Family Law Cafe finds no evidence of ‘discriminatory practice’ in relation to CEO’s post
A family lawyer has been cleared of wrongdoing by the firm she founded after posting an “offensive” and “unacceptable” tweet about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s new baby.
Joanna Toch, a barrister and CEO of Chancery Lane outfit Family Law Cafe, hit headlines last month when she tweeted, “No Doria? Don’t black names matter?”, in response to the news of a new Royal arrival, Lilibet ‘Lily’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor. Doria Ragland is the name of Markle’s mother.
Criticised for the post on Twitter, Family Law Cafe — the firm she set up in 2014 — suspended her with immediate effect pending an internal review.
But Legal Cheek can now confirm Toch is back in her role as CEO after the firm found “no evidence of any discriminatory practice”.
“Everyone has been unfailingly courteous and kind,” the experienced barrister said in a statement. “… I am extremely fortunate to have a 30 year body of work, aligned to my values, that speaks for who I am and what I am about.”
Toch apologised for the ill-judged remark at the time, which came in response to journalist Julie Burchill, who sparked widespread anger and upset by posting: “What a missed opportunity. They could have called it Georgina Floydina!”. She has since claimed she was “sacked” from The Telegraph after the incident.
Joanna Toch’s statement in full:
I am very grateful to every one of the current customers of Family Law Cafe, previous customers who have come forward, all the barristers and solicitors who already work with us and those that contacted us that do not, other suppliers of services, shareholders, friends, family, my rowing family, neighbours and members of the public for the support given to me over the past few weeks.
I was able to hand over to our well-trained team, led by our Operations Manager Carol Horner, who kept everything running whilst I carried out my court work and kept a sense of normality. Everyone has been unfailingly courteous and kind. No evidence of any discriminatory practice was found. I am extremely fortunate to have a 30 year body of work, aligned to my values, that speaks for who I am and what I am about.
I am back heading Family Law Cafe. We know our platform allows members of the public to access justice at a reasonable price and the legal profession and other suppliers to get a fair income for their work with technology used to keep costs in check and cutting through the boring fluff and nonsense that drives up fees.
I would like to see an invigorated junior end of the legal profession. There is an unfulfilled demand from those struggling with the family legal system for legal assistance at a price they can afford, whilst those with talent cannot make a start due to a high fees culture driven by high overheads.
Onwards.