Bushra Ali Solicitors have announced the appointment of Aisha Seedat as Disability, Diversity and Inclusion Champion.

The law firm, which has offices in Leicester and Wrexham, UK, has hired Seedat to lead on all aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility across Bushra Ali Solicitors and The Bushra Ali Group.

Seedat is a recent graduate in Health Studies from De Montfort University and is a guest speaker for the Health and Wellbeing Society Degree where she talks to students about mental health and disability management.

Seedat is also a motivational speaker who works to raise awareness of MPS IVa, a rare degenerative disease that she lives with which affects the skeleton and the immune system and is caused by an enzyme deficiency.

Founded by legal expert Bushra Ali, who has a specialist interests in immigration and family law, The Bushra Ali Group was launched in January 2021 and includes four other organisations founded by Ali including Empowered Women Empowering Women Global, the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Network, The Good Lawyers Project and Network 2 Konnect which has been running since 2019.

The Bushra Ali Group focuses on the community projects that Ali and her team are managing with a “particular and strong interest in equality and diversity,” according to a recent news release. Over the last 12 months, she has spoken at events on the subject of equality and diversity where upcoming Group events include employment law, discrimination, menopause, unconscious bias, and cultural competency training.

Ali has also been involved in some high-profile legal cases including successfully challenging the local registry authority for refusing to conduct the notice to marry procedure for a couple where one party was not born in the UK. She is also serving as the youngest president of the Leicestershire Law Society and is only the eighth female to serve and the second female of colour.

Ali commented on Seedat’s appointment: “We are proud to say Aisha’s appointment falls in line with our core values as a firm who are deeply committed to our social responsibility work and driving the conversation on thought-provoking social issues that matter. We are looking forward to Aisha playing an integral role in driving many key equality, diversity, and inclusion conversations and initiatives, overlapping with our work through The Bushra Ali Group.

“Aisha has overcome much adversity in her own life and continues to empower others to believe that despite their physical disabilities they can shatter glass ceilings beyond their imagination and take up a well-deserved seat at the boardroom table. Watch this space for many hard-hitting conversations, debates, and panel discussions on social issues that really do matter.”

Seedat added: “I share my story in the hope of breaking down barriers. I’m also very aware that my story is just one among many, many others and I’m looking forward to raising the profile across all manner of issues including disability, mental health, poverty, equality, diversity, and inclusion. What Bushra has already done is incredible and I know she has plans to do so much more. I’m very much looking forward to working with her and to helping raise awareness of key issues that, one way or another, affect us all, so we can continue to work towards being a more inclusive and accepting society.

“This role, specifically, gives me the opportunity to greatly expand on my development and skills. It will enable me to set out and achieve my goals and dreams of helping individuals and to become a voice for the voiceless. I am a people person and this position gives me the opportunity of meeting individuals from various backgrounds and cultures.

“I personally think that firms should be investing in roles such as this to ensure there is awareness. Awareness is key and I’m glad to be given an opportunity to lead conversations and to take action about social issues that are present and that could come up in the near future. Equality and Diversity play a huge role in my life due to my disability and I feel firms should invest in roles such as mine to raise awareness of the stigma that exists in the wider community. By more firms investing in this area, it will break down barriers far faster and enable voices to be heard.

“My work is all about allowing people to interact whilst being in a non-judgemental environment. Our events will enable our speakers to voice their concerns and talk about their life experiences and feel listened to in a diverse setting. Invited speakers will have an expertise in their field which, in turn, will enable The Bushra Ali Group to be at the forefront in an area that other firms have not yet invested in.”