Urban Lawyers is a charity founded by Dr Tunde Okewale OBE, Barrister at Doughty Street Chambers.
The charity works to makes the law (in its academic, practical and career contexts) more accessible to marginalised groups in society.
Urban Lawyers is currently run by a committee of young diverse legal professionals, practising as barristers and solicitors in firms and chambers across the United Kingdom.
Our main passion is to provide inspiration and education to all who have or will encounter the legal profession. Through our work we expose students to the legal profession in a way they may not otherwise be able to.
We are passionate about improving social mobility and diversity in a profession that has been limited to a few. Many of the lawyers that volunteer give their free time to run Urban Lawyers and are themselves from backgrounds which are currently underrepresented.
Urban Lawyers focuses on educating young people from underrepresented backgrounds about their legal rights as well as tackling the diversity issues within the legal profession by providing workshops, mentoring, coaching and networking opportunities. We engage with our members through meetings, university societies and through our social media presence.
TIMELINE
2010
Urban Lawyers is a charity founded by Tunde Okewale.
2015
Urban Lawyers celebrates its 5 year anniversary at Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP (now Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP).
2016
Urban Lawyers holds its first Urban Lawyers Careers Conference.
2018
Urban Lawyers launches Urban Lawyers Heroes at its annual careers conference.
2020
Urban Lawyers will be celebrating its 10 year anniversary with a series of events throughout the year.
2021
Urban Lawyers Launches Prison project with HMP Pentonville.
2022
Legal Department of luxury fashion brand, Manolo Blahnik, joins Dr Tunde Okewale MBE and his charity, Urban Lawyers, in launching joint educational initiative to widen participation in the law''-In Law.
2022
Urban Lawyers partners up with urban music outlet and Entertainment outlet and entertainment platform "GRM" to create "Law , Schooled". Law, Schooled provides information about the law in the context of music, entertainment, and popular culture.
WHAT URBAN LAWYERS DO
Event
Urban Lawyers host, facilitate and promote legal career events providing students with an opportunity to meet legal professionals and gain insights into the legal world.
Workshops
Urban Lawyers deliver interactive workshops which engage and stimulate young people in discussions about their attitudes towards the law and the ever-changing policies in their local communities.
The workshops we offer vary from legal career development workshops, to youth offenders’ workshops, to tailored workshops on specific offences and procedures.
Research
Providing information about young people’s views and/or experiences of the criminal justice system.
Curriculum
Urban Lawyers delivers a set of courses with legal content which is available to be taught at schools and universities. It provides a simple and undiluted overview of the legal principles and theories that govern our society.
OUR PROJECTS
Manolo Blahnik and Urban Lawyer
“Legal Department of luxury fashion brand, Manolo Blahnik, joins Dr Tunde Okewale MBE and his charity, Urban Lawyers, in launching joint educational initiative to widen participation in the law"
Manolo Blahnik and Urban Lawyers have launched joint initiative, INLAW aimed at widening participation within the legal profession. INLAW is an educational programme aimed at providing high school students from underrepresented backgrounds with an opportunity to understand the career paths available in law, the pathways to those careers and an opportunity to identify which of their own personal attributes, qualities and skills would support a career in law.
The programme is co-founded by Georgina McManus, Chief Legal Officer at Manolo Blahnik and Dr Tunde Okewale, MBE, Barrister at Doughty Street Chambers and founder of the registered charity Urban Lawyers.
INLAW
INLAW launched its pilot programme in March 2022 with selected Year 11 students from Park View School, Haringey. The programme will be delivered in 7 consecutive weeks with a single cohort of students currently considering a career in law.
The weekly modules aim to consolidate and develop the students’ understanding of the law and career paths available within the profession as well as developing skills and tools to pursue that career path through an interactive blend of classwork and coursework. In particular, the programme will allow participants to consider their personal skills and attributes and how these naturally developed qualities are beneficial in different legal professional roles.
Programme participants will have the opportunity to meet and interact with leading legal professionals, academics and researchers from renowned chambers and law firms. The expectation is that participants will leave with clear memories of legal professionals and be exposed to diversity within the sector, providing an opportunity to project themselves into these spaces.
INLAW will be a legacy programme capable of scaling to maximise exposure of underrepresented, minority group students to the legal profession. The programme is capable of delivery by legal professionals and organisations beyond Dr Okewale and Georgina in the future.
INLAW’s ultimate objectives
- Provide under-represented students insight into the legal profession and breadth of career options (including support role opportunities within law)
- Empower and equip students with fundamental career skills and knowledge
- Enable students to make an informed decisions on how to pursue a career within the legal profession
- Support students to identify their personal attributes, aptitudes and skills, and present legal career options complementing these
- Offer mentorship and support
- Advice on pathways to careers in law, including development of CV, personal presentation and interview skills.
PRISON PROJECT
The Prison Project: As a result of our work with those already in the criminal justice system, UL is acutely aware of the importance of finances to the successful reintegration of ex-offenders. However, many struggle to find suitable employment following their sentence. As a result, entrepreneurship is being increasingly viewed as one way of breaking the cycle of reoffending.
Urban Lawyers is currently working with HMP Pentonville, preparing to run business / commercial law workshops within the prison. These workshops will support existing students of the in-prison business course and give them the confidence to establish their companies within a legal framework.
LAW SCHOOLED
Legal charity “Urban Lawyers” partners with urban music outlet and entertainment platform “GRM” to create "Law, schooled" will provide information about the law in context of music, entertainment, and popular culture.
WHO WE WORK WITH
Over the years, we have collaborated with and been supported by a wide range of law firms, barristers chambers, universities, brands and other organisations.
Our Vision
Our main passion is to provide inspiration and education to all who have or will encounter the legal profession
MEET THE TEAM
Meet the team behind Urban Lawyers
