Female barrister reveals male rival said she’d be a ‘kept woman’ after her wedding

A barrister hit out at sexist male lawyers yesterday after one commented that she would be ‘a kept woman’ and wouldn’t need to work once she was married.

In the latest broadside against chauvinist attitudes in the male-dominated profession, Amy Rollings, 31, said she was stunned after the remark by her barrister opponent during a county court case.

After hearing that she was due to get married this month, he said: ‘Well it won’t be long until you are a kept woman and you won’t need to do this.’ 

After winning the case, Miss Rollings took to Twitter to express her anger and joked: ‘I’ve just been killing time all these years until I found a husband!’

Her experience provoked a slew of similar accounts by other lawyers who had suffered at the hands of sexist ‘dinosaurs’.

Leading criminal barrister Eleanor Mawrey, of London’s 9 Gough Square chambers, replied: ‘I feel your pain! Last year a male barrister told me that why it’s hard at the crim[inal] bar was because women who were doing it as a “hobby” part time around child care took cases away from proper full-timers (aka men)!’

Miss Rollings took to Twitter to express her anger at the remark that came from her barrister opponent during a county court case

After winning the case, Miss Rollings (pictured) joked: ‘I’ve just been killing time all these years until I found a husband!’

Family barrister Amy Beddis responded: ‘When I first came back to the bar after mat[ernity] leave, I was chatting to a male oppo[nent] about my baby, who was 6 months old, and his response, in horror, was “your baby is barely sitting up and you are back at work?” ’

A second family practitioner, Nadia Tawfik, tweeted: ‘Not that long ago I had an older male oppo[nent] who got quite snarky and asked why I wasn’t at home making a pie for my husband. I’ve never made a pie in my life’.

An anonymous barrister and legal commentator calling herself CrimeGirl also tweeted: ‘When I was pregnant, a solicitor told me that they “thought I was a career woman” and pointed at my stomach. I said I am a career woman.’ 

Other female lawyers told of being ignored and patronised at meetings by male colleagues, with one even asked if she knew how to use a laptop.

Leading criminal barrister Eleanor Mawrey, of London’s 9 Gough Square chambers, replied: ‘I feel your pain! Last year a male barrister told me that why it’s hard at the crim[inal] bar was because women who were doing it as a “hobby” part time around child care took cases away from proper full-timers (aka men)!’

Leeds-based personal injury solicitor Lucy Mills said: ‘Lost count of the amount of meetings I’ve attended with my (male) boss only to be asked if I’m the secretary.’

Miss Rollings, who practises at Manchester’s leading 9 St John Street chambers, specialises in personal injury and employment law.

The keen marathon-runner added in her tweets: ‘For some reason (shock?), I answered really politely and explained I don’t like staying at home.’

While the term ‘kept woman’ historically refers to the mistress of a married man, it is often used today to refer to a wife or partner who is financially supported and does not need to work.

Speaking from her chambers, Miss Rollings said that she is already having to put up with ‘presumptions’ from male barristers that she will soon be at home with children.

She said: ‘It is a conversation I had hoped we had moved on from a long time ago. Sadly, this was not the first time a comment had been made along these lines and, unfortunately, I doubt it will be the last. By continuing the conversation, we can shine some light on the issue.’

Earlier this year, leading London-based criminal barrister Joanna Hardy highlighted sexist male lawyers in courtrooms ‘behaving like they’re on a stag do’. 

Miss Hardy, based at Red Lion Chambers, advised her male colleagues: ‘If you are male in a male-heavy case, don’t ask the female counsel to fetch the coffee/pour your water. Try to remember their names. Don’t make repetitive jokes about breasts or skirts.’

She added that saying ‘You’re worse than my wife’ was ‘not an acceptable way to conclude a debate about complex legal provisions’. 

Newly appointed Supreme Court justice Lady Arden is among those who have recently spoken about how women have been guided away from the most senior jobs.

And Lord Burnett of Maldon, the Lord Chief Justice, has also warned that sexism is deterring able young women from pursuing careers in the law.

Last November, City law firm Reed Smith sacked a partner following alleged sexual harassment of junior female lawyers. 

Shortly afterwards another City firm confirmed that it had sacked a partner who was suspended after being seen viewing pornography on his office computer.