Having helped change gender attitudes in the legal profession, high profile barrister has now launched her own law firm
For those not well-versed in mid-2010s legal drama, Charlotte Proudman may be an unfamiliar name. But there was a time when you could scarcely scroll through what was then Twitter without encountering her posts and the debates they sparked.
A barrister specialising in family law, academic and campaigner, Proudman has this week launched Proudmans, a trauma-informed family law practice based in London and Cambridge. The site promises a “human, compassionate approach” to family disputes, financial remedies and complex children work.
Proudman gained national attention as a 27-year old rookie barrister in 2015 when she shared a LinkedIn message from a senior solicitor complimenting her profile photo. She argued that such remarks were inappropriate, emblematic of everyday sexism and deserved to be called out publicly. Almost overnight she became the subject of intense scrutiny; hailed by some for calling out entrenched attitudes, criticised by others for breaching professional etiquette. A media storm ensued that stretched from the Daily Mail to The New York Times.
Looking back at the incident, it’s a reminder of how much the world has changed in ten years. At the time Proudman was very much seen as the radical, but were the same thing to happen today it’s safe to say that much fewer people would be willing to defend a senior lawyer sending a junior lawyer an unsolicited message that complimented her “stunning” profile photo.
Proudman was forced to deactivate her Twitter for a period in 2016, after being relentlessly harassed by online trolls. However, she later returned with a fervour, and her social-media interventions only intensified. The years that followed brought allegations and anecdotes about the culture of the profession — stories of bikini-photo requests, complaints about Oxbridge drinking societies, and even a Twitter bust-up with a QC over who knew the law on female genital mutilation (FGM) better.
Away from the headlines, Proudman built a serious practice at Goldsmith Chambers focusing on domestic abuse and coercive control, while completing a Cambridge PhD in FGM and the law. Her academic work fed into the courtroom; clients arrived having read her pieces in The Guardian or seen her on Newsnight.
By 2022 she was using Twitter/X again, this time to call out what she described as “boys’ club” culture in the family courts. A 14-post thread criticising a judge’s approach to evidence went viral. The Bar Standards Board did not take this lightly and in December 2024 she was hauled before a disciplinary tribunal, alleging that her posts were “reckless” and “diminished trust and confidence in the profession”. Two days later, the tribunal threw the case out, concluding that there was “no case to answer”.
Despite being cleared of misconduct, Proudman did not wait to criticise the actions of the BSB. Her response to the decision was swift, declaring the regulator “unfit for purpose” in a social media post, going on to add, “I would be willing to work with the BSB to promote change, but not under the current leadership, that is simply not possible.”
Further to that, Proudman was also a prominent voice in the campaign that pressured the Garrick Club — the 19th-century gentlemen’s club that had long excluded women — to vote in favour of admitting female members. When the story broke, she called it “a small victory for equality, a large one for symbolism.”
There has also been a book deal (He Said, She Said, May 2025), further media appearances and a run of cases testing how the family courts handle allegations of coercive control. The Guardian even dubbed her “Britain’s most divisive barrister” earlier this year.
The launch of Proudmans is the latest development in an extraordinary and impressive career. Proudman is joined by a solicitor, Manveet Chhina, as a director of the firm, registered under Proudman Law Limited on Companies House. Having built a considerable personal brand, while winning some impressive victories along the way, you wouldn’t bet against the changemaking barrister as she embarks on a new challenge in business.
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