Meet Omar Madhloom, Senior Law Lecturer at the University of Bristol, Solicitor and author, friend of Amber Law
Omar Madhloom LLB (Hons), BSc (Microbiology), LPC, PGCE, MPhil is one of the trailblazers of our time. Omar is responsible for creating the space for law students to access more expansive conversations about innovative ways in which we can integrate well-being tools in the study and practice of law. I only wish my fellow students and I had enjoyed such visionaries in my time at law school!
Omar wears many hats: he is also Chair of Bristol’s Pro Bono Group. On his appointment he said, “This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to social justice, legal ethics, and address the legal challenges faced by vulnerable clients”.
In September 2020 Omar was appointed trustee for Clinical Legal Education Organisation (CLEO), “a UK-based charitable organisation aimed at fostering, promoting and developing clinical legal education.” As co-author, his book, ‘Thinking About Clinical Legal Education’ was recently published by Routelege (see https://www.amberlaw.com/resources/books).
In February 2022, Omar attended UK’s Advancing Wellness in Law ‘Pioneering Approaches to Law’, co-founded by Dr Emma Jones Senior Law lecturer at Sheffield University, where I was invited as co-guest speaker. I delivered a talk on how lawyers can integrate mindfulness in the client conference to attain a more ‘perfect’ justice. Thereafter, Omar invited me to be guest speaker and offer a lecture to his Law Clinic students about my Holistic Law Model. I was very honoured and excited at this opportunity to share with future lawyers about my holistic well-being practice Amber Law, founded in 2013.
Aside from being devoted to their studies, these students volunteer their valuable time on a pro bono basis to support people with legal problems who might otherwise not have an opportunity to access justice. This is commendable. These are the future leaders and game changers. Why? Because they genuinely care about social justice; they are in their youth, already serving people who need not only legal advice but also compassion and empathy, to be held in a safe space of non-judgment and given support during what for many can be a most traumatic and difficult time in their lives.
Omar facilitated that the session be student led with Law Clinic Student Wellbeing Manager Atinuke Taiwo kindly hosting. Atinuke is a final year law student at the University of Bristol. She has been a member of the Law clinic for almost three years and is the clinic’s first student wellbeing manager. Atinuke is passionate about supporting students throughout their time in the law clinic in helping them to manage their own mental health and wellbeing, putting them in the best position to serve clients.
Law Clinic Student Wellbeing Manager Atinuke Taiwo
The questions I was asked to speak about by the students challenged me to dig deep and share authentically about my own journey as a young barrister and acting solicitor. I was also invited to teach about the importance of mental health for students and lawyers; to advise on how we can protect our mental health when working on complex/ highly emotive cases; and to provide practical tips on how Law Clinic members can practice tools from my Holistic Law model when dealing with their pro bono clients, reflecting on the benefits of this approach.
The Q&A session brought about further excellent questions from the students: the importance of knowing our ‘why’ we chose a profession in law?; about working from a solid foundation of core values; staying in humility, non-judgment and respect in your dealings with clients, the other party/ their lawyer and judges; about empowering your client every step of the legal process / process of dispute resolution; and including your client in examining creative solutions (not restricting ourselves solely to statutory remedies) in attaining positive outcomes for their case. After all, as advisers we move on to the next case, but clients have to live with the outcome possibly for years to come…
It has been a true privilege to engage with heart-centred youth with a sense of collective responsibility and social conscience. The Bristol Law Clinic students are a true inspiration led by their inspiring lecturer/ mentor Omar!
As Sean Junkins said, “So often you find that the students you’re trying to inspire, are the ones that end up inspiring you”. This was very much the case for me and I very much look forward to delivering my next lecture to the Bristol University Law Clinic happily having been invited to return in the new year…
For those interested in capturing the lessons taught at the lecture and Q&A discussion, I will be posting extracts at www.amberlaw.com.