At 35 years of age Dr. Tunde Okewale MBE is the youngest leading barrister to be elected as a bencher at the inner temple criminal bar. Coming from a council estate in Hackney East London, Tunde was the 1st of 4 children in his family to attend higher education. For years, he simultaneously balanced part-time work with his studies and with the odds stacked against him, his undergraduate performance resulted in a 2:2 degree qualification.
Tunde clawed his way to be where he is now, becoming a patron for Hackney Community Law Centre and by founding Urban Lawyers in 2010 – an organisation dedicated to discussing young people’s interactions and attitudes towards the police, as well as educating them on their rights. Urban Lawyers helps children and young people from underprivileged backgrounds, like Tunde himself, to secure work/experience in the legal profession. So far, Urban Lawyers have aided over 7,000 students career wise and a further 10,000 students to be well versed in regards to their legal rights.
Using his own words at his Ted X Tottenham Ted Talk, “role models themselves are enough to change the soft bigotry and low expectations of our society”. Awarded an MBE in 2016, Dr Tunde’s service to the law community and the black community as a role model doesn’t go unnoticed.
