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Sibon Rachel Phiri, Esq., Nottingham (2026)

07/11/2025

A moment with my three month old daughter at the library today, after receiving the award from my colleague that
was presented with by .legal last night at the Parliamentary Reception and Awards at the House of Lords. This award was given in recognition of our 'outstanding commitment to pro bono work "

I've always advocated for people having access to legal help and information because doing do puts them in a better position to make sound decisions and improve their situation.

I'm grateful we do this through the legal advice, advocacy and legal education workshops we run in the community.

21/07/2025

As I (finally) start my maternity leave, I reflect on the last seven years! Seven years of figuring out what my contribution to society would be through my profession and within the social justice space.

The second picture was taken on 19 June 2018 after I attended an event at the Houses of Parliament. I was riding solo starting out on a new journey at the time. I was still figuring out the name for the new social enterprise I desired to create to bridge the gap between the community and access to justice and public legal education. You could say I was in the process of birthing something, as two and a half months later my organisation was born!

The first picture was taken on 16 June 2025 at Parliament with some of my team after attending the launch of a report led by JUSTICE highlighting that people need properly funded legal help!

The team joined ULA in this fight for justice at different stages over the last seven years and they will continue to help keep the organisation moving forward in my absence, whilst I await the birth of my baby and adjust to life as new mother.

It's been a roller coaster of a ride. We've achieved so much, made many mistakes but learned a lot through it which helps with the growth! My biggest achievement hasn't been the acolades received, the international travel, the prestigious spaces and environments we've entered into.

For me it's the hugs I've received from the people who wispered in my ear "thank you for believing in our case and for fighting for us ". The volunteer who started with us 5 years ago, who is now our Windrush Project Manager. The one who had no background in immigration (or law for that matter) , trained with us, passed her exams and recently had her first and successful application. The Windrush claimants who received invaluable help from our team of volunteer lawyers and now are advocates helping others and roviding opportunities for corporate lawyers to engage in meaningful pro bono work, using their expertise, skills and time to gift back and help some of the most disadvantaged people in need of legal help.

15/04/2025

Sooo our podcast finally dropped on Monday🎉🎊.

For the longest time I've been wanting to start a podcast to share stories about people within the legal profession and their career journey.
Stories that are inspiring and relatable to inspire and help law students, graduates and even professionals who are either at the early stages of career or who are thinking about changing careers.

Often times people feel discouraged or frustrated when their desired position or next level in their career seems to be taking too long to achieve or seems impossible to reach, but through listening to other people's career journey stories we can realise not everyone's journey will be the same but we too can get there with time, dedication, perseverance and patience.

I could have easily asked someone else to host the podcast, especially for a person who stammers, but if you know me, you know that I like a challenge, and I like to talk anyway haha!

I love talking to people, hearing their stories, learning from them and sharing information with them. And this is what this podcast is all about.

I've enjoyed recording with the guests so far and I hope you enjoy the interviews too!

Link in the bio!

31/12/2024

A much needed restful time away at Christmas, after a very busy few months and before we enter into the New Year.

06/06/2024

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." - Helen Keller

I'm thankful for all the collobrations and working relationships that have been created over the past five years to enable to provide much needed legal help and assistance in the community.

A special thanks to one of our pro bono partner law firms, Penningtons Manchester and Cooper, for hosting our recent Windrush drop-in legal clinic in London, providing advice and guidance to those affected by the Windrush scandal.

11/04/2024

picture to our first in person team meeting of 2024 with some of the people that assist with running our Windrush justice project.

Whilst meeting together in London with some members of the team yesterday, as we were going through cases we're currently working on, I stopped for a moment to reflect and was reminded how much team work really does make the dream work.

What I envisioned and dreamed about in terms of my career and making a difference through my work,was only possible through the support, advice and counsel of people I believe God put in my path to aide me through this journey.

I've been blessed with a bright, hardworking and dedicate team of lawyers and support staff, who truly love the work we do! They have contributed

27/02/2024

The month of February was a month of achieving new milestones and entering into new territories. I learned the importance of standing firm on our beliefs and not compromising our integrity or principals, no matter what!

I won my first employment law settlement on behalf of a client who faced discrimination and victimisation in the workplace. The initial five figure offer I proposed was rejected several times with only a 20% counter-offer on the table. After going back and forth we decided to submit a claim with the Employment Tribunal for a judge to decide the matter. On receipt of the Tribunal claim, the Respondent contacted me late Friday evening with a full and final settlement offer, which was t

original proposal offer. Not only has this win boosted my confidence in dealing with such cases but taught me a valuable lesson of not backing down or settling for less than what is deserved!

08/02/2024

Re-introducing myself part 2

After securing my first legal role with a global law firm in February 2019, working in commercial litigation, I was introduced to the world of legal tech and eDisovery. For information, eDiscovery involves examining electronically stored information relevant to pending litigation and regulatory investigations.

I had never considered working within this part of law before but the more I sought counsel and advice and did my research the more interested I became. The flexibility of working on different projects and to be able to have a decent work life balance interested me. Especially because I was now running my own legal and social justice , I wanted to work somewhere I could do both. So for the past 4.5 years I have continually worked on various e-disclosure projects for several global law firms. Before the Covid pandemic I was would work in Birmingham or London but since the first UK national lockdown, I've been working remotely from home, which I love. Some projects last a few weeks, others several months. I was also promoted to Team Lead during the summer of 2023, which has given me more responsibility and helped me develop professionally. On the different projects, I generally lead a team of 15 lawyers based in different parts of Europe .

When I'm not working on a project (which usually can be anywhere from a 1 to 3 week break before the next project), I dedicate more time to running my organisation and do a bit of travelling.

I saw that the more time I dedicated to the social justice work I am passionate about, the more I saw my organisation grow. After being active in the community for just under 4 years, my organisation now has several employees, works in partnership with 5 international law firms and we have over 100 volunteer lawyers, supporting our pro bono projects. These lawyers work in commercial and corporate law and use their skills and knowledge in their spare time to help people get access to justice and receive quality legal assistance..

This flexible way of working has been good for me both financially and mentally/healthwise and also allowed me to focus on my passions, which are very important to me!

06/02/2024

Let me re-introduce myself.

My name is Sibon, well actually my full name is Sibonelelo Rachel Phiri (my first name is a tongue twister so when I was 16 years old I shortened it to Sibon, which is what I'm mainly referred to unless I attend a medical some official government appointment lol). In Ndebele my name means Torch, in Zulu it means Example!

I am born and bred in England, the city of Nottingham to be precise.

I studied law at Birmingham City University and continued my studies by enrolling onto the Legal Practice Course at the Nottingham Law School with the aim of qualifying as a solicitor. Unfortunately due to experiencing homelessness during my time at Law school, I had to withdraw from my postgraduate studies after 9 months.

Once I got my life back on track, I secured my first ever full job in Local Government where I worked for 4.5 years. During my time there, I resumed my pursuit of a career in law by completing another legal postgraduate course, trained and worked part time as a Paralegal.

Due to the difficulties and barriers I faced in qualifying as a solicitor through the traditional route of competing the LPC and then securing a training contract, I decided to sit the New York Bar exams and qualify as a New York attorney. I studied parts other the American legal system as a double module whilst studying law at university do I already had a keen interest in American law.

I did a three months legal internship in the summer of 2015 and then started studying for the New York Bar exams in March 2016.

I sat the bar exams in July 2016 for the first time and failed. I tried again in February 2017 and passed with flying colours!! Whilst waiting for admission I left Local Government and started working as an Aviation Ajudicator, making compensation decisions in European and International cases.

I was admitted to the New York State Bar as an Attorney at Law in January 2018.

I secured my first role within a global law firm in February 2019, which was a temporary role for 6 months...... To be continued

01/02/2024

It was so good to be back at the UN for the 2024 Partnership Forum of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) this week. My first time back since the Covid pandemic.

I first attended the ECOSOC conference on 2015 when I was a legal intern at a (Non Governmental Organisation) NGO called African Hope Inc, based in Manhattan, New York. I had a UN ground pass that gave me unlimited access to different meetings and conferences.

I returned in 2018 for that year's ECOSOC conference after being admitted as an Attorney at Law in New York. It was during the conference where the desire and determination to create my own legal and social justice NGO was born.

Being here in 2024, six years later, being able to share with my others the incredible work my organisation has done to help people fight and obtain justice over the past 5 years was a amazing for me.

I learned so much from my peers during this conference. I left having received invaluable advice, insight and guidance to continue the work to fight for justice and make community I strive to serve sustainable and to develop through legal education and assistance.

Swipe across to see pictures of me attending the UN as a legal intern, then as an attorney and now as a founder and Managing Director of an NGO.

God is good 🙏🏾🙌🏾

06/10/2023

An emotional but lovely afternoon spent catching up with Noel. I always remember the first time I met Noel, August 2019 at our first Windrush legal surgery at the Pilgrim Church in Nottingham.

He was the first person we helped receive compensation through the Home Office's compensation scheme and at the time I was just focused on helping him obtain justice for all the injustices he suffered.

Today was different because for the first time I saw him talk about his early childhood in Jamaica and growing up in England with a big smile on his face. He was beaming whilst reminiscing about the good times and what life was like for him and his family before the injustices started.

There's so much I learned about Noel and he taught me some good life lessons. It was wonderful to see him in good spirits four years on and now he's enjoying his life with his new boat 😊.

"I love being by the river. Since I was a child in Jamaica, I spent a lot of time by the river." Noel

06/10/2023

An emotional but lovely afternoon spent catching up with Noel. I always remember the first time I met Noel, August 2019 at our first Windrush clinic at the Pilgrim Church in Nottingham. He was the first person I helped receive compensation through the Home Office's compensation scheme and at the time I was just focused on helping him obtain justice for all the injustices he suffered.

Today was different because for the first time I saw him talk about his early childhood in Jamaica and growing up in England with a big smile on his face. He was beaming whilst reminiscing about the good times and what life was like for him and his family before the injustices started.

There's so much I learned about Noel and he taught me some good life lessons. It was wonderful to see him in good spirits four years on and now he's enjoying his life with his new boat 😊.

Sibon Rachel Phiri, Esq.

07/11/2025

21/07/2025

15/04/2025

31/12/2024

06/06/2024

11/04/2024

27/02/2024

08/02/2024

06/02/2024

01/02/2024

06/10/2023

06/10/2023

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