British High Commission Cyprus webinar series: technology and women
A talk with Amanda Pinto QC, Chair of the Bar Council for 2020 on 'technology and women: how important are they to justice and the Bar?'
Amanda Pinto QC
The British High Commission in Cyprus continues its insightful webinar series with an interview with Amanda Pinot QC, who shares her views on the effects COVID-19 has had on the world. The webinar reveals how elements of the UK adapted to the pandemic and how a #DynamicUK continues to innovate to face challenges.
Pinto, who is chairing the Bar Council for 2020 was interviewed by acclaimed lawyer Christophoros Christophi, about the challenges that the legal sector faces, from a legal practitioner’s point of view.
Pinto’s webinar covers two highly insightful and important topics. The first topic analyzes technology, legal technology, the impact of COVID-19 in the legal profession and where the balance lies in justice for the future.
Pinto speaks about the impact of COVID-19, on the ways in which courts and tribunals practice justice and how technology has better enabled access to justice.
When we talk about technology and court or justice and ways of working, particularly post COVID-19, I think that the overriding principle that we must have at the forefront of our minds, is access to justice- in conducting the business of courts and tribunals, from the starting proceedings to obtaining and enforcing judgements. Because if people cannot access the structures that will enable them to exercise their rights and they don’t have access to justice, their rights are underused and maybe even worthless. We have seen that technology and remote access to courts and tribunals is a way of limiting the ways that COVID-19 has been a barrier to access to justice.
In the second part, she focuses on women at the Bar, and highlights the importance of their presence in justice and how to ensure that women do have a chance to reach to the top of their profession.
As the fourth female president of the Bar Council, Pinto explains the various efforts that the Council is undertaking to ensure the representation of women at the top of the profession.
If we don’t keep and nurture the women all the way through their careers to the point where they can become QC’s but also where they become potential judges of the future, then the judiciary will not change; and at the moment there is very poor representation of women in the judiciary.
Pinto has chaired the International Committee from 2014 to 2018 and was called to the Bar in 1983. She specialises in business wrongdoing, international fraud, corporate crime, bribery and money laundering. Moreover, she is a Trustee of the Slynn Foundation, working to improve justice systems and the rule of law globally. Her practice led her to become the Champion of the First 100 Years project, celebrating women being admitted to the legal profession.
Discover more and understand how technology can enable better access to justice, by watching the entire webinar below.
This is the second of six webinars with highly innovative British professionals from various industries to discuss, inform and share their knowledge and expertise on how the current pandemic has affected their fields. Check out our social media channels for more upcoming discussions and if you’ve missed our previous webinar you can find out more about it in the following link: