Vice Dean: Faculty will ‘wither from the roots up’ if women fail to join bar
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Angela Grahame QC
If the bar continues to fail to attract women it will “wither from the roots up”, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, Angela Grahame QC has said.
In an interview with the Scottish Legal Action Group (SCOLAG), Ms Grahame said that while 65 per cent of law students are female across Scotland’s universities and the profession is more than 50 per cent female there were only two female devils this year.
She added: “Last year we had one. The Faculty is not attracting women at the moment. If this does not change, we will wither from the roots up. We need to do more to attract women.
“This year there were fourteen silks appointed, yet only two were female. There are issues right across the board. We need to be more proactive. The Faculty has only just completed its second equality and diversity survey. We need to think about what we can do to address these problems.”
Ms Grahame said she thought all of the Faculty’s office bearers should be questioned on these issues, “not just me or the females”.
The Vice Dean also touches on the Faculty’s role in promoting access to justice, her own personal experiences at the bar, and her tips for young lawyers.
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