From GQ Cool List to Queen's Honours List”. The award was made in recognition of his "services to the community and disadvantaged young people". Tunde Okewale, Barrister at Doughty Street Chambers and founder of Urban Lawyers, is a popular figure on social media and made GQ’s 2014 “cool” list.
Background and achievements
Tunde is 32 years of age and a Barrister at Doughty Street Chambers. He was raised on a council estate in Hackney, East London. He is the eldest of four children and was the first person in my family to attend university and obtain a degree. During his studies, Tunde undertook numerous simultaneous part-time jobs in the food and retail industry, to enable him to contribute towards his household. Consequently, his academic studies suffered, and he obtained a 2.2 in his undergraduate degree. Career advisors and professionals told him that he would never make it. Despite this setback, Tunde ploughed on. He involved himself in community work and was eventually invited to conduct a workshop on behalf of the Greater London Authority. As a result of his performance on this project, he was asked to become a director of the charity, From Boyhood to Manhood Foundation, and was awarded a meritorious scholarship to attend bar school where he would excel academically to offset his undergraduate grades. The fact that Tunde managed to qualify as a barrister, and obtain tenancy at a major Chambers, is a demonstration of his sheer determination to prosper in spite of his socioeconomic background. His journey and remarkable accomplishments have inspired young people from backgrounds similar to his own to persevere and succeed against the odds.
In 2009, Tunde founded a charity organisation called Urban Lawyers which is a multi-media education and information centre designed to educate, engage and stimulate discussion amongst young people about their attitudes towards criminal law, policing and personal responsibility. Urban Lawyers also provides resources, information and opportunities for young people to secure work and/or experience in the legal profession. Through Urban Lawyers, Tunde has helped a minimum of 5 thousand students achieve and attain their career goals, and have educated at least 10 thousand people on their legal rights. This has been accomplished through a range of activities at multiple universities across the United Kingdom (such as Nottingham Trent University, London Metropolitan University, Kingston University, Cardiff University, UCL, King’s College London, University of Hertfordshire, BPP Law School, and Sheffield University, to name a few). The organisation has provided summer work placements, mock assessment days, interviewing and CV clinics, and soft skills training for thousands of students across these UK higher education institutions. The initiatives have given the students opportunities to meet professionals, obtain work experience, and gain insights into the legal profession. Although the projects target students from non-traditional backgrounds, its impact and benefits have been experienced by students from multiple backgrounds.
Through its increasing track record in nurturing young talent in the field of law, Urban Lawyers has won the support of firms such as Berwin Leighton Paisner, and Hogan Lovell’s pro bono unit. Urban Lawyers recently awarded 4 scholarships in partnership with BPP Law School. These awards provided financial assistance to students from non-traditional backgrounds who demonstrate academic potential and are actively involved in community outreach.
Tunde has worked pro-bono on several cases, one of these was a case referred by the Cardiff University Innocence Project which saw the overturn of the wrongful conviction of Dwaine George. This was the first ever case to be referred to the Court of Appeal by university students.
Tunde provides legal training to Youth Offending Teams across the country, particularly those that deal with high-risk offenders. This role highlights
