InterLaw Diversity Forum for LGBT Networks

Immigration Equality Panel Event: 6:30 pm, Thursday, 16 February (Family Migration, Asylum and Same-Sex Couples in the U.S. and U.K)

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:23:00 -0500

Immigration Equality Panel Event: 6:30 pm, Thursday, 16 February (Family Migration, Asylum and...

January Monthly Meeting (18 January, Paul Hastings, 6:30 pm)

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:11:00 -0500

Please note that the venue for our meeting taking place this Wednesday, 18 January 2012 has now...

Launch of Career Progression Survey 2012 by the InterLaw...

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:35:00 -0500

Launch of Career Progression Survey 2012 by the InterLaw Diversity Forum, the Law Society and the Bar Council

Following our groundbreaking survey The Career Experience of LGB Solictors conducted with the Law Society and the Bar Council and published in 2010, we are now looking to launch a more ambitious and far-reaching project that will survey the career experiences of all lawyers and others working in the legal sector. Our aim is to uncover diverging career experiences of all kinds of people from all backgrounds in every kind of legal practice. The objective is to understand what drives or hinders career progression in the legal sector for men and women, gay and straight, black and white, religious and non-believer. This will inform our work to support a diverse and inclusive workforce across the legal sector where every individual has a fair opportunity to develop a rewarding career.

We hope to repeat the survey regularly so that we can see how the picture changes over time and which initiatives and projects are making a positive difference. Please help us to promote this year’s survey, which will again be conducted in collaboration with the Law Society and Bar Council.

Please participate by completing the survey here and encouraging all of your colleagues to participate. We are also reaching out to senior management and HR professionals to send this link out across their organisations.

Launch of Transgender Initiative Page Please join us in...

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 12:25:12 -0500

Launch of Transgender Initiative Page

Please join us in celebrating the launch of our Transgender Initiative page on our website. This page contains resources to assist employers in becoming more inclusive of trans people, including links to charities such as the Gender Trust and Press for Change, as well as a link to the ground breaking resource created by Galop called ‘Shining the Light: 10 Keys to Becoming a Trans Positive Organisation.’

We have also included a write up on our transgender panel event co-hosted with Lloyds TSB on 1 November 2011 by our InterLaw Diversity Committee members Lucy Annison and Kerrin Roberts.

Please let us know if you have any feedback or suggestions for future events and join us in celebrating a next step for LGBT equality for the InterLaw Diversity Forum!

Member’s Survey 2011! As we move forward towards our...

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:56:00 -0400

Member’s Survey 2011!

As we move forward towards our fourth anniversary we thought it would be a good time to reflect on our work over the last year and look forward to our next. As a member or supporter of the InterLaw Diversity Forum your views are very important to us, so we have devised a survey to find out more about you and your thoughts on us. None of the questions are mandatory and all answers are anonymous.

Please take a few minutes and complete the survey here. Any and all feedback, comments and suggestions would be gratefully received.

Tenth Annual Stonewall Lecture (Monday 14th November, 6:00pm, The Law Society)

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:50:00 -0400

You are invited to attend the tenth annual Stonewall Lecture Sexual orientation and the Equality Act...

Different Shades of the Same Rainbow: A BAME and LGBT Event...

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:08:00 -0400

Different Shades of the Same Rainbow: A BAME and LGBT Event from the InterLaw Diversity Forum, the Bar and the Law Society on Wednesday, 23rd November

Wednesday, 23rd November, 6.00 pm, Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL

The InterLaw Diversiry Forum, the Law Society and the Bar want to explore experience of black, asian and minority ethnic (“BAME”) members of the legal sector and see how this experience is impacted when those members are also part of the LGBT community.

Hear from Dr Rob Berkeley of Runnymede Trust and Ms Laura Swiszczowski of Race for Opportunity as they speak about some of the barriers BAME & LGBT professionals face particularly in the legal workplace and how to overcome them in order to succeed and still stay connected to our various communities. Hear also from senior lawyers who speak from the heart on the challenges of being LGBT and BAME in modern day Britain.

This event will be followed by networking drinks in a safe and engaging environment.

6 pm registration for a 6:30 pm start.

If you are interested in attending please contact Sophia Nadur on s_nadur@yahoo.com or Daniel Winterfeldt on daniel.winterfeldt@cms-cmck.com.

Sponsorship Event with the InterLaw Diversity Forum, GWN and Interbank (Wednesday 30th November, 6.00pm, Morgan Stanley)

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 17:00:00 -0400

This panel event will cover the theme of ‘Sponsorship’ and will be followed by...

Congratulations to our founder and co-chair Daniel Winterfeldt...

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 08:34:00 -0400

Congratulations to our founder and co-chair Daniel Winterfeldt for making the Independent on Sunday’s Pink List of the 101 most influential LGBT people for 2011! See the full list and coverage in the Independent here.

Transgender Community in the Workplace Seminar (Tuesday, 1st...

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 15:32:00 -0400

Transgender Community in the Workplace Seminar (Tuesday, 1st November, 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm, Lloyds TSB)

Lloyds Banking Group and the Interlaw Diversity Forum are pleased to invite you to our Transgender Community In The Workplace seminar hosted by Lloyds TSB at , 25 Gresham Street, London, EC2V 7HN.

Whilst many organisations now have open and effective networks to support LGBT staff, the T population is small and fragmented, with very different needs / requirements from HR, LGB staff and within their own community. This seminar is aimed at HR professionals, employee network group representatives and members of the T community, and will feature speakers from the Gender Trust, one of the UK’s leading organisations working in this field, Lloyds Banking Group’s Diversity & Inclusion team and transgender(ed) individuals. We will be covering issues around the current legal framework for transgender(ed) individuals, how this translates into a work concept, and how companies can best support transgender(ed) individuals and maintain employee engagement.

As far as we’re aware this is one of the first events to be run in this space and we’re really excited about the contribution we hope it will make. We look forward to welcoming you on 1st November. The event will begin at 1600. At present we have not fully decided on a venue as we are waiting to ascertain the level of interest, but it will be in central London.

To RSVP please email patrick.osborne@lloydsbanking.com, listing who will be attending from your organisation in order of preference as we may need to restrict attendance to ensure as many organisations as possible can participate. Please make this invitation available to relevant LGBT network, HR and management contacts as relevant in your organisation.

Feminist Judgments: how women can, and do, shape the...

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 12:01:00 -0400

Feminist Judgments: how women can, and do, shape the law

The InterLaw Diversity Forum Women’s Initiative hosted an evening exploring Feminist Judgments: how women can, and do, shape the law. The evening was hosted by Norton Rose LLP at their offices at 3 More London Riverside.

We were honoured to have Baroness Hale of Richmond (the only female member of the UK Supreme Court) speak about the importance of women’s perspectives for the law and how women can contribute to different legal decisions. Following Baroness Hale’s introduction, we are delighted to look into three fascinating decisions of the English courts which provoke discussion about what a ‘feminist’ judgment in these cases might have looked like.

The ‘Feminist Judgments’ project undertaken by Professor Rosemary Hunter of the University of Kent and Professor Clare McGlynn and Dr Erika Rackley of the University of Durham is an imaginative collaboration which has sought to write alternative feminist judgments to significant legal cases. Rather than producing academic critiques, our speakers have engaged in a practical exercise of writing alternative judgments to well known legal cases. The project aimed to consider how decisions might have been reached from a feminist perspective.

During the evening we considered the following cases:

Royal Bank of Scotland Plc v Etridge (No 2)

[2001] UKHL 44 - Presentation by Professor Rosemary Auchmuty (University of Reading)

Wilkinson v Kitzinger [2006] EWHC 2022 (Fam)

- Presentation by Dr Rosie Harding (Keele University)

R v A (No 2) [2001] UKHL 25

- Professor Clare McGlynn (University of Durham)

Group Head of Litigation and Dispute Resolution at Norton Rose, Deirdre Walker chaired questions following the presentations.

We were delighted to be co-chairing this important discussion on gender, sexuality and the law.

Daniel Winterfeldt & Laura Hodgson

Co-Chairs, The InterLaw Diversity Forum

Download Your Copy of our Groundbreaking Publication Barriers to...

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:17:00 -0400

Download Your Copy of our Groundbreaking Publication Barriers to Application for Judicial Appointment for LGBT Lawyers produced with the Law Society and the Bar Council

Please click here to download the InterLaw Diversity Forum’s groundbreaking report produced with The Law Society and The Bar Council on Barriers to Application for Judicial Appointment for LGBT Lawyers: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Experiences published in September 2011. It was co-authored by Professor Leslie J. Moran and Daniel K. Winterfeldt and features a forward from the Chairman of the Judicial Appointments Commission Christopher Stevens.

Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) LGBT Judicial Outreach Event: September Meeting and Networking Drinks (Wednesday 21 September)

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 18:43:00 -0400

The InterLaw Diversity Forum monthly meeting on Wednesday 21 September was generously hosted by...

Pop-Up Charity Event to Benefit Stonewall Featuring Skin The...

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Pop-Up Charity Event to Benefit Stonewall Featuring Skin

The InterLaw Diversity Forum for LGBT Networks hosted a pop-up charity event to celebrate our 3rd anniversary and to benefit Stonewall’s Education for All campaign on Thursday, 15 September 2011 featuring an exclusive DJ set from Skin of Skunk Anansie and generously sponsored by the Law Society. We also had a DJ set from the one and only Jodie Harsh and other surprise DJs and celebrity guests.

Skin is one of Britain’s leading female rock singers. She is also a fashion icon, a renowned DJ, a charity activist, and an inspiring role model. Continually pushing boundaries, she proves that one’s potential can be limitless.

Our venue Diu is nestled on the uber-trendy Greek Street in Soho and is a haven of luxury and glamour. The event ran from 6:30 pm to 10:00 pm and the dress code was pre-fashion week glam.

Some of the raffle prizes which were up for grabs included: *drum roll please*: 1. Two Tickets to Britney Spears at the 02; 2. Signed Jesse J CD; 3. Bottle of Champagne and Admission to the Club at the Ivy for Four; 4. Two Tickets to the Unconditional Runway Show and After Party; 5. Basket of REN products…and many more!

Please see photos on our Facebook page here.

More coverage of the InterLaw Diversity Forum for LGBT...

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 09:59:00 -0400

More coverage of the InterLaw Diversity Forum for LGBT Networks Report on LGBT Judicial Diversity published last week! Many thanks to my co-author Les Moran and to Stephen Ward , Philip O Gorman and Laura Hodgson for helping with the launch and to Jonathan Leonhart for amazing editing and Stephen Manion for amazing design work!

Daniel k. Winterfeldt

Read the article….

Monthly Meeting Rotas for 2009, 2010 and 2011/12

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 16:56:00 -0400

Monthly meeting rota for 2011/12. NB: There are no monthly meetings for October and November 2011...

Launch of exclusive report on LGBT diversity in the...

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 19:46:00 -0400

Launch of exclusive report on LGBT diversity in the judiciary. (7 July 2011, The Law Society)

Citizens need to be confident that judges reflect the full diversity of modern Britain. That confidence is vital to the rule of law. LGBT people don’t have that confidence in the judiciary at the moment, perhaps because LGBT judges seem to be very thin on the ground or are simply not visible.

The InterLaw Diversity Forum report on Barriers to Application for Judicial Appointment for LGBT Lawyers was published and there are some challenging findings.

The JAC also took the occasion to announce that it will begin monitoring the sexual orientation of applicants to the judiciary, one of the recommendations of the report.

We held our event at the Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London, WC2A 1PL from 18.45 on Thursday, 7 July to discuss what the report tells us and what we should do about it.

We were honoured to have a panel including:

Christopher Stephens, the new Chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission, which has responsibility for making judicial appointments and is committed to increasing diversity in the judiciary;

Professor Dame Hazel Genn, Dean of the Faculty of Laws, Professor of Socio-Legal Studies at University College London and has undertaken similar studies of women and BME lawyers;

The Rt Hon. Lord Justice Etherton, judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales;

Ben Summerskill, Chief Executive of Stonewall, the leading UK LGB-rights charity and who has advised on our report;

Professor Leslie Moran of Birkbeck College, co-author of the report and was instrumental in its development; and

Daniel Winterfeldt, Co-Chair of the InterLaw Diversity Forum and Head of International Capital Markets at CMS Cameron McKenna, co-author of the report (Chair).

We also had a welcome and introduction from Stephen Ward, Director of Communications, Inclusion and CR at the Law Society and Laura Hodgson, Co-Chair of the InterLaw Diversity Forum from Norton Rose.

After short remarks there was an open question and answer session followed by networking drinks.

For additional details and the full press release from the JAC please see here.

For a full copy of our final report please see here.

Setting Up an LGBT Network

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 16:42:00 -0400

There’s no magic to setting up your own LGBT group, but it’s fair to say that there is still a lot...

Front of the Legal section of the Times for the launch of...

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 08:13:00 -0400

Front of the Legal section of the Times for the launch of InterLaw Diversity Forum report http://t.co/p1IVzYD #LGBT #JudicialDiversity - 7 July

The Winter Carnival to Benefit the Albert Kennedy Trust at the...

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 13:12:00 -0500

The Winter Carnival to Benefit the Albert Kennedy Trust at the Club at the Ivy (March 2011)

The second annual InterLaw Diversity Forum for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (“LGBT”) Networks’ Winter Carnival was held Sunday, March 6th at The Club at The Ivy, in aid of the Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT), a charity that has been supporting homeless LGBT youth for over 20 years.

The Winter Carnival was organized by Daniel Winterfeldt, Head of International Capital Markets and Head of Diversity & Inclusion at CMS Cameron McKenna , and Founder of the InterLaw Diversity Forum; and by Laura Hodgson of Norton Rose, co-chair of the InterLaw Diversity Forum. Winterfeldt says, “The AKT performs invaluable work by supporting homeless and vulnerable lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans young people. We at the InterLaw Diversity Forum greatly value the work they do, and seek to support them in any way we can. This year we were able to top last year’s Winter Carnival by raising £21,000, as well as by raising awareness of the AKT and their mission.”

The AKT’s mission is to ensure that all lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans young people are able to live in accepting, supportive and caring homes, by providing a range of services to meet the individual needs of those who would otherwise be homeless or living in a hostile environment.

The event was generously hosted by Baker & McKenzie, Clifford Chance, and CMS Cameron McKenna; and sponsored by Herbert Smith, The Law Society, and Sidley Austin. Thanks to the generous support of the hosts and sponsors, as well as all those who donated prizes for the auction and raffle, all of the £21,000 raised from ticket sales and the evening’s auction went directly to the AKT. A portion of the funds raised were earmarked for the AKT’s “Kristian Digby Fund”, which will be used for the AKT’s “Young Person of the Year Award”. Kristian was a passionate supporter of the AKT’s work, and is remembered fondly after his untimely passing last year. The “Kristian Digby Fund” was established to honour his memory and his commitment to the AKT’s mission.

For the full press release for this year’s event please see here and for pictures from the event see here.

For details of last year’s event please visit the Albert Kennedy Trust’s website here.