A Message from our Officers

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

A MESSAGE FROM THE OFFICERS

2020 continues to be a year like no other. On 25 May, in the midst of a global pandemic, another terrible news story hit the headlines that triggered an international response. That story was the tragic death of African-American man, George Floyd, who suffocated under the knee of a white police officer in Minneapolis.

In the wake of George Floyd’s death, we have witnessed a remarkable response from individuals, corporations and communities around the world. The tragedy has propelled the Black Lives Matter movement into the spotlight and difficult but vital conversations are being held in the press, around the family dinner table, with friends and colleagues, in boardrooms and in classrooms about equality, inclusion, privilege, racism and anti-racism.

I (Linden) have been struck by the bravery and grace of many colleagues and connections within the legal profession, who have taken to social media and other forums in recent weeks to share examples of the day to day racism they encounter in their personal and professional lives, in order to inform and to educate those of us who do not share their experiences and may, even sub-consciously, be guilty of perpetuating them. I recall a conversation I had with a friend of mine over a year ago. We are the same age. He is a lawyer and a partner in a UK law firm. He is also mixed race. He told me about something that had happened to him a few weeks earlier. He had decided to make the most of some rare downtime to head to the gym at his local health club where he is a member. After his workout he headed to the Jacuzzi to relax.

Whilst he was in the Jacuzzi a couple of white men got in. They exchanged some pleasantries and in the course of the conversation, my friend asked the men what they did. They duly told him. Then one of the men asked my friend “do you work?”

“Do you work?” Not, “what do you do?”. As my friend pointed out to me, “what kind of question is that!?” That story has niggled at me for over a year. Because of course, my friend was quite right. It belied an assumption, perhaps one that the person posing it had no idea he was making, that despite being in a very nice (i.e., pricey) health club and clearly of working age, my mixed race friend might not have a job. I had to ask myself - do I think that a white male friend of the same age would have been asked the same question, or been privy to

the same assumption had he been in the same situation? Honestly. I don’t think he would have. What is clear from the conversations taking place and from the testimonies I have read in recent weeks, is that this type of exchange is not unique. It is not even unusual.

I am grateful to Yetunde Dania, Partner and Head of the Birmingham office of Trowers & Hamlins for sharing part of her own story with us in this month’s Bulletin. Yet Yetunde writes that, even in the wake of the tragedy of George Floyd’s death, there is cause for optimism. I am sure the person asking that question of my friend didn’t intend to cause offence and would not consider himself to be racist. But we all have our biases, unconscious or otherwise, and they manifest themselves in our words and in our actions. The conversations that are happening right now offer all of us an opportunity to challenge these, to check our own assumptions and to encourage others to do the same.

Birmingham Law Society is a representative organisation. Representing the interests of our members is at the heart of what the Society does. I am incredibly proud of the strides the Society has made in recent years towards being truly representative of all those within, and those wishing to join, our legal community. We now have a Director, Karen Bailey, with a dedicated portfolio for equality, diversity and inclusion sitting on our Board.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion committee has also spearheaded a range of important and inspiring events and initiatives aimed at promoting greater inclusion and initiating challenging conversations and we are actively inviting members of our legal community to hold us to account and to let us know when we can do better and to ensure that all voices are welcomed and are listened to. We are keen to work in partnership and to learn from others. Hence, in 2019 we invited a representative from Birmingham Black Lawyers to hold a permanent co-opted position on our Council. I am delighted that Kishma Bolaji, co-founder and chair of Birmingham Black Lawyers, accepted that invitation. However, there remains more that we can do.

As the Chair of our BAME sub-committee, Shaid Parveen, invites in her article later in this magazine, if you have suggestions as to what else Birmingham Law Society should be doing, initiatives you would like to see us running or events you would like to see us putting on, we would love to hear from you.

Linden, Inez and Stephanie Birmingham Law Society’s Officers Birmingham Law Society is proud to work in partnership with our sponsors

SUPPORTING MEMBERS THROUGH COVID-19

Birmingham Law Society is continuing to support our members through the ongoing challenges arising from the pandemic.

We have facilitated a series of meetings for leaders from firms and chambers across the city to ensure we understand the issues that are most important to our members and are acting on them.

Our representation work continues, with members of BLS committees sitting on a number of local forums, such as court user groups, to give voice to the views and experiences of the local profession. We also welcomed David Greene, Vice-President of The Law Society of England and Wales to our May Council meeting and were able to feed back several issues that our members told us they had been experiencing, with a request that these are raised with Government, HMCTS and other stakeholders as appropriate.

We are committed to keeping our members up to date with developments in their areas of practice. In addition to the disciplinespecific e-updates you should be receiving, please also continue to refer to the COVID-19 pages on our website for the latest news and information from across the sector. Do also look out for our latest webinars and virtual training sessions.

Finally, we continue to look for opportunities to bring our legal community together. From virtual yoga sessions to online quizzes, we are working to provide opportunities for our members to connect with one another.

If there is anything else you would like Birmingham Law Society to be doing or any issues that you would like us to raise with external bodies on your behalf please contact us via the forum on our

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website or by emailing president@birminghamlawsociety.co.uk.

Birmingham Law Society

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