I feel very privileged to write this article having just been elected by my peers as vice president of the London Solicitors Litigation Association (LSLA). That said, it is difficult not to suffer from imposter syndrome. As wonderful as this profession is, and as motivated and enthused as I am in my role as a […]
My Pride story started pretty cautiously. I think I have always had a strong underlying sense of self (old school reports often included phrases like “Nick has a strong sense of justice…” or, perhaps less positively, “Nick is quite opinionated…”), but I wasn’t comfortable coming out to anyone except my closest friends until I was […]
I started as a legal assistant at Freeths exactly one year ago. Since then, I have achieved two of my greatest goals of securing a training contract with the firm and becoming involved in the firm’s LGBTQ+ network, SHINE. At the age of 14, I declared to my parents that I would be moving abroad […]
Greetings from Japan, the only G7 country without any country-wide protections for LGBTQIA+ rights or recognition of LGBTQIA+ relationships. Many visitors to Japan often find this fact to be a surprising contrast to Japan’s progressive and technologically advanced image. Unfortunately, the journey towards equality in Japan is stuck on the slow local train, instead of […]
October is Black History Month. We are given 31 days to reflect on the enormous contribution Black people have made to the history of this country; to re-examine diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives; and to press the reset button if we feel that our existing ways of operating are no longer working. But, when […]
Thirty-six years and counting in Big Law – and so much has changed. When I look back at where we have come from, I do so with a mixture of joy and horror, not to mention a great deal of incredible respect and reverence for those who came before me. I feel joy from the […]
In 2016, I was a mid-level associate at Clifford Chance. I was deep into my life at the firm, working on complex energy and infrastructure transactions predominantly in Latin America. My ability to speak English and Spanish with native fluency was critical to my ability to work in two cultures and draft and negotiate sophisticated […]
During Pride month, you will often hear a lot of people talking about ‘coming out’ multiple times – to parents, friends, colleagues, and clients. While all of that is true and each can be met with challenges, conversation or celebration, or a combination of the three, coming out as ‘gay’ for the first time to […]
When I made the decision to come out as a lesbian in 1982, I was in the second year of my law degree and the UK was an altogether different country to the one we live in now. In choosing to be open with the world about who you are, you were placing yourself under […]
When I was growing up, I didn’t know a single gay person (no-one was out either at school or at college) and the only famous out gay person I can recall from the time was Julian Clary. He was so different to everything I knew about myself that I couldn’t possibly identify with him. I […]
A deep breath. My pulse quickens. I still vividly recall coming out to my first supervisor as a trainee at my previous firm. Although I was already out to my intake, somehow having the conversation with a senior felt much more difficult, more risky. It’s a conversation which, of course, many LGBTQ+ individuals find themselves […]
Coming out. I think and hope that people who identify as heterosexual are starting to realise that it isn’t a one-time event but something that those who identify as having a different sexuality have to do on a regular basis. It is a decision; a decision you make every time you meet someone for the […]