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International Women’s Day 2022: In Conversation with Marcia Willis Stewart KC (Hon)

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Abstract

This reflection provides an edited account of a conversation between Marcia Willis Stewart KC (Hon), managing partner at Birnberg Peirce; Henna Masih, a Westminster Law School alumnus; and Manvir Kaur Grewal, Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Westminster. The conversation was hosted via Zoom by Harriet Samuels, Reader in Law at the University of Westminster, to mark International Women’s Day. The dialogue focused on Marcia’s unconventional pathway to the legal profession and her experience as a Black woman lawyer in a leading civil liberties firm. The discussion and question-and-answer session identified broader themes around civil liberties, activism, the nature of justice, diversity in the legal profession and Marcia’s advice to law students.

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Notes

  1. Birnberg Peirce https://www.birnbergpeirce.co.uk. Accessed 12 August 2022.

  2. Coram Chambers https://www.coramchambers.co.uk. Accessed 14 August 2022.

  3. Jean Charles de Menezes was a Brazilian national fatally wounded by the police in London in 2005 after being mistakenly suspected of terrorist activity. See further Vaughan-Williams (2007).

  4. Mark Duggan was a 29-year-old British black man shot dead by the police in London in 2011. See further R. (on the application of Duggan) v Assistant Deputy Coroner for the Northern District of Greater London [2017] EWCA Civ 142, 2017.

  5. This refers to the crushing to death of 97 Liverpool football fans at a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield Yorkshire in 1989 due to overcrowding and mistakes by the police. There was a thirty-year campaign by the families of the victims to achieve justice and to clear the name of the fans, who were often blamed for the tragedy. See further Scraton (2016).

  6. Solace Women’s Aid https://www.solacewomensaid.org. Accessed 14 August 2022.

  7. UK Diversity Legal Awards http://diversitylegalawards.org/bsn-outstanding-lawyer-of-the-year-winner-marcia-willis-stewart-birnberg-peirce/. Accessed 12 August 2022.

  8. See Attorney General v Her Majesty’s Coroner for South Yorkshire (West) [2012] EWHC 3783.

  9. The Centre for Women’s Justice https://www.centreforwomensjustice.org.uk. Accessed 13 September 2022.

  10. StopWatch https://www.stop-watch.org. Accessed 17 September 2022.

  11. For the most recent statistics, see Solicitors Regulation Authority. 2022. How Diverse is the Solicitor's Profession? https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/equality-diversity/diversity-profession/diverse-legal-profession/ . Accessed 17 September 2022.

  12. Young Legal Aid Lawyers http://www.younglegalaidlawyers.org . Accessed 17 September 2022.

  13. Solicitors Regulation Authority. 2018 SRA. Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/code-conduct-solicitors/ Accessed 23 June 2023.

  14. Prisoners’ Advice Service https://www.prisonersadvice.org.uk. Accessed 17 September 2022.

  15. INQUEST https://www.inquest.org.uk. Accessed 17 September 2022

  16. See further Ministry of Justice (2021). See also the Bill of Rights Bill 2022. At the time of writing, the repeal of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the introduction of the British Bill of Rights has been paused. See Jessica Elgot (2022).

  17. See the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022.

  18. See R (Miller) v Prime Minister [2019] UKSC 41.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Westminster Law School, London, UK

    Manvir Kaur Grewal & Henna Masih

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  1. Manvir Kaur Grewal
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  2. Henna Masih
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Correspondence to Manvir Kaur Grewal.

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Grewal, M.K., Masih, H. International Women’s Day 2022: In Conversation with Marcia Willis Stewart KC (Hon). Fem Leg Stud 32, 111–122 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10691-023-09523-y

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