My grandfather the lawyer

In my early teens, I was confronted with a dilemma all young people go through. What could possibly be my profession of choice? What was I truly passionate about? Most importantly, what could I always be excited about? The answer lay in my parents' generation. My maternal grandfather, Sachiswar Banerjee (born 18th May 1894) had begun to influence me in more ways than one.

As a young man he had travelled from pre-partition India around circa 1928 - 1930 to the United Kingdom to continue legal studies at the University of Oxford (Jesus College) and fulfilled his ambition to become a barrister. He had also built a flourishing practise at the High Court in Calcutta, India.

My grandfather believed that in his craft, which he revered, an innocent misjudgement could wreck hours or days of work and being meticulous was paramount. I used to hear stories of how he had an eye, instinctively capable of distinguishing between the miniscule details of a case that were part of the big picture and the imperfections of unnecessary details that called for obliteration. I bear these aspects in mind when I pour myself into my work every single day.

My mother, Arati, had lost him at the tender age of two and had little memory of him. But this had not dampened his legendary status in her mind, and then later, in mine. So, my mother (my hero) went on to study Law at the University of Calcutta, way back in 1972, following her father’s footsteps albeit short-lived owing to marriage and her move to the United Kingdom. 

I remember stories of how my grandfather was described to be a fierce defender of people’s rights; a Gandhian trait, which I attempt to adopt in my own approach to legal work.

The mental image of him attired appropriately for court and the sense of etiquette involved in dealing with court procedures were also appealing to my younger self and many a time, I believed that if my grandfather could overcome every obstacle, so could I.

I recall that during my interview with I. Stephanie Boyce, the Law Society president, we discussed Mahatma Gandhi’s words, ‘be the change you wish to see in the world’ and it dawned on me just how connected our experiences can be, however distant and unrelated those figures might appear.

I find that in planning for the next chapter at my own law firm, I have tried to ensure that we have a mentoring system whereby colleagues and local university students can use us to signpost queries. We have also seen in my current work the tumultuous time that defence lawyers and colleagues at the bar have endured in the criminal justice system, especially considering the period of ‘no returns’ enforced by the criminal bar.

I feel compelled to say that as new horizons blossom following the hardships and efforts of many, we will continue to keep pushing boundaries. Such that the new cohort of lawyers coming through, see it as an opportunity to join a legal profession which is brimming with opportunity, and feel they are joining a profession that is truly special.

We have our current president I. Stephanie Boyce and vice president Lubna Shuja to realise that we are drawing a lot closer to being able to achieve the seemingly impossible. Progress is attainable with a willingness to see the passing of old certainties. The birth of a new era of real inclusion is not out-of-bound.

To book a place at the free online event South Asian Trailblazers - how important has race legislation been to their success on 20 July, see Event summary - The Law Society.

Susanta Kumar Banerjee is a solicitor-advocate and principal owner of SKB Legal, Bedfordshire, and a committee member of the Law Society’s Ethnic Minority Lawyers Division