Kelly Thomas: Shining a light on women solicitors and barristers

It was an absolute honour to be asked to take part in this article for Sussex Business Times. I thought I would take the opportunity to shine a light on women solicitors and barristers working in the world of criminal legal aid. 

I am a Managing Partner of the Sussex branch of the national criminal defence solicitors’ firm, Tuckers Solicitors. I started from relatively humble beginnings, growing up in Dagenham in Essex, and there were few opportunities that were presented to me at the end of my school years.  Largely the girls would marry and have children and support the men who would go into manual work.  I was very lucky in that I knew what I wanted to do from the outset, so my career decisions were obvious, although not easy. I worked very hard, both in education and in my part time jobs to fund my studies.  I completed my law degree and my Legal Practice Course and qualified as a solicitor     in 2008.

From a very young age I always believed in equality of arms, and it has always been my passion to seek fair treatment and justice, both for those accused of crimes and their accusers. I have a part to play in being a voice in the police station and the courtroom for anyone accused of a crime. It is especially important where those accused are vulnerable, for example due to their mental health or age. I have seen many changes over the years, but most notably the considerable reduction in those vulnerable people getting access to legal representation.

Since 2012, year on year, there have been sweeping funding cuts for legal aid specialists which has caused relentless and widespread under resourcing. The natural consequence of this is that many have left the profession in their droves, overworked and underpaid for what is in fact an extremely demanding and stressful job. The criminal court case backlog existed long before, but the pandemic has accelerated the increasing rate of delays in the system.  

This has affected all genders in the profession. For this article I focus on the impact on women, who historically take the lion’s share of childcare, and who have suffered particular hardship.  I am observing brilliant women who just would not step into, or stay in, a profession like this as it is nearly impossible to have a work/life balance.

The profession is hugely underpaid, and is not set up to allow for forward planning, some courts only issuing the times of their hearings as late as 5.30pm for the following day. On the salaries that solicitors and barristers make, it is not viable to have to pay for all day childcare, travel several hours for a hearing which takes less than 15 minutes, and then return to find you have spent more on childcare than you have earned in the day. It is not uncommon to spend a full day representing numerous clients at court, and then remain on call in the evening and weekends for last minute police station interviews. It is becoming unworkable and there is now a crisis in criminal legal aid which simply has to change. The only sensible answer is to increase funding. The profession is now at a point where graduates aren’t choosing to work in crime and shortly, there will be little or no choice for those vulnerable people but to represent themselves in court.  The system is now at breaking point.  This has been bubbling away for years.  Those interested may wish to follow the progress of the Independent Review of Criminal Legal Aid.

On a lighter note, those still fighting clearly have a loyal and feisty determination to offer a voice and access to justice for those in need.  I personally fell in love with the job the first day I got on my feet and the profession is stuck with me now!  I still enjoy picking apart the legal elements of a case and the banter of the courtroom is beyond compare. I enjoy it just as much now as I did then, and this is what keeps me loyal to the cause. Whether you win or lose your arguments, there is no beating the feeling of leaving court knowing you have presented your case well.  

I know I am in good company for this article with the wonderful women also featured, all of whom are rightly respected for each of their own achievements. I simply acknowledge those women who still, in 2022, have to make a choice between a family and a career, due to issues like these.  We have achieved a great deal, but there is a long way to go to ensure equality in all areas.

Kelly Thomas
Managing Partner
Sussex Branch
Tuckers Solicitors
www.tuckerssolicitors.com