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Some interesting reading. Being an Asian female solicitor I am outraged that someone thought a "white male" would do a better job because of those attributes alone. However, I do think there are circumstances where requesting a specific barrister for reasons deeper than race/gender preference can be justified.

I work primarily in the Children's Services sector where most of my work centres on allegations of sexual, physical or emotional abuse. Just last week I explained to a barrister's clerk why I preferred the instruction of a white female barrister to conduct a JSM for me because the Claimant's abusers were her father (white male) and his manager (Asian male). I had no guilt in saying to that clerk that I believed a white female barrister was likely to be found less intimidating and more trustworthy by the Claimant in those circumstances, making it more likely we could resolve the claim at the JSM.

I suspect my reasoning in those specific circumstances are not really applicable to the general race/gender bias that is more common out there, and that Ms Popal suffered, although at the same time I don't think that choice of instruction should be removed from me or my client.

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