In Focus - May 2007

In Focus this month is Susha Chandrasekhar, the new Chair of the Association of Women Solicitors (AWS). Susha is a solicitor at the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) which is part of the Government Legal Service. She is also a member of the Chartered Management Institute.

Susha read Law at Newnham College, Cambridge and has a Masters in Law from Brasenose College, Oxford. Prior to joining the DTI, she worked at the Law Commission of England and Wales, as a lecturer at the London School of Economics and Political Science (on the LLB and LLM courses), and at the London and Brussels offices of Slaughter and May. She is currently working on the Companies Act 2006 Implementation Project and in her first DTI posting she advised on issues relating to science, innovation and the environment. 

In March 2007, Susha became the Chair of the AWS, the third ethnic minority to take on that position in as many years. She is also the first Government lawyer to hold the post. The AWS aims to be the essential national network helping to promote the potential and success of each woman solicitor at every stage of her career.  The Association strives to articulate and represent the views of women solicitors, and to promote their interests in the profession and campaign. It represents women of every background, and takes an interest in minority ethnic issues, as well as discrimination on the grounds of age and sexual orientation.  It has particular concerns about the “double whammy” effect of being a woman and of another group which may be subject to discrimination. 

The AWS offers women solicitors an extensive range of services, including:

• CPD-accredited professional events and conferences, both in London and in the regions, with opportunities to network - topics include career progression, judicial appointments, soft skills etc;
• a mentoring scheme to assist women solicitors with career development;
• a maternity helpline;
• annual week-long Returners’ Course for men and women seeking to return to the profession after a career break;
• the quarterly magazine LINK with a readership of circa 30,000;
• championing the cause of women in the Law Society through its Council seat;
• representation of women solicitors at working parties and at national and international conferences;
• close collaboration with other professional groups and women’s organisations; and
• a variety of social events.

Below is our interview with Susha:

BLD: What was the best career advice you were given?
SC: Take every chance you are given; never say "no" to a good opportunity, even if you initially feel nervous about it.

BLD: What was the worst career advice you were given?
SC: If you have children, accept flying lower.

BLD: What was the best career advice you will give to others?
SC: Do a job that you really enjoy. You are going to have to do it for a large proportion of every week of every year of your working life, and that’s too long to be half-interested, half-satisfied or just plain miserable.

BLD: If you were to choose another job/role, other than what you are doing, what would it be?
SC: I might be a marine biologist or an interior designer. However, I love my job, so I don’t think I would try to turn these hobbies into work.

BLD: The person you most admire (dead or alive) and why?
SC: Reinhold Messner.  He was the first man to make a solo ascent of Everest without using supplemental oxygen.  He went on to be the first man to climb every peak over 8,000m (14 of them), again without using bottled oxygen. He symbolises an extraordinary mix of technical skill and formidable will-power.

BLD: Please tell us your views about what practical steps the legal profession and users of legal services can take to ensure that organisations pay more than lip service to diversity?
SC: The AWS has identified three main areas in which law firms and other organisations could help women solicitors; flexibility, maternity break and networking.  The lack of work/life balance drives many highly-educated and expensively-trained women, and men, out of the profession.  A fresh approach to alternative work patterns could halt this exodus.  Women need more help to get back into their jobs after a maternity break, when for six months or more they have been “off the radar”.  The male-dominated nature of networking is cited by many women as an obstacle.  Some law firms are actively seeking out networking opportunities and events for female staff and they are to be applauded for taking this step.

BLD: What is the most interesting diversity issues you have had to tackle in your professional role to date?
SC: Organising a multi-faith event which focused specifically on how to deal with a member of another faith, or of no faith, in the workplace.  It was interesting, to say the least, getting Christians, Jews, Sikhs, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, humanists, atheists and a pagan together.

BLD: What are the greatest issues/challenges on diversity that needs to be tackled now?
SC: Women now make up over 60% of trainees and are predicted one day to be the majority of the profession.  Their concerns will have to be addressed, as no profession can afford to ignore the majority.  And men, too, are voting with their feet when it comes to an increasing proportion of all solicitors (and barristers) work/lifestyle balance.  The same issues apply to BME solicitors who are also making up.

BLD: What are you most passionate/happiest about?
SC: My family and close friends.  Apart from that, great art and the deep ocean.

BLD: What are your dislikes/makes you angry?
SC: Selfishness and dishonesty.

BLD: If you could rule the world for a day what would you change/do?
SC: Stop the abuse of the unprotected in the world – many are in too weak a position to do it by themselves.