What does “paving the way” for future generations mean to you?
“For me, taking silk in 2010 was a pivotal moment. It was then that it occurred to me just how far the profession which I had joined 21 years earlier had come. I became a QC with three young children and also having had to take a three-year break for family reasons. I had come from Dundee and had no family connections to the law, yet there I was becoming a QC – and only the third Asian woman ever to achieve that rank. It meant the world to me. But I was proud not just for myself. I was proud also of the fact that there was the Bar, the most traditional of professions, acknowledging me for what I only ever wanted to be: a barrister operating to the best of my ability – and regardless of my colour and gender. I was deeply moved because I felt, perhaps for the first time, that the Bar had a real future as the progressive and inclusive institution that it has now become. I hope it is not recognised that diversity and inclusion helps the profession to flourish and we all have to do our part to support it. I would like to be able to help others achieve their goals.”
