Faculty and SEMLA networking event proves popular

SEMLA Committee members Usman Tariq KC, Rupa Mooker, Imran Bashir, Jamila Archibald and Omar Ali at the networking event.

 

THE Faculty of Advocates and the Scottish Ethnic Minorities Association (SEMLA) joined forces earlier this month to host a networking session for the legal profession.

Open to all advocates, solicitors, students and other legal professionals the event was aimed at creating opportunities for attendees to build and strengthen their professional networks, celebrate and support emerging talent in the legal sector and promote inclusivity at the Scottish Bar. Held in the Advocates Library, it attracted around 80 attendees.

“If the Faculty of Advocates has a long and proud  history and tradition of providing access to justice for the people of Scotland, then it is equally true that – for our organisation to continue flourish in the future – it is vital for us to be able to encourage and attract lawyers of ability, from the greatest diversity of backgrounds and professional experiences,  to consider a career at the Bar,” said Barney Ross, Clerk of Faculty, 

“A career at the Bar holds great and exciting opportunities for aspiring advocates. Levels of work are currently very healthy and in October Faculty will welcome 29 new devils to our world-class professional training programme, “he added. “Faculty is fully committed to improving access to a career as an advocate and removing any barriers that may still exist. To that end we now have a very significant scholarship fund generated by contributions from our members which provides substantial support every year to applicants of merit.”

Since its launch in 2017, SEMLA has worked with the Faculty of Advocates, the Law Society of Scotland, and some of the largest law firms and in-house legal teams in Scotland and the United Kingdom to increase access to and progression within the legal profession for all talented lawyers and law students - regardless of background. 

The two organisations have collaborated in the past, including the launch of Faculty’s Lord Hope Scholarship, aimed at alleviating financial restraints when training to become an advocate.

Usman Tariq KC, co-founder of SEMLA, said: “We were delighted to work again with Faculty. I was encouraged to see such a diverse group of attendees at the event from those studying law to those in senior positions in the profession. There is a famous quote: “You can’t be what you can’t see”. I am confident that events such as these connect those at the start of their legal journeys with visible role models in the profession and at the same time help those in the profession build their networks. SEMLA looks forward to organising more events and working with Faculty again.”