‘Some parts of the Bar have a diversity problem’
Dominic Carman
Featured in our Diversity Report (October 2021)
Chair of the Bar, Derek Sweeting QC, tells Dominic Carman that the Bar needs to reflect society
As a teenager, I used to live above a set of chambers in Lincoln’s Inn where all the barristers were Black. It was explained to me that they were simply not accepted at most other chambers: in effect, an unstated colour bar still applied. This was in 1981 when I first met Lord Denning, then Master of the Rolls, shortly before his book What Next in the Law was published. In it, he wrote: “The underlying assumption is that all citizens are sufficiently qualified to serve on a jury. I do not agree. The English are no longer a homogeneous race. They are white and black, coloured and brown. They no longer share the same standards of conduct. Some of them come from countries where bribery and graft are accepted as an integral part of life and where stealing is a virtue so long as you are not found out… They will never accept the word of a policeman against one of their own.” Denning resigned shortly after it was published. At the time, there were no BAME MPs or judges.
August 2023 News
Securitisation and Cayman Orphan SPVs – Part Three
In the final article in a series of three, Paul Trewartha and Simon Lawrenson, Partners at Mourant Hong Kong, examine the key features of a securitisation vehicle and the advantages of utilising an Orphan SPV in the Cayman Islands for a securitisation transaction. In the first article of the series Securitisation and Cayman Orphan ...
July 2023 News
Cream of Jersey: best in class
Dominic Carman meets with the managing partners of Jersey’s elite law firms to discover how they are rising above economic challenges to deliver growth Enjoying a preeminent reputation as a major international finance centre that is both stable and at the forefront of international regulation, Jersey is often cited as a best-in-class offshore jurisdiction. ...
