Chambers to introduce mandatory anti-discrimination training for barristers
updated on 29 January 2020
Top London chambers One Pump Court is introducing mandatory “anti-oppression” training for all members.
The initiative is led by immigration and public law barrister Raggi Kotak, who has written about the structural problems behind “socialised” or “everyday” racism at the Bar in Counsel Magazine. The term “oppression” encompasses the impact of any and all forms of discrimination on those who are discriminated against.
The new mandatory training sessions are the result of Kotak and her chambers’ consideration of how to “change our culture to confront systems of oppression that continue amongst us – not just in relation to race, but also all other social groups – such as gender, sexuality, age and physical and mental abilities.”
Kotak points out that anti-oppression training for lawyers is already mandatory in some other jurisdictions, including the New York State Bar and the Law Society of Ontario. “The aim is to help educate us and support us, without judgment, so that we can bring the change we need,” she said.
