Gabriel Evelyn (He/Him/His)’s Post

👩🏽 Tired of making everyone else’s dreams come true, at the age of 31, I launched my own law firm- Collective Law Solicitors Ltd Building a legacy of my own, I became a female, Muslim, hijab wearing Founder and Director of what is now an Award-Winning Law Firm and has been named Divorce Law Firm of the Year 2023 🏆 My vision was to establish a business in which I could my authentic self. Without having to sacrifice or compromise aspects of myself or my faith. I wanted the opportunity to present myself as a visible role model to others. To inspire, encourage and empower the next generation of ethnic lawyers. 🙌🏽 There was a time when opportunities like this in law, for ‘someone like me’ would have been unheard of. The legal profession is still not as accessible and supported as it should be. As a result, I have now launched The Lawyer Network CIC. Helping you to unlock your potential and open doors to the legal profession🔑 The Lawyer Network focuses on encouraging diversity and inclusion within the legal profession, with a view to improving social mobility and making the profession more accessible to individuals from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds. 👩🏻🦱👱🏿♀️👩🏽👨🏽🧔🏻♂️👩🏿 We build links with secondary schools, colleges and universities to deliver talks and workshops to encourage underrepresented groups to peruse their career ambitions in law even if they feel the industry is not designed for ‘them.’ Regular workshops, speaking events and social events will be hosted to bring the legal industry and underrepresented groups of aspiring lawyers together so we can assist with building connections, gaining genuine insight and experience into the life & work of a lawyer. There is a huge divide in the opportunity and accessibility of opportunities for so many underrepresented groups and although there is a great deal of talk around this topic, there needs to be more action. More work needs to be done to focus on underrepresented ethnic groups and The Lawyer Network aims to help bridge the gap from education, into the workplace with particular focus on the Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. When you have limited support from education level, your aspirations can often be stunted. Coupled with further obstacles such as lack of representation, lack of visible representation, lack of opportunities, no connections of contact within the legal industry etc, the problems are exacerbated and the reality of minority ethnics being able to pursue a career in law is diminished further. It is important to ensure these opportunities are available to everyone and are accessible 💪 We are always looking out for new speakers, firms and chambers to support us in this mission as sponsors or partners so if your interested please do reach out 📥 Our next event is aimed at aspiring lawyers, on 2nd September. Drop me a message if your interested 📧

📚 "To Kill a Mockingbird" & Contemporary Lawyers: Valuable Lessons for Legal Professionals Harper Lee's timeless novel isn't just a classic of American literature; it's a treasure trove of lessons for contemporary lawyers. Here are some valuable takeaways for legal professionals: 1️⃣ Moral Courage: Lawyers today must exhibit moral courage in upholding justice, even when it's unpopular. Like Atticus Finch, be steadfast in your commitment to justice. 2️⃣ Empathy: To understand and advocate effectively for clients, lawyers need empathy. Walk in their shoes, listen to their stories, and create a more just legal system. 3️⃣ Fairness: Ensure due process, equality, and fairness for all clients, regardless of their background. The trial of Tom Robinson highlights the importance of a fair legal process. 4️⃣ Racial Bias: Combat biases within the legal system and fight for equal rights and treatment under the law. It's essential to work actively for racial justice. 5️⃣ Family Support: Lawyers should balance their professional and personal lives, finding strength in their loved ones. Family support is crucial in maintaining a healthy work-life balance. 6️⃣ Community Engagement: Lawyers should engage with their communities, advocate for positive change, and use their legal skills to address local issues. Be a catalyst for change in your community. 7️⃣ Use of Language: The power of words is central to the legal profession. Be precise and persuasive in your language to advocate effectively for your clients. 8️⃣ Education: Encourage and support education, particularly on legal matters, to empower your clients and communities. Education is a tool for legal empowerment. 9️⃣ Persistence: Just like Atticus, lawyers must persevere, seeking justice tirelessly for their clients, even when the odds are stacked against them. Tenacity is a hallmark of the legal profession. 🔟 Challenging Prejudice: Lawyers have a duty to challenge prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination. Advocate for a more inclusive and just society where everyone's rights are respected and upheld. In summary, "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a guidebook for contemporary lawyers, emphasizing moral courage, empathy, fairness, and a commitment to justice. Let's use our legal skills to shape a more equitable world. 📜🏛️ #LegalEthics #LegalAdvocacy #DueProcess #LegalEquality #RacialJustice #EqualityBeforeTheLaw #WorkLifeBalance #LegalProfession #SocialChange #ToKillaMockingbird #Literature

"Are you Indian?" He asked. I nodded, yes. "Cobras and elephants," he giddily clapped. Everyone around me laughed, took gulps of their champagne and carried on. This was the first party I attended as a summer associate at a big NYC law firm. It took place at a white male partner's house on Manhattan's Upper East Side, a man deeply committed to the Democratic Party, diversity hiring and as it turns out, racism. I am sure a lot of white people reading this are rolling their eyes in disbelief, or SHOCK, even. But why? Look at the statistics for partners at big law firms. Spoiler: 90%+ partners are white. Why are we shocked that racism runs rampant in legal institutions? Who's running law schools? Law firms? Who are the District Attorneys and Attorney Generals. And in cases of Black and brown folks in those positions, what kind of ACTUAL power do they have? ZERO. Back when I was a model minority alum of said law firm, I was bestowed with praise and invitations. My firm did a formal interview with me when I started a "diversity kids book" business ten years ago. They even printed the interview on expensive stock, framed it and mailed it to me. Flash forward to today, where I am one of the presenters of a CLE that is the MOST sponsored in the HISTORY OF THE NEW YORK CITY BAR ASSOCIATION. 80 co-sponsoring committees. Actual history is being made. The CLE is based on my anti-white supremacy work: my New York Times Bestseller White Women and viral documentary Deconstructing Karen. This work isn't about DEI, making white people feel good and throwing parades for bullshit "strides" in diversity and inclusion. The law firm that threw ME a parade for MY former bullshit diversity book business? CRICKETS as to this CLE. Silence on coming on as a co-sponsor, silence silence silence. But they aren't alone, more than two dozen other law firms in NYC have also been silent. 80 co-sponsoring committees (this work is popular) yet ZERO co-sponsoring law firms. As for my fancy law school - NYU? Crickets from them too. When my first (and only) novel which barely moved 10,000 copies came out, I received a HANDWRITTEN letter of congratulations from the then Dean of NYU Law. Now that I have BESTSELLER and a gigantic CLE coming up, not even a return email from the current Dean and crickets from other leadership, professors and the alumni office. I say this not to put my former school or employer on blast - as they are JUST LIKE the rest - but to underscore how widespread the commitment to white supremacy is in even the most elite, most liberal institutions, in arguably the most liberal city in America: New York. We are going to break everything down on October 3rd. All lawyers and law students are invited. And if you are Black or brown law student or lawyer who's ever been on the receiving end of racism, gaslighting or tone policing, please pull up a zoom, pour a tea and ENJOY. https://lnkd.in/e9WtZpjq

Where ACCESS TO JUSTICE is concerned, it appears that the more things change, the more they stay the same. This quote was found in a 1960 issue of the ABA Journal, which cites a 1938 report by the ABA's Special Committee on the Economic Condition of the Bar. Eight decades have passed since this report outlined the challenges facing the legal profession. Yet, many of these same issues are echoed in today's discussions about the access to justice crisis. The report's observations about the struggles of lawyers to make a living, the influx of inadequately trained law graduates, the encroachment of non-legal agencies into traditional legal territories, and the inaccessibility of legal services for low-income groups could easily have been written today. It's as if the legal profession is in a time loop, continuously grappling with the same fundamental issues of accessibility, affordability, and public trust. One could say that the legal profession of today, in its quest to resolve these challenges, is not so much standing on the shoulders of giants as it is walking in the footsteps of its predecessors. The legal profession continues its search for the path to a more equitable and accessible legal system without changing much of anything. **************** From the article: We do, however, wish to reaffirm our conviction that in the circumstances in which the profession finds itself, with large numbers of lawyers either unable to earn a living in the practice, or earning the barest pittance; with in numerable young lawyers unable to find openings; with many of the older men, after a lifetime of practice, scarcely able to keep going; with sub standard proprietary law schools turning out each year thousands of ill prepared and frequently deluded as pirants for admission; with lay agencies, despite the efforts made to check them, encroaching here and there upon the practice in ways which sometimes suggest that the bar itself is deficient in the kind of service which it renders in certain specialized fields; with growing evidence that people in the low income groups frequently go without legal assistance because they cannot afford to pay for it. or because they think they cannot afford to. pay for it, or because they distrust lawyers or do not know any lawyers, or do not know when they need advice; with evidence in still other directions that the public relations of the bar are defective; with evidence, finally, that the cost of maintaining law offices is excessively high; in these circumstances we think it imperative that the bar should take action both to get at the facts more fully and to experiment with remedies. Our final hope is that ultimately there will be established in all the states full-time salaried staffs, working for the profession and under its direction. Access the full article: https://lnkd.in/ef27tSkN North Carolina Justice for All Project (www.ncjfap.org) #accesstojustice #goodgriefcharliebrown