Hard-won equal opportunities and access to them ‘cannot be taken for granted’, the audience at the Carrie Morrison lecture heard this week. 

Kathryn Roberts, chair of Eversheds (International) LLP and co-chair of Eversheds Sutherland’s global brand, gave the keynote address at the firm’s London offices. Roberts highlighted ‘the importance of championing and being championed but perhaps more importantly being a champion for others’.

She told the audience that growing up she had ‘absolutely no concept of what it meant to be a lawyer’ but was ‘blessed…by an amazing and inspirational teacher Mr Harris, my history teacher, who saw something in me and encouraged me to think about applying to study law at university’.

She added that her teacher went ‘well beyond the call of duty’ and arranged for Roberts to undertake work experience with a friend ‘who happened to be a solicitor’.

The experience, she said, helped her decide on a legal career and, as a result, she has ‘never underestimated the power of somebody telling you that they believe in you, that you can do something’.

She added: ‘Many years later it was a dear colleague here at Eversheds who is the first person to say to me “I think you’d be a really good chair of the firm” and because I respected her opinion, her saying that to me had a huge impact.’

Her other lesson, she said, was that ‘being different is actually your superpower’.

She added: ‘In our profession we still have a significant underrepresentation of women and ethnic minorities in leadership roles and in partnership roles. Gender and pay parity is still an aspiration but we have made great progress. Nothing can be taken for granted. These incredibly hard-fought equal opportunities for all are to be cherished and protected. They are not, it seems, sacrosanct and there is absolutely no room for complacency.

‘No one is looking for a leg up, no one is looking for favouritism or special treatment. We’re looking for equal opportunity and the ability to get on and thrive regardless of our backgrounds, our experiences or our diverse characteristics.’

A panel (pictured above) chaired by Simmons & Simmons partner Emma Sutcliffe and including CEO of The Eagle Club Lesley Wan, and BCLP global senior partner Segun Osuntokun, followed Roberts’ speech.

Wan said ‘support from the top of the organisation that will go all the way down’, mentorship, and the culture of an organisation were important in improving the experience of women in the law. Osuntokun added: ‘It is about making sure the right people are given the right access to the right opportunities.’

The Carrie Morrison Lecture: Shaping the Future for Women Solicitors commemorates the first woman to be admitted to the roll in 1922.