Wherever there is light, there is also shadow

Now that the dust has settled after the launch of our Q3 LinkedInfluencers Report – though the warm glow of our inaugural LinkedInfluencers shindig very much remains – it feels like a good time to take stock of where we are headed as an online community. And to acknowledge that, for all the awesome positivity that we have collectively generated, there are also some shadow sides to being present and vocal on this amazing (though at times extremely frustrating – I refer you to this week’s disconnection debacle) platform.

What am I talking about? The unfortunate reality of online harassment and bullying. Unless, in its infinite wisdom, LinkedIn has stopped showing you my content this week, you have probably seen me post about TBD’s online bullying and harassment survey. If you haven’t already done so, please do take a few minutes out of your day to complete the survey and share your experiences with me; anonymously, if you prefer. You’ll find the survey here.

In the fullness of time, we’ll provide you with an in-depth report on the survey’s findings. However, based on the feedback we’ve received so far, what I can already tell you now is that many of you have had some pretty unpleasant experiences on LinkedIn: racism, sexism, sexual harassment, creepy DMs, bullying – the whole depressing panoply of unacceptable online behaviour, in other words. And it comes as no great surprise that the targets are often women and people from ethnic-minority backgrounds.

But it can also happen to middle-aged blokes like me: I know only too well what a sucker-punch to the gut it is when someone crosses your boundaries online. I won’t go into the details here, but suffice to say that I had a particularly unpleasant experience on here a few months ago that made me take a step back from LinkedIn for the sake of my own mental wellbeing. In this instance, I was lucky enough to be able to draw on the help and support of two members of our wonderful LinkedInfluencer community, which really helped (as did the legal advice that I sought in relation to this incident).

This mutual support is what we need more of as the LinkedInfluencer community grows and evolves. When I think back to the incredibly positive energy in the room at our event earlier this month, this is what I would love to create for everyone within the legal sector and beyond who finds their voice on LinkedIn – so how’s about we collectively harness this positivity and put our minds to developing a toolkit for dealing with online bullying and harassment when it arises??

I don’t yet know what this might look like in practice, and that is why your feedback matters so much – the more data points we have, the better we can scope any future next steps. It would be great if we could get as many of our LinkedInfluencers to take the survey as possible, so that we can gain a clear picture of the negatives as well as the positives that potentially come with posting regularly on here, and learn from these experiences.?

Because, to paraphrase Uncle Ben, with the great power of being at least a little bit LinkedIn-famous within the legal community comes the great responsibility of helping to make this platform a better place – and it’s a responsibility that we need to take seriously.

So this is why we – the TBD team and I – are keen to hear your experiences, your case studies, your cathartic stories. If you want to just talk to us, on or off the record, we would love to hear from you. Many of you reached out to me after we published our recent newsletter edition on the topic of violence against women and girls, and shared your stories. It would be incredible if we could spark a similar amount of engagement on the topic of online bullying and harassment.?

For the only way to effect change is to acknowledge its urgent necessity, and to have the difficult conversations that reflect the realities, both positive and negative, of showing up for our audiences on this platform.?

In other news

Lawyers told to keep ‘black book’ of bullying staff

From online bullying to workplace bullying: as reported in the Telegraph yesterday, lawyers are being asked to log any ‘incidents of gaslighting’ and other bullying behaviours amid growing concerns over toxic workplace culture in the City. Co-authored by Mishcon de Reya, a new report aimed at tackling workplace bullying encourages solicitors working at large companies to screenshot any concerning messaging to create an “electronic or paper trail”. Female lawyers feeling undermined at work were also encouraged to look out for being given “office housework” tasks, such as planning parties, buying gifts and ordering lunch.

Black Privacy Professionals website launches

Last week on LinkedIn, Data Protection and Privacy Professional Gloria B. announced the launch of the Black Privacy Professionals (BPP) website. The website will serve as a central hub for resources, advocacy, mentoring and networking, specifically focused on supporting and elevating Black talent in the privacy field across the UK. BPP is the leading voice for Black privacy professionals in the United Kingdom; a community that is committed to creating solutions for greater equality and equity within the privacy sector, and the related data and technology sectors too.

Top UK law firms raise hourly rates by 40% in five years

On Monday, The FT reported that the UK’s top ten law firms are charging clients almost 40% more per hour than they were five years ago, according to PwC’s latest annual law firm survey published on Monday. The biggest UK-headquartered firms by revenue charged an average of ￡449 per hour in 2024, compared with ￡321 in 2019. This price increase has occurred at the same time as a steep rise in the number of billable hours being charged at every level from trainee to partner at these same firms, as lawyers benefited from a pick-up in deals and a busy litigation market last year.

Browne Jacobson shares top spot with PwC in latest social mobility powerlist

The annual social mobility powerlist published by the Social Mobility Foundation, a charity that supports high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds in accessing top universities and careers, has shown that the legal profession is once again leading the way on social mobility, Legal Cheek revealed on Monday. Thirty of the top 75 spots in the index have been claimed by law firms and chambers, with our friends at Browne Jacobson sharing first place with accounting behemoth PwC. The powerlist is based on an assessment of how effectively organisations target young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and the steps they are taking to remove barriers that hinder their progression through the selection process.

Talking to the top Legal LinkedInfluencer: the wonderful Jen Shipley

We have something truly special for you in this week’s episode of But Is It Legal? – a lovely chat with Jen Shipley, Senior Associate at Irwin Mitchell and last quarter’s top LinkedInfluencer. Recorded on the day of our first ever LinkedInfluencers event, Jen shared some great insights into her journey into the law, which was far from easy; the ways she now uses the LinkedIn platform to help others have an easier time of it; and the anguish of baby loss and the need for greater awareness around this extremely painful topic. Thanks for your time Jen, you’re an absolute star!

You can catch up here:

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I hope you have enjoyed this week’s edition!

Thanks,

Si Marshall

[email protected]