Yet another accolade for Doughty Street Chambers’ finest
The most followed barrister on Instagram has been awarded an MBE for his “services to the community and disadvantaged young people”.
Tunde Okewale — who himself grew up on a council estate in Hackney — has been recognised for his involvement in a number of social mobility initiatives during his short but impressive career.
He is a trustee for the Boyhood to Manhood Foundation and a patron for the Hackney Community Law Centre. He set up his own social enterprise Urban Lawyers in 2009, to make the law “more accessible to marginalised groups in society”.
Okewale has managed all this while working alongside Amal Clooney at hip human rights set Doughty Street Chambers.
But the achievements don’t stop there: the 32-year-old criminal lawyer is also the most followed barrister on Instagram, and reached the pinnacle of cool in 2014 when he secured a spot in GQ magazine’s cool list.
An already impressive CV, to which Okewale can now add his new MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order) title. The Nigerian-born lawyer was mentioned in the Queen’s birthday honours list over the weekend, alongside the likes of singers Vera Lynn and Rod Stewart.
And what better place for Okewale to break the exciting news than on his famous Instagram account?
The crime specialist has been greeted with messages of support and congratulations on social media, and says he is “happy”, “honoured” and “humbled” by the good news.