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Black Talent in the Legal Profession: Tackling Barriers and Creating Pathways

Black Talent in the Legal Profession: Tackling Barriers and Creating Pathways

The Wealth of Nations and Black Talent - Anthropy 2023

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The Black Talent Charter and the Supreme Court hosted a stella event in November to discuss 'Black Talent in the Legal Profession: Tackling Barriers and Creating Pathways'. Court 2 was packed, with over 100 more participating online.

A compelling speech by Lord Reed (President of the Supreme Court) was followed by a panel moderated by our CEO, Laura Durrant, and comprising our Chair, Harry Matovu KC, Lord Leggatt (Justice of the Supreme Court), I. Stephanie Boyce (Past President of the Law Society) and Elaine Banton (Co-Chair of the Bar Council Equality, Diversity and Social Mobility Committee).

The discussion covered:

  • The urgent need to accelerate work on the recruitment and progression of Black talent across the legal profession and the judiciary
  • The competition for talent and the risk to the legal profession from more fast-moving and diverse sectors
  • The barriers to progression for Black lawyers, and how best to meet those challenges.
  • The responsibility of senior leaders to drive change individually and collectively

As one of our other signatories said:

“The intellectual capacity in the room was astonishing… I have attended a number of events like this from the standpoint of an ally and none have got anywhere near this in terms of education and promoting awareness.”

You can watch the entire panel event here: Black Talent in the Legal Profession: Tackling Barriers and Creating Pathways (youtube.com)

Written by

Maddy Durrant
Programme Management and Communications Director
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