Natasha Shotunde of Garden Court Chambers is featured on the March 2026 cover of Counsel Magazine.
In the Counsel Magazine article, Natasha Shotunde, Black Barristers’ Network Co-Founder and its Chair for seven years, reflects on a decade at the Bar.
“Throughout my life, I have often been described as ‘strong’. For women, particularly Black women, strength is frequently expected rather than supported. Strength without support has a cost, and sometimes that cost is paid by the body.”
Natasha disclosed her experience being diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.
“My disability provided me with the experience of a characteristic that was non-visible, disclosure of which risked discrimination.
After my diagnosis, I did not know who to tell, what to disclose, where to seek support or what adjustments I was entitled to. I searched for guidance at the Bar and found little. The absence of structure left me lost at sea and made an already destabilising moment harder.
My diagnosis forced me to confront a difficult truth: I had spent years fighting for others while my body was fighting itself.”
Natasha also highlighted her achievements at the Bar, including being an elected member of the Bar Council, an honorary doctorate from Anglia Ruskin University and various awards.
“I was grateful for the recognition, but it did not change the underlying reality that progress for Black barristers, and particularly Black women, remained slow, especially in terms of career progression.”
This International Women’s Month, Natasha also reflected on progress at the Bar for Black barristers, particularly following Barbara Mills KC’s appointment as Chair at the Bar for 2025.
“Representation at the top, however, does not automatically translate into change on the ground, where access to work, advancement and influence continues to lag behind rhetoric.”
Read the full article here.
