Cordella Bart-Stewart OBE

Cordella Bart-Stewart started her career in Law when women solicitors were still very much in the minority and few who were black. She qualified in 1987 and in 1990 established her own firm in London. She was later President of North Middlesex Law Society and in 2000 was appointed as a fee paid Immigration Special Adjudicator now Judge. She is currently sitting in retirement and is a Council member of the Law Society of England & Wales.

In 1995 with 3 other sole practitioner solicitors co-founded the Black Solicitors Network (BSN) which promotes equality in the legal profession. Since 2006 BSN has held a seat on the Law Society Council.

Outside of legal practise she has served on many committees, is a former governor of Staffordshire University, which awarded her an honorary degree in 2009, is a Chartered Manager and Companion of the Chartered Management Institute, a former external examiner for BPP Law School and a member of several working groups of the Solicitors Regulation Authority including the development and introduction of the new Solicitors Qualifying Examination.

She is a non-executive director of IMPRESS, the independent monitor for the press. She was awarded the OBE for co-founding BSN, services to the legal profession and for voluntary service to diversity and education in the 2021 New Year’s Honours List.