Equality & diversity

Thames Chambers does not discriminate against any person on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation, whether that person is a client, an instructing solicitor, a pupil, a member of court staff or anyone else encountered in the course of the work.

Instructions are accepted on their merits and on availability alone. The Bar Standards Board Handbook and the Equality Act 2010 set the standard, and this practice applies it.

Clients who need an adjustment in order to give instructions or attend a hearing are asked to say so early. Documents can be supplied in larger print or in an alternative format, meetings can be held by telephone or video where attending in person would be difficult, and the practice will assist in requesting adjustments from the court, including hearing-loop provision, additional breaks, or a remote attendance direction.

Where a client's first language is not English, the need for an interpreter will be identified at the outset and, where possible, an interpreter will be requested from the court rather than charged to the client.

A significant part of this practice involves clients from migrant and minority communities. Having been brought up overseas, Mr Islam reads the cultural and family context of those cases without needing it explained, which shortens the time spent taking instructions and helps in putting a client's account to a court accurately.

These arrangements are reviewed annually, together with any complaint that raises an equality issue. Anyone who believes they have been treated unfairly by this practice is invited to say so using the procedure on the complaints page; such matters are treated as complaints and answered in writing.