©Copyright Legal Women Limited 2025
Legal Women c/o Benham Publishing Limited, Aintree Building, Aintree Way, Aintree Business Park Liverpool, Merseyside L9 5AQ
Professor Sara Chandler KC (Hon) talks to Legal Women about her role as Immediate Past Chair on the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee( Law Society of England and Wales) and the work done by the committee and the advocacy work she does for Human Rights Lawyers through the FBE Human Rights Commission.
Fighting against injustice, and in particular discrimination, has framed my whole attitude to life. I discovered the many ways that discrimination works from one of the clearest: lack of equal pay, to being ignored and isolated. However, my teenage years were in the 1960’s and I rebelled, and like other young women we stood up for our rights.
Getting involved in human rights
In the 1970’s I welcomed refugees from Chile, and worked in the refugee programme as a bi-lingual social worker. By the time I joined the Law Society Council in 2002 to represent solicitors in Law Centres and other voluntary sector organisations I had over 20 years’ experience in Law Centres understanding the daily discrimination our clients faced. As a council member I joined the Law Society’s Human Rights Committee and the Access to Justice Committee and became involved in campaigning on both issues. In 2014 I joined the Law Society’s Equality Diversity and Inclusion Committee (EDIC) and became Chair in 2018, completing my term in 2024. EDIC is a committee of the Council of the Law Society and reports to the Council and to the Board of the Law Society.
EDI Committee at the Law Society
Our work on EDIC is at the heart of the Law Society’s anti-discrimination policies. It is illegal to discriminate as we know, so developing policies which interpret the law and bring about change is vital for the sake of justice for all. EDIC is made up of 5 Council members, plus representatives of the 5 Law Society diversity networks (disabled, ethnic, LGBTQ+, women and junior solicitors) and 5 appointees from the profession. The Council of the Law Society is the ultimate decision maker after EDIC has discussed policies and programmes to implement those policies. The committee is supported by a staff team who work with the 5 networks.
Campaigning from the heart of the Law Society
Over the years the committee has been involved in many campaigns, for example, research, development and publication of toolkits and resources such as Women in Leadership in Law 2018, Legally Disabled 2019. Race for Inclusion 2020, LGBTQ+ toolkit and the Women in Law Pledge. The pledge involves actively convincing colleagues and the leadership of firms and organisations to sign up to the pledge. In doing so discussions get under way about putting it into practice at work. Larger firms are already obliged to monitor gender parity and to address any gender pay gap. Going further to create a genuinely inclusive workplace for not only women, but also for all members of staff is vital for a healthy workplace. EDIC gets involved in events such Black History Month, Pride, International Women’s Day, Disability Pride Month and many workshops and conferences to promote the policies and programmes. Above all EDIC monitors what is happening in the legal profession and is a bridge of engagement between members and the Law Society as an institution, staff and elected members diversity and inclusion.
Human Rights
While being an active member of the Law Society Council and its committees and boards for over 20 years, I am also a European at heart. So it was natural and a pleasure for me to attend the Federation of European Bars (FBE) event in Barcelona in Spring 2000, at the request of the Law Society leadership. I discovered how I could be involved in campaigning alongside lawyers from bar associations all over Europe on many issues and especially on human rights. Our brief is the protection of lawyers at risk, defending human rights, access to justice, and the rule of law. We receive requests from lawyers who are threatened, persecuted, attacked, arrested and imprisoned. Sadly we also support the colleagues of those lawyers who have been killed because of their work. I joined the FBE’s Human Rights Commission in 2006 and was the President from 2010 until 2015. I was the first woman President of the FBE in 2017-2018, and the role gave me more time and scope to work on human rights, thanks to the understanding of my employer London South Bank University (where I work part time in the Legal Advice Clinic).
Defending the right to defence
The international legal community is well placed to support lawyers at risk of arrest and detention, trial and imprisonment. We have the ear of our governments and parliamentarians, as well as the United Nations, and regional organisations. We can bring to the attention of the world what is happening in countries where our colleagues are being killed and attacked. We investigate situations by visiting countries, hearing testimonies and reporting our findings to authorities, at local, and national government level, meeting with ministers and parliamentarians. We also monitor trials in order to ensure that all those in court and the media know that the eyes of the international legal community are in court to ensure a fair trial. We are currently supporting lawyers in Colombia, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Tunisia, Egypt, Palestine and Turkey. In 2008 I visited Colombia for the first time, at the request of Colombian human rights lawyers and have visited many times since and in 2013 I became a member of the International Advisory Commission of CCAJAR (the Jose Alvear Restrepo collective of lawyers).
International spotlight
Because of the international solidarity we give, the situation of the lawyers is more visible through our reports and public statements. We provide access to ministers in the Colombian government by asking the lawyers to accompany us to the meetings we have arranged as visitors. We push for protection from the Colombian National Unit of Protection, which at its best consists of a high security car with driver/bodyguards, personal protection clothing and monitoring. However, this is rare, and the need for protection far exceeds the capacity of the Unit to provide it. The presence of active paramilitary and guerrilla groups, not just in the jungle, mountains and countryside but also in some provincial cities and towns put human rights defenders at great risk. We undertake urgent actions and advocacy on behalf of those at risk writing to ministers and others seeking safety. Over the 18 years of active support by the Colombia Caravana, we have been told many times by the Colombians that our solidarity saves lives. Our international network of lawyers welcomes Spanish speaking lawyers, and there is more information on our website www.colombiancarvana.org.uk.
Professor Sara Chandler KC (Hon)
Immediate Past Chair
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee
Law Society of England and Wales
https://www.linkedin.com/in/professor-sara-chandler-kc-hon-2817542/
July 25