Roche GC And ‘Point of Light’ Recipient Funke Abimbola Once Struggled To Get Her Foot In The Door Of The Legal Profession

Now Funke Abimbola is shattering glass ceilings and serving as a role model for her peers.

Funke Abimbola

Funke Abimbola

“This is lecture number two, ‘My Philosophy’ / Number One was ‘Poetry’ you know it’s me / This is ‘My Philosophy’ many artists got to learn / I’m not flammable, I don’t burn.”KRS-One

Last week, Roche (UK) General Counsel Funke Abimbola was honored as a ‘Point of Light’ by Prime Minister Theresa May. In a personal letter to Abimbola, the Prime Minister  wrote:

You have become a role model for thousands of young people, inspiring them to believe that race or gender should not be a barrier to achieving their potential.

By speaking so passionately to groups in Parliament, the Law Society and, most importantly, over two thousand school children and university students, you are supporting the professions to become more diverse.

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to catch up with Funke Abimbola. In our conversation, she described how hard it was for her to break into the legal profession. Now she is shattering glass ceilings. From her resiliency early in her career to her current volunteerism, Abimbola has always been a role model for her peers.

Abimbola embodies the saying, “When you have more than you need, build a longer table—not a higher fence.” She has certainly motivated me to give back, and I hope she will motivate you to give back as well. Here is a (lightly edited and condensed) write-up of our conversation:

RC: Coming from a family of doctors, what attracted you to the law and how did you choose Newcastle Law School?

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FA: It started with a love of words, both spoken and written. I was a voracious reader as a child, often reading a book a day. As a youngster, I loved debating issues around the family table and developed a strong passion for justice and the legal system. However, I wasn’t adversarial in nature and preferred enabling deals to happen, hence my choice of becoming a corporate, transactional lawyer, advising a wide range of businesses.

Newcastle Law School was and still remains a top Law School in the UK. Importantly, it is a diverse university in the North of England. Having been brought up within a very privileged boarding school environment in the South of England, I consciously wanted to see and experience more of life. I really enjoyed my time in Newcastle and maintain strong links as an alum.

RC: Last year, you coauthored the report, titled “Opening Up or Shutting Out,” which focused on social mobility in the legal profession. For those who haven’t read it yet, what were some of the most interesting facts and surprising findings of the report?

FA: That being born into a socially deprived background means your prospects of progressing within a legal career are still extremely limited. This is even more so with government cuts to legal aid funding – legal aid firms tend to have an over-representation of lawyers from diverse backgrounds, attracting lawyers unable to progress within larger firms and organisations.

In addition, certain arms of the legal profession in the UK are ‘super elitist’, particularly the judiciary and the Bar.

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The strong message was that more needs to be done to redress this balance and level the playing field. The report recommended agreeing to the adoption of social mobility targets using established initiatives like the 30% Club as a model; also broadening access at entry level  through apprenticeships, early outreach schemes for bright state school students from deprived backgrounds, mentoring, role modelling, sponsorship, coaching and providing financial bursaries.

RC: You mentioned how hard it was to enter the legal profession after graduation. Do you believe your name or race affected your employment opportunities? And can you share with us how you landed your first legal job in the UK?

FA: My name and race were definitely an issue. I qualified via the Transfer Test, having completed the Nigerian Bar exams. On returning to the UK, the Law Society reduced the 2-year training contract requirement down to 6 months, based on the work experience I had gained whilst studying in Nigeria. Yet the 6 months’ experience was impossible to find through conventional applications. Conversely, I saw many of my British-born peers with English-sounding names progressing in their applications for a 2-year training contract!

Having been enraged by a recruiter who told me that “corporate law was too competitive for a black woman,” I drew up a list of the top 100 corporate law firms in the UK and top in-house legal teams and cold-called the heads of each team. This bold approach worked – I secured my first legal job with a large, fully-listed company within the entertainment field.

RC: What can corporations and law firms do right now to promote diversity and inclusion in the legal profession?

FA: Regarding diversity, I would highlight here the recommendations that we made in ‘Opening up or shutting out’- agreeing and maintaining a set of key diversity data, committing to being data transparent, setting diversity targets, promoting recruitment practices designed to broaden intake (for example ‘CV-blind’ policies, contextual recruitment systems and recruiting from a broader range of Universities), as well as promoting unconscious bias training.

Where diversity is being invited to the party, inclusion is being asked to dance, having cocktails brought for you and enjoying a few canapes! On the inclusion side, employee networks supported and sponsored by senior partners are essential as well as tailored mentoring and sponsorship.

Corporations can use ‘client power’ by insisting on only using diverse law firms. I am a strong advocate of this in the UK – building the business case for diversity and inclusion from the external law firm angle is incredibly impactful.

RC: What life and lawyerly advice do you have for law school students and recent graduates?

FA: Have a plan of action and do your research in planning your next steps, clearly outlining your goals. You need to know who you are, where your strengths and passions lie, and where you need to improve. Above all, be persistent, tenacious and determined – so many people will try to curb your ambition and limit your vision. Be focused and absolutely clear about what you want to achieve and the type of firm you would like to work for.

Give back by mentoring others who are looking to you for leadership and guidance. Remember to keep calm and keep the faith on those days when you have done everything right and things still do not go your way. After a setback, dust yourself off, pick yourself up, learn from the experience and then continue your journey – life is a marathon and not a sprint!

RC: It was great chatting with you. Is there anything else you would like to share with our audience?

FA: My final word is about success and what that looks like. Everyone has a different definition of what success means to them, so find out what success means to you and never lose sight of what is really important in life.

It is always good to remember what you should be thankful for rather than constantly focusing on the next goal in your pursuit of success. Life is all about the balance that works for you, so find that balance in defining success.

RC: On behalf of everyone here at Above the Law, I would like to thank Funke Abimbola for sharing her experience and wisdom with our audience. We wish her continued success in her career.


Renwei Chung is the Diversity Columnist at Above the Law. You can contact Renwei by email at projectrenwei@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter (@renweichung), or connect with him on LinkedIn.