Solicitor makes history as first Black senior partner at UK top 100 law firm

Trevor Sterling, a personal injury solicitor at Moore Barlow, has been elected as the first Black senior partner at a UK top 100 law firm.

Sterling expressed his elation in a tweet: “I really hope this inspires greater diversity and social mobility within our profession.”

Featuring in the Law Gazette in 2016, Sterling revealed that he had entered the legal profession by “good fortune” having left school at the tender age of 17.

From there he began working for trade union members – it was this role of supporting the victims of road traffic accidents that developed a sense of empathy which motivated his pursuit of a legal career.

Sterling qualified as a solicitor at the age of 26, with 10 years of legal experience under his belt and obtained partnership just two years later.

Since then, he has worked on high-profile cases including representing several Westminster terror attack victims and the families of victims following the Croydon tram crash in 2016.

In the Gazette feature, he explained that one of the hardest challenges was “developing in a profession which has not historically been the most diverse.” He hopes the challenges he has overcome “will inspire more junior lawyers coming through.”

As an equity partner, Sterling has implemented diversity initiatives at the Southampton-based law firm and is vocal about the solutions the legal profession could adopt to foster an inclusive culture.

He has helped to establish the Mary Seacole Trust; a charity that works to promote equality in public and private service and has held the position of chair since 2016.

Sterling has received notable awards in his legal career including the ‘Rising Star: Advocate in the Face of Adversity’ at the Law Society Ethnic Minorities Conference in 2008 following successes in a landmark employer’s liability suicide, which was heard in the House of Lords.