Farmida Bi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 September 1967 |
| Education | Downing College, Cambridge (LLM) (1989) |
| Honours | CBE |
Farmida Bi CBE (born 2 September 1967) is a British corporate solicitor and the EMEA Chair of Norton Rose Fulbright, having also served as Global Chair in 2022.[1][2][3] She is the United Kingdom's first female chair of a major law firm, and has been named one of Britain's top five most powerful Muslim women.[4][5] She stood as a Labour Party candidate in two elections, and founded Progressive British Muslims three days after the 7/7 London bombings.[6] She was appointed a CBE in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to Law and charity.[2]
Bi was born in Pakistan, and moved to the United Kingdom at the age of six.[7] She came from a traditional, working-class, British Muslim background, where her mother expected her to marry a first cousin and devote the rest of her life to her husband and family. At the age of 14, this inspired her interest in rights and fairness, and a desire to become a lawyer.[1] She left home to read law at the University of Cambridge, causing a rift between her and her mother and aunt that never fully healed.[8] Although her mother had difficulty understanding Bi's life, she eventually came to terms with it.[1] At Cambridge, she studied at Downing College, graduating in 1989 with a Master of Laws.
Bi trained as a solicitor at Clifford Chance, qualifying in 1992, before working as an associate at JPMorgan and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. She qualified as a New York attorney in 1999, and was partner at Denton Wilde Sapte from 2002 to 2008, following which she joined Norton Rose Fulbright.[2][9][6]
In the 2005 United Kingdom general election, she stood as a Labour Party candidate in Mole Valley, Surrey, winning 10.7% of the vote.[9][10][11] Bi also ran as the Labour candidate for the Hillside ward in the 2006 Merton London Borough Council election, winning 13.2% of the vote.[12]
She was appointed Chair of EMEA at Norton Rose Fulbright in 2018, making her the first female chair of a major law firm in the United Kingdom, and she continues in that role. She also served as the firm's Global Chair in 2022.[4]
In 2021, she became Chair of the Barbican Centre Trust (the registered charity supporting the Barbican Centre),[13] and she has been Chair of the Patchwork Foundation (a charity promoting the integration of disadvantaged and minority communities into public life) since 2018.[14]
In 2009, Bi was named one of the United Kingdom's five most powerful Muslim women.[5] She was a nominated for the British Muslim Awards in 2013, 2014 and 2015 for services to finance and accounts, and services to law.[15][16] In 2018, she was named one of the Financial Times' Top 10 most innovative lawyers[17] and listed in Cranfield University's 2019 Women to Watch supplement.[18] She was included in the Women Role Model list in 2019.[19] She was appointed a CBE in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to Law and charity.[2] Bi has been recognised for her commitment to action towards diversity and inclusion in the workplace.[1][9] She is Chair of the Patchwork Foundation and Barbican Centre Trust, and has been trustee of the Muslim Youth Helpline.[20][21] She was appointed an Honorary Fellow of Downing College, Cambridge in June 2022.