Society's News

Corporate Members 2022

3PB Albion Chambers Ashfords Barcan + Kirby Beale & Co Bevan Brittan BLM Burges Salmon Clarke Willmott CMS CMNO DAC Beachcroft The Family Law Practice Foot Anstey (including Enable Law) Freeths Fussell Wright GL Law Guildhall Chambers Irwin Mitchell Solicitors Lyons Davidson Marc White & Co Meade King Osborne Clarke Paragon Costs Solutions Queen Square Chambers Royds Withy King Simmons … more

BLS features in Bristol Post oldest thriving companies in Bristol

Excerpt from the article: How Bristol’s oldest companies are still thriving after more than 100 years in business They include the city’s last-surviving chocolate maker a wine merchant and a tannery. Why do some companies struggle to survive beyond a year while others flourish for hundreds? Although more than 90 per cent of small companies in Britain will survive one … more

No 12, The Meeting Rooms – Conference, Meeting and Mediation Rooms for Hire

Please note that the BLS office is shut to members at present as we continue to work from home during the pandemic.  Bristol Law Society’s suite of conference and meeting rooms including a suite of mediation rooms are conveniently located in the centre between the Waterfront Area and the Old City in a modern building situated on the corner of … more

LGBT+ Lawyers

Bristol Law Society is committed to promoting and supporting ED&I in the legal profession with a focus within Bristol and the South West. As part of this we promote inclusion and equal opportunities in the legal profession we engage with the local LGBT+ legal community and other LGBT+ groups. The term LGBT+ is meant to encompass everybody who identifies as non-heterosexual and/or non-cisgender, including but not limited to lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, asexual, intersex and all who fall under the full LGBT+ diversity spectrum.

For more information or local support please contact Coralie McKeivor  Coralie McKeivor Coralie.McKeivor@cms-cmno.com 

Legal Pride

The legal professions of England and Wales – solicitors, barristers and chartered legal executives – will celebrate Pride events virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a ‘Home and Away’ theme.

The Law Society of England and Wales, the Bar Council of England and Wales and the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) will release a series of video and blog interviews with members from each city whose Pride they were due to attend – Birmingham, London, Bristol, Newcastle, Leeds, Cardiff and Manchester – to highlight the experiences of LGBT+ lawyers across the country. Having this new format means we can mark even more Prides – in particular Black Pride and Trans Pride Brighton.

Bristol content will be published in July, so make sure you join in.

Members of the professions will be encouraged to use the hashtag #LegalPride2020 and #Equalunderthelaw and share their own thoughts on celebrating Pride this year and what it is like to be LGBT+ in the profession, or an ally of the LGBT+ community.

Find out more.

Bristol Pride

Bristol Pride 2020 will take place online from the 1-12 September and offers the opportunity to celebrate the LGBT+ community and showcase the diversity of Bristol. Find out more information on their website.

Local LGBT+ Groups and Organisations

• Proud Bristol
• LGBT Community Groups in Bristol, Somerset & Wiltshire
• OutStories Bristol

Do you have an organisation you would like to add to our list? Get in touch by emailing [a member of our ED&I Subcommittee].

LGBT+ Division of the Law Society

If you are not already a member of the national Law Society LGBT+ Division – why not join. Membership of the LGBT+ Lawyers Division is free, and is open to all solicitors and their allies.
Members benefit from:

• specialised events and training
• networking opportunities
• regular e-newsletters and updates
• access to a community of LGBT+ lawyers
• voting rights for division seats on the Law Society’s governing council

To join the LGBT+ Division, sign up to My Law Society and tick the LGBT+ lawyers box in Special interests. You will receive regular email updates and tailored content will appear on your My Law Society homepage. For more information email lgbt@lawsociety.org.uk

News & Articles

• SRA: How diverse is the Legal profession
• Law Society: Legal Pride

Resources & Websites

• Stonewall
• LGBT+ Lawyers Division
• The Law Society LGBT+ Lawyers Division – LinkedIn Group
• LGBT Foundation
• Global Butterflies
• Bristol Mind
• MindOut
• Switchboard
• OTR Bristol: Freedom
• Bristol Pride Resources

Business case for diversity and inclusion, which also  contains tips and practical suggestions for leaders to be more inclusive.  – https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/hr-and-people-management/equality-diversity-and-inclusion-a-business-case