Report finds a quarter of black barristers feel their race has negatively impacted relationships with solicitors
updated on 23 November 2020
A survey of 100 self-employed Black barristers found that 61% of respondents felt their relationships with solicitors had been affected by their race “or were uncertain as to whether they had been”.
The Black Barristers’ Network conducted a report into the experience of Black self-employed barristers and found that 24% of respondents felt that their race had negatively impacted their relationships with solicitors, 13% were unsure and 24% felt that their race might have had an impact.
Considering the respondent’s gender, 62% of female respondents said that their relationships with solicitors were affected by their race or they expressed uncertainty as to whether they had been affected, compared to 54% of male respondents. However, 35% of male respondents answered “yes” to a question on whether their race had an impact on their relationships with solicitors, compared to 20% of female respondents.
The report highlighted that most of the respondents felt respected by solicitors when asked to consider five different matters, including the work they received, the fees solicitors are willing to pay and the way they are spoken to by solicitors about the case and more generally. Although 72-77% of respondents said they felt respected regarding the communication from solicitors and the work received, this figure dropped significantly on fees, with only 51% saying that they felt respected in terms of the fees solicitors were willing to pay.
According to the Law Gazette, Natasha Shotunde of Garden Court Chambers and chair of the Black Barristers’ Network said: “This survey shows that many black barristers feel that their experiences at the bar may be negatively affected by racism. What is particularly striking is the differences in experiences by black male and black female barristers, with many more black female barristers reporting negative treatment which may be due to their race.
“This highlights the intersectionality of their race and gender, and how that can result in negative treatment towards black female barristers.”
