Desert Island Discs

Kimberley Motley, lawyer

11.10.2019 - By BBC Radio 4Play

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Kimberley Motley is an American attorney and the first foreign lawyer to practise in Afghanistan. Born in 1975 to an African-American father and a North Korean mother, she grew up in a poor neighbourhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where hers was the only mixed-race family - and the only family with two parents. Education was very important to her parents, who sent their four children to private schools and also paid for extra tutoring. After completing degrees in Criminal Justice and Law, Kimberley spent five years working as a Public Defender before taking up the opportunity in 2008 to go to Afghanistan for a year to train local lawyers. Her husband, Claude, stayed in the US to take care of their three children. When her one-year contract in Afghanistan came to an end, she decided to stay and started her own private legal practice. Initially she only took on foreign clients, but once she had familiarised herself with the intricacies of local laws and customs, she accepted her first Afghan client. She has gone on to build a thriving practice, with a 70-30% ratio of paid to pro-bono work. Her practice now extends to other parts of the world including Uganda, Ghana and the UAE and earlier this year she published a book about her working life. DISC ONE: Will Smith - A Nightmare on My Street

DISC TWO: Elton John - I Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues

DISC THREE: LL Cool J - I'm Bad

DISC FOUR: KT Tunstall - Suddenly I See

DISC FIVE: Dizzee Rascal featuring Calvin Harris - Dance Wiv Me

DISC SIX: Ed Sheeran - I See Fire

DISC SEVEN: The Black Eyed Peas - Pump It

DISC EIGHT: Kendrick Lamar - DNA BOOK CHOICE: 1984 by George Orwell

LUXURY ITEM: Business card holder with photo of her children

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Pump It by Black Eyed Peas Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

More episodes from Desert Island Discs