News - News - Baroness Calls for Action on Diversity

Attorney General Baroness Scotland QC called for more active promotion of diversity at the 2009 Minority Lawyers' Conference.

She issued a three-point plan of action – “inspiration and aspiration”, “greater flexibility within the legal profession” and “ensuring equal opportunities for career progression” – and reiterated the main points of her Equality and Diversity Expectations Statement, launched in 2008.

The conference, held at the Law Society on Saturday 25 April, also offered a variety of sessions and workshops. During the networking conclusion to the event Baroness Scotland pursued her quest for action and asked all attendees to write down and submit three lasting commitments to promoting diversity.

The Right Honourable Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lord Justice Judge and Baroness Scotland were keynote speakers at the conference, chaired by Kim Hollis QC. 

Session chairs included Britain’s only ethnic minority High Court judge, the Honourable Mrs Justice Dobbs DBE and Deputy High Court Judge Rabinder Singh QC. High profile panelists included Britain’s first black female MP, Diane Abbott, who represents Hackney North and Stoke Newington, Ernst and Young’s Global General Counsel Trevor Faure, District Judge Shamim Qureshi, Bar Council chairman Desmond Browne QC and Law Society Vice President Paul Marsh.

The Lord Chief Justice and the Attorney General also attended a formal dinner and presentation ceremony for the Minority Lawyers’ Conference awards hosted by Eversheds at its City office.