News - Sailesh Mehta wins seat on Bar Council

Former Chair and founding member of the Society of Asian Lawyers (SAL) Sailesh Mehta has been elected to the Bar Council. Under his leadership, SAL challenged the Carter Reforms, he was instrumental in the Law Society Diversity Charter and was a founding member and the first Vice-Chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee. Sailesh, of 18 Red Lion Court, is also a Recorder and SAL named him Criminal Lawyer of the Year in 2009.

Sailesh issued a statement outlining his reasons for standing in the Over Seven Years’ Call category, which had 17 candidates for eight places. He said: “I was called to the Bar in 1986.  My practice is entirely criminal.  I have seen many changes in our profession over the last 20 years. The forthcoming difficulties for the profession will come at a time of deepening recession. I want to be actively involved in meeting these challenges. There is room for some optimism for the future in that the coming changes also hold opportunities for the Bar.

“I have worked on a number of human rights and diversity projects with the Bar Council.  I am a past Chairman of the Society of Asian Lawyers and was one of the founding members of the Bar Human Rights Committee.  As a member of the ‘Access to Justice’ campaign, I helped to instigate judicial review proceedings against the MoJ (Ministry of Justice) and the Legal Services Commission in the early stages of the implementation of the ‘Carter Review’.

“How we respond to the turbulent times ahead will affect generations of barristers to come.  I want to help formulate the Bar Council’s responses to the challenges ahead.”