Valerie Charbit is a barrister based at Red Lion Chambers, and has a particular interest in
mental health and wellbeing. She represented the Criminal Bar Association as Wellbeing
Director. Nicola Shannon is a champion of diversity and wellbeing at the Bar, and has
chaired the Bar Council’s Wellbeing at the Bar Working Group from 2023 – 2024. She is
passionate about promoting positive working practices in the legal profession. Professor
Robin Banerjee is a psychologist who works closely with practitioners and policymakers in
the areas of education and mental health. He led the world’s largest ever public science
project on kindness, The Kindness Test, in partnership with the BBC.
Here this strong research team present their ongoing work as researchers and practitioners
seeking to foster a better occupational culture among lawyers. They present findings from
their latest event, which took place in September 2025 at Red Lion Chambers. Their report
was released in a timely manner (albeit coincidentally) having been published just three
days after Baroness Harman’s report into bullying and harassment. They frame kindness as
central to wellbeing and professional success, and put forward recommendations regarding
barriers to kindness and “what works.”

Key Words/Topics
Research
Kindness
Collegiality
Barristers
Occupational cultures
Promoting kindness
Impact driven research
Evidence led policy
Mental health
Baroness Harman’s report into bullying and harassment
Kindness Ambassadors
Focus Groups
Thematic Analysis
Empathy