Charlotte Proudman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Charlotte Rachael Bailye July 1988 (age 36) Staffordshire, England |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Alma mater | Keele University, University of Cambridge |
| Occupation(s) | Barrister, academic and writer |
| Years active | 2011 to present |
| Website | www |
Charlotte Proudman (born July 1988) is a British barrister, academic and writer who specialises in family law and women's rights.
Proudman was born Charlotte Bailye but as an adult took her maternal grandmother’s maiden name of Proudman. [1] Her father, an engineer and property investor, died when she was four years old. [1] She grew up in Staffordshire and attended the local comprehensive school. [2] After graduating in law and sociology at Keele University, Proudman studied for the Bar at City Law School in London. [3] She was called to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn in July 2010 but before starting a pupillage she spent a year at Queens' College, Cambridge studying for an MPhil in criminology. [3]
Having originally wanted to practise criminal law, Proudman undertook a pupillage in family law and continued to specialise in the area after gaining a place at Mansfield Chambers. [2] She took a sabbatical to complete a PhD in female genital mutilation and the law at King’s College, Cambridge, where her partner was studying for a PhD in artificial intelligence. [4] [5] In September 2015, shortly before she went to the United States to take up a post of visiting researcher at Harvard University, Proudman received extensive attention in the mainstream media after she publicly called out solicitor Alexander Silk-Carter for having commented on her LinkedIn photograph in a sexist way. [4] [2]
In 2016, Proudman joined Goldsmith Chambers in London, where she remains as of 2025. [3] Practising in family law, she has represented victims of domestic abuse and coercive control and campaigned for more openness in the family court. [6] She also, as of 2025, holds a position of senior research associate in sociology at Jesus College, Cambridge, specialising in "gendered issues such as FGM, rape, domestic abuse, coercive control, prostitution, pornography and abortion". [7]
In 2022, she founded Right to Equality, a not-for-profit organisation campaigning for gender equality under the law and the rights of women and girls. [8] The organisation's activity has included campaigning for greater transparency and fairness in the family court and addressing violence against women and girls. [9]
In April 2022, Proudman published a Twitter post in which she criticised a judgment by Jonathan Cohen in a case which she had lost, saying that it had echoes of a "boys' club" attitude. The Bar Standards Board (BSB) accused Proudman of having used "seriously offensive, derogatory language which was designed to demean and/or insult the judge". [10] The case sparked United Nations (UN) concern over its potential to deter people from challenging gender bias within the legal profession and, in May 2024, four special rapporteurs from the UN wrote to the UK government about the BSB case and also about the on-line abuse directed at Proudman. [11] On the second day of a scheduled four-day hearing in December 2024, a disciplinary panel of the BSB decided that there was no case to answer. [12] Speaking after the hearing, Proudman said: "The BSB has proven itself unfit for purpose. In my view, the BSB’s case against me is a clear case of sex discrimination." [13]
In 2025, Proudman took up the case of ten women who had accused an employment judge, Philip Lancaster, of bullying and misogynistic behaviour during their employment tribunals. She called for more transparency and accountability in the judicial system generally. [14]