Association). This will be hosted via Zoom with more details to follow in due course. Additional events are under discussion. If you have suggestions or would like to host an event, please contact the committee at cwhlawsoc@gmail.com. The website calendar also shows our events www.cwhls.org.uk. ■
