Linklaters has leapt to first place in Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers 2024 list, while last year’s number one Clifford Chance has dropped outside of the top ten for the first time since 2020 and is ranked 14^th.

The prominent LGBTQ+ charity assesses its rankings using its workplace equality index, a voluntary benchmarking tool designed to help UK-based organisations measure and improve their LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion. The index measures key areas of employment policy and practice such as staff engagement and the implementation of LGBTQ+-inclusive policies and benefits.

Linklaters has now been ranked in the top 100 for six consecutive years. Its surge to first follows a leap from 53^rd to ninth last year, and marks a notable improvement after the firm hovered around the 50s and the 60s between 2019 and 2022.

In explaining its decision to award first place to Linklaters, Stonewall praised the ‘plethora of opportunities [for employees] to get involved in diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives’ at the firm, and highlighted that ‘events like bi visibility day and non-binary people’s day are celebrated as part of the annual LGBTQ+ calendar’.

Twelve law firms in total are included in the top 100 ranking – up from 11 in last year’s list but down from 15 in 2022. Among those, Charles Russell Speechlys, has climbed significantly higher in the rankings, while   Slaughter and May  and Shepherd and Wedderburn are notable reentries, having not featured in 2023.

In contrast, Irwin Mitchell, RPC and Womble Bond Dickinson have all moved down the rankings. Meanwhile, TLT, which placed 96^th last year; Mills & Reeve, which placed 38^th in 2023 and Leigh Day which placed 25^th last year, have not made the 2024 rankings.

The Stonewall list has shown the legal profession in a good light in recent years. 2024 marks the third time in the last six years that a law firm has ranked first, with Pinsent Masons taking the top spot in 2019 and Clifford Chance in 2023.

tom.cox@legalease.co.uk

The post Linklaters claims top spot in Stonewall Top Employers list appeared first on Legal Business.

Travers Smith partner and senior LGBTQ+ champion Daniel Gerring discusses with Legal Business the importance for law firms to avoid complacency and how they should continue to persevere with LGBTQ+ inclusion.

What was your personal journey regarding coming out in the profession?

Like a lot of young people starting work, I went back into the closet. After being out at university and in law school, I felt that I wanted to test the water at work before deciding what to do. Being back in the closet was strange and challenging – not being able to be yourself is hard for most people. When I did eventually come out, overall, I had a very good experience. I was at Allen & Overy at that stage and even back then – back in the early 2000s – it was already an inclusive firm with some really great role models. I did have an interesting moment with a drunk colleague very shortly after I came out. She said, ‘Have you met my trainee? He’s marvelously gay!’. It wasn’t meant with any malice, but it made me feel really uncomfortable being reduced to a stereotype, so much so that I still remember it vividly more than 20 years later.

Regarding coming out, the thing is that it isn’t a ‘one and done’ process – you have to keep doing it. When you go to the hairdressers and they ask you about your weekend, you have to decide whether or not to stay in the closet. It’s the same with clients and people you’re working with, and it isn’t immediately obvious how they will react. I remember having a client I was close with doing a very intense deal and, because I was wearing a wedding ring at the time, she always asked about my wife. I didn’t correct her early on and then it became too awkward to do anything about it until the deal was finished. I needn’t have worried as she was great, but it’s just another thing to have to think about and which can use up your energy unnecessarily.

You’ve done a lot of work, both in the legal sector and beyond, aimed at supporting LGBTQ+ people and causes. What do you think are some of the main challenges for LGBTQ+ inclusion, and do you feel an obligation to use your own experience to help others and be a role model?

The concept of being a role model is interesting. When I was a very junior partner, someone talked about me as a role model, and I remember feeling instinctively very uncomfortable and a bit like a fraud being labelled that way. But, reasonably quickly, particularly because I was in a firm where I was the only openly LGBTQ+ partner at the time, I felt that I had a responsibility to try and help other people by being visible.

Doing work on LGBTQ+ inclusion is part of a wider personal commitment I have to social justice and the rights of minority and disadvantaged groups. I’m also not a believer in the phrase of doing the gay job’ alongside ‘the day job’. I see promoting LGBTQ+ inclusion and social justice as core parts of my identity, both at work and beyond.

I started on that journey with more of a focus on social mobility – taking on my first non-exec role when I was a trainee in my early 20s. LGBTQ+ inclusion followed, alongside a focus on homelessness and social housing as well as refugees and asylum seekers.

Sadly, there are many challenges still out there. Part of the problem is that there’s a lot of complacency around the rights of LGBTQ+ people. In the UK, people too often look at the LGBTQ+ community, particularly the LGB community, and say, ‘you got what you wanted – you can get married and have kids,’ and in a very narrow sense that is correct. But if you go below the surface there’s all sorts of issues. As a relatively new parent, I have seen examples of officialdom at its worst and a legal system creaking at the edge trying to cope with alternative families. I have experienced prejudice as a gay dad which (perhaps complacently) I thought was largely in the past. The safety of LGBTQ+ people is also not something to take for granted. The Office for National Statistics most recently reported that hate crimes based on sexual orientation are up by 112% in England and Wales in the last five years and this figure is much worse – at 186% – for trans people. The position in many other countries is still more concerning, including many Commonwealth States with legacy anti-LGBTQ+ British colonial laws.

As a firm, Travers Smith is committed to walking the walk and not just talking on these issues. For example, we have sponsored a PhD student at the University of Cambridge to support her research on LGBTQ+ issues. We also worked with the charity GiveOut to set up the GiveOut LGBTQI Legal Aid Fund. Through the fund, GiveOut has partnered with leading law firms including Travers Smith and A&O Shearman to channel financial and pro bono legal support to LGBTQ+ organisations around the world, including in South Asia and East Africa. As well as sitting on the board of GiveOut, I’m also chair of Just Like Us (JLU), a young people’s LGBTQ+ charity which now works with over half of the secondary schools in the UK. We’ve worked closely with JLU over the past seven years to develop a mentoring programme aimed at supporting you LGBTQ+ graduates transition from student life to the workplace. Over that time, we’ve worked with hundreds of students to help them feel more confident and comfortable with their identity, and to empower them to be role models of the future.

How has the industry improved since you began your career?

The industry has improved markedly, and we have some amazing younger talent coming through, including many great new role models.

When I started, there were some great examples of good practice, but overall, there were an awful lot of issues and a lot of firms where LGBTQ+ people felt deeply uncomfortable. The truth of the matter is, when I joined Travers Smith in 2009, I didn’t feel comfortable at all. People were incredibly kind and personable, but it lulled them into a false sense of security, thinking, ‘We’re a nice firm, therefore we can’t have any problems’. In reality, there were problems, quite a lot around banter and just not thinking about how to be inclusive. What we’ve done at Travers Smith is to be honest with ourselves and thoughtfully implement change. We’ve gone a long way but are by no means complacent. Our LGBTQ+ Network Group plays a key role in continuing to drive change and I am delighted to support its work as our Senior LGBTQ+ Champion.

Within the sector generally, there have been some major strides to improve things. Along with some awesome colleagues from across the profession, I was involved in setting up the LGBTQ+ Division of the Law Society of England and Wales. I have been delighted to see how the Division has grown over recent years, spreading best practice and providing support to solicitors across the country. Alongside this, we are fortunate to have groups such as the InterLaw Diversity Forum, which, under the leadership of Daniel Winterfeldt, continues to go from strength to strength.

What more do you think needs to be done to embed LGBTQ+ inclusion in the law?

There are a few themes I would concentrate on. The first is retention of LGBTQ+ staff and partners. There remains a real lack of research around LGBTQ+ people in the law, but the research that does exist indicates that many firms find it harder to retain LGBTQ+ people, even when they’re successfully recruiting diverse candidates. Law firms need to ensure they are not being complacent and continue to persevere to make workplaces more inclusive. We need to listen to our colleagues and continue to push boundaries.

I also think we have made big strides in the G, and to some regards with the L, but we need to do more in terms of bi inclusion and representation. There is too often a suggestion that it’s easier for bi people ‘because they have choices’ but I’ve never heard of a bi person – when actually asked – who relates to that proposition.

Critically, we need to do much more to support trans people. Trans representation at law firms remains poor. We should take our lead from out trans colleagues on what they need, but there are unquestionably areas where most employers could still make relatively small changes, such as on healthcare and health-related leave, which could massively improve people’s lives.

The last point I’d add is something which is very personal to me, and that relates to families. I am lucky in that Travers Smith has an excellent family policy for same-sex couples and single parents. When my son was born, I was the primary carer, and I felt I needed and wanted to take a significant period of leave to be with him. Travers Smith’s policy treated me just as it would a female partner or member of staff who had had a baby, both in terms of the amount of time I could take and my remuneration. Somewhat surprisingly, this approach remains quite unusual and I’m not aware of another senior, male, City law partner who has taken the best part of a year away from his firm after having a child (if there are some and I don’t know them, I’d love to meet them). For firms which haven’t yet made this change to their policies – I’d politely ask, ‘Why not?’. It could be a real game changer for one of your colleagues now or in the future. LB

The post ‘We’ve gone a long way but are by no means complacent’ – embedding LGBTQ+ inclusion in the legal profession appeared first on Legal Business.

Hogan Lovells commercial litigator and Legally Lesbians initiative founder Jacqui Rhule-Dagher talks coming out, representation, and the importance of intersectionality.  

When did you come out professionally, and how easy did you find it?

I started as a paralegal about a decade ago, and I was very much in the closet. I remember attending my firm’s annual Pride Lunch under the guise of being an ally. Before the first course had even been served, I fled the room, ripped off my rainbow lanyard in the style of James Brown shedding his cloak, and dumped it in a potted plant. I can laugh about it now, but at the time it wasn’t funny. I was hyperaware of the fact that I was the only Black person in my team and one of the few Black people at the firm, so I didn’t want to draw any additional attention to myself.

A major turning point came a year or so later. I was introduced to a senior associate at another firm, who explained that most of her experiences of being out in the workplace had been positive. She said something that stayed with me: ‘The important thing is that you are known as a lawyer who happens to be a lesbian and not the ‘lesbian lawyer’.’ Encouraged by her words, I made the decision to come out when I started my training contract at Clifford Chance a year later.

It’s no coincidence that I felt more comfortable being out after I had met and worked with other lesbian lawyers – that’s why visibility is so important. Also, I quickly realised that most people don’t care, they just want you to do a good job. That gave me a lot of confidence.

My coming out journey was not easy, but there is absolutely nothing I would change about it.

Do you feel a responsibility to be active and use your voice, or to be a role model?

I don’t really see myself as a role model. I would prefer people look at me and think, ‘If she can do it, so can I, but in my own way and my own time.’ Do I feel an obligation? No, but I do think it’s important to be active and visible so that others can see there are different types of lesbians in the legal industry. Everyone deserves the dignity of seeing their identities represented positively.

What was the motivation behind creating Legally Lesbians?

I started Legally Lesbians because I remember how exhausting, frightening, isolating and limiting it was to be in the closet, and I didn’t want anyone else to face those experiences. I wanted to reassure people that they can be part of the LGBTQ+ community and succeed professionally.

I am very lucky that I have had some very gracious and extremely accomplished people take part so far. Aderonke Apata’s journey is nothing short of miraculous. She’s originally from Nigeria and was almost forcibly removed from the UK when her asylum claim, which stated she would be in danger as a lesbian if she was forced to return to Nigeria, was rejected. In a wonderful turn of events, Aderonke was called to the Bar in 2022. Dr Keina Yoshida was one of the lawyers who successfully litigated the Rosanna Flamer-Caldera v Sri Lanka case before the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which was the first human rights case to establish that criminalising lesbian relationships is a human rights violation. Judge Dr Victoria McCloud (now Master McCloud following her retirement from the judiciary), the UK’s first trans judge and youngest person appointed to the Kings Bench in 2010 at age 40, was also included, and Baroness Brenda Hale and Baroness Helena Kennedy KC kindly provided the forewords. My hope is that people will see a diverse range of lesbians and be encouraged to consider a career in law. I also hope that people who are already in the legal industry, but who can’t come out for whatever reason, will be assured that they’re not alone.

How has the legal sector improved in your career and what can be done to continue that improvement?

It’s a lot better than when I first started in the sense that there are more LGBTQ+ lawyers and allies around. The Law Society has its own LGBTQ+ Solicitors Network and the Bar has the FreeBar. I think that many firms are also live to some of the challenges facing the LGBTQ+ community and, to varying degrees, are taking steps to remedy these issues.

However, there’s obviously room for improvement. One of the biggest areas is developing an understanding surrounding intersectionality – how characteristics such as class, gender, race and other personal characteristics combine, overlap and ‘intersect’ with one another. For example, I might experience lesbophobia differently to a white lesbian by virtue of my race, and I might experience racism differently to a Black man by virtue of my gender. When organisations fail to take an intersectional approach, they’re effectively asking people to leave parts of themselves behind. This erasure is likely to exacerbate the feelings of isolation and marginalisation experienced by those with multiple intersecting identities.

I tend to focus on four things firms can do on intersectionality.

First, organisations should properly utilise Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). Typically, firms will have a distinct gender group, a pride group, a BAME group and so on, but the groups could collaborate better to support employees that straddle multiple groups.

Another thing is educating people more effectively. Most firms will have training on topics like microaggressions and unconscious bias, which is laudable, but such sessions only scratch the surface. You wouldn’t be expected to run a marathon after an hour’s training! A quote often attributed to Aristotle is, ‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit’. A more deliberate, considered programme of regular training sessions would be far more impactful, particularly if they coincide with internal firm processes like employee onboarding, appraisals, trainee seat rotations, promotions, and so on.

Similarly, firms could be much better at gathering and analysing data, whether via surveys, focus groups, or interviews, and ensuring a high response rate from a diverse pool of people. This can help to highlight the varying needs of employees and recognise the importance of focusing on equity over equality.

Finally, we need to encourage people to be better allies. ‘Allyship’ is a verb and it is meaningless unless people are actually active allies. Also, when we think of allyship, we often think of people from a dominant group advocating for those from marginalised groups. Yet this is just one aspect of allyship. What is not always considered is that people from marginalised groups can be allies to each other.

However, allyship can’t be tokenistic. There can’t be a ‘Noah’s Ark’ approach to allyship with people patting themselves on the back and thinking we’ve reached the zenith of diversity, equity and inclusion simply because we have a certain percentage of female, LGBTQ+ or BAME people in the legal industry. Genuine diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are committed to ensuring that different perspectives are considered, which is unlikely to be the case if only a homogenous group of people are providing their views.

Are there any other challenges the industry should be addressing?

Generally, encouraging people to come out and be visible is something that could be improved on. Another challenge is ensuring that the entire LGTBQ+ acronym is represented. In particular, the industry needs to pay a lot more attention to how it can support its trans and non-binary lawyers. It would also be great to see more out female lawyers. I am extremely lucky that Hogan Lovells has two out lesbian partners, but this is the exception, not the norm. I do, however, understand why this might be the case. A lot of senior women in the City grew up with Section 28 in place. The internalised shame, stigma and fear from that period, along with having to deal with misogyny, would understandably make people reluctant to come out. The unfortunate knock-on effect of this is that younger female members of the LGBTQ+ community may feel unable to come out. If they can’t see others like themselves at the top, they may feel as though they can’t reach the upper echelon of the industry, or that it isn’t a safe space for them to be their authentic selves.

It is incumbent on organisations to ensure that they are welcoming places for LGBTQ+ people. What constitutes a welcoming space will look different at every organisation, but there will be common themes – ensuring that policies and procedures are well drafted, regularly updated and inclusive; that the firm has management buy-in when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, because senior leaders set the tone for the rest of the organisation; and that people are afforded the same opportunities.

What advice would you give to junior lawyers?

Try to find people you can connect with on a human level. These don’t necessarily have to be people who look like you. Although lawyers are notoriously busy, remember there are people willing to give up their time to mentor and support junior colleagues and act as sounding boards. I would also encourage people to make the most of the networking opportunities on offer as having a supportive community is invaluable. Finally, while your LGBTQ+ identity is very important, don’t forget that you have a lot more to offer the legal industry than this one aspect of your life.

The post ‘When organisations aren’t intersectional, they ask people to leave parts of themselves behind’ appeared first on Legal Business.

ESG Champion Oscar Davies on being a role model at the Bar and the importance of allies.

What was your motivation to come out professionally as non-binary?

For me, there were two coming outs. The first was coming into the profession as a baby barrister and trying to get pupillage, and there’s always a difficulty in terms of to what extent you should out yourself. When everyone is essentially splitting hairs at that point, you don’t want to give them ammunition to not give you pupillage. I think there’s always a concern when you’re coming into a profession like the Bar, which is quite small-c conservative, that maybe you’re not going to be welcome there. If you met me in person, you would probably think I’m somewhere on the LGBTQ+ alphabet (although you might not know where), so I didn’t really have to come out in terms of sexuality – something fruity was assumed.

The non-binary coming out at work was more complicated in that it’s less well-known. I’ve always been quite fluid in my gender but I initially resisted the term because I found it quite restrictive. But I think things changed around the Taylor v Jaguar Land Rover Ltd case in 2020, which was the first case where it was considered that ‘non-binary’ could be a protected identity under section 7 of the Equality Act 2010, which relates to gender reassignment. When the judgment came out, a solicitor friend and I decided to co-write a substantive review of the judgment. When we’d finished, we decided we should put our pronouns at the top to show solidarity. I hadn’t secured tenancy yet, so I was scared I was going to out myself, but the judgment stated you shouldn’t be able to discriminate based on non-binary identity, so it’d be extremely ironic if chambers didn’t take me for that reason! I took a leap of faith and put my pronouns (which at the time were they/he) on the article.

‘My chambers asked what honorific I’d like on the barristers board; we went with ‘Mx’ – I put a photo on Twitter and it went semi-viral as a “legal first”’ Oscar Davies, Garden Court Chambers

Later, when I got tenancy, my chambers administrator asked what honorific I’d like on the barristers board and I thought that mine could be ‘Mx’. We went with that and I took a photo and put it on Twitter and it went semi-viral as a ‘legal first’. From that opportunity, I thought I could use my public voice to help others, so I started my Instagram, @nonbinarybarrister, where I share resources on trans and non-binary law and try to democratise the law to help those that it affects understand it.

As the first publicly recognised non-binary barrister, do you feel an obligation to be a role model?

Yes, definitely. I feel like I got here (being a public voice) by accident – it just so happened that this is how it panned out. But I certainly feel like I have an obligation to speak up for those who are more marginalised than me.

In terms of challenges in the legal sector, is it primarily the toxicity that can occur when discussing gender identity, or are other challenges more prevalent?

Somewhat ironically, when I came out as non-binary in the profession, I didn’t get that much pushback. I thought I would get much more. People were generally supportive, which was surprising as these aren’t typically the kind of people you might think would be open to it. It might have been that people thought it was a load of rubbish and they didn’t have the audacity to tell me, but to be honest, if you keep your belief to yourself, I couldn’t care less. In my day-to-day practice, it doesn’t really come up. My client is the most important person, and conveying their message to the judge is key.

The only hate I’ve had is more recently, delving into the ‘gender-critical’ cases as this overlaps with a lot of my belief/discrimination work, with actors in that field making comments that are quite disrespectful. In reality, the fight for equitable rights for all should be a common cause; however, that cannot be done if parties attack each other, or target extremely marginalised groups for misconceived reasons.

Rights are not limited as percentages on a pie chart; marginalised groups can gain rights without taking away the hard-fought rights of others. Presenting rights as mutually exclusive misunderstands their very nature: rights can (and should) be extended for each group that faces adversity in society. This is crucial for society to become fairer.

Is there anything the legal sector could be doing better in terms of representing and supporting non-binary colleagues?

Non-binary people aren’t going away, no matter how much hate is expressed towards us. I truly think that the seeming increase in non-binary people is more about people feeling confident enough to say it, especially as Gen Z comes through.

In terms of support, having a non-binary person’s back when they’re in the room is important, but also when they’re outside the room, is really important. If I tell you my pronouns are they/them, you should try your hardest to get them right. If you get it wrong once or twice, no-one is going to be mad at you, but you should at least make the effort, and correct others if you hear them using the wrong ones. Non-binary people shouldn’t have to do all the work. I’m happy doing a lot of the heavy lifting, but allies also need to pull their socks up – whether it’s putting pronouns in your email signature or on LinkedIn, or checking in on your trans and non-binary colleagues. LB

The post ‘Non-binary people aren’t going away, no matter how much hate is expressed towards us’ appeared first on Legal Business.

Pride Month is here again; corporate social media profiles are awash with the colours of LGBTQ+ pride, drag queens are braving office lighting for bingo events, and rainbow flags, lanyards and badges are all over the City.

Since the first Pride parade in London in 1972, three years after the start of the gay rights movement in New York following the Stonewall riots, the concept of Pride has grown from its protest origins to a colourful celebration of queerness, and, to some more cynical eyes, a marketing opportunity.

Despite the cynics, corporate allyship has never been more important and, with ESG at the forefront of everyone’s minds, more and more law firms are actively getting involved.

Pride in action

Diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives have been a focus for the legal industry for years now. In addition to the Law Society’s LGBTQ+ Network, the Bar’s FreeBar and Daniel Winterfeldt MBE KC’s InterLaw Diversity Forum, firms have been taking their own increasingly proactive steps to create inclusive workplaces.

Pride and LGBTQ+ employee networks remain one of the most common means of allyship and, when leveraged effectively, are a key source of guidance and support. At RPC, the firm’s LGBTQ+ employee network, RAIN (Respect, Appreciate, Include and Nurture), is regularly involved in firmwide initiatives such as awareness campaigns, fundraisings and events.

The firm’s head of responsible business, Rachel Pears, comments: ‘We believe that great minds do not think alike, and that attracting, retaining and harnessing the power of diversity does not come by chance or mere passage of time. It is our collective responsibility to proactively create that diversity and carefully nurture an environment which is inclusive on a consistent, intersectional and sustained basis.’

‘It is our collective responsibility to proactively create that diversity and carefully nurture an environment which is inclusive on a consistent, intersectional and sustained basis.’ Rachel Pears, RPC

Osborne Clarke’s network also contributes to the firm’s policies and culture, with feedback from the network leading to changes to the firm’s parental leave policies, fertility and reproductive sexual health benefits, and policies supporting trans colleagues’ transitions in the workplace. Additional initiatives include normalising the use of pronouns and the firm’s Inclusion Allies programme, which educates allies on the lived experience of LGBTQ+ colleagues; the firm’s efforts were recently recognised with the award for LGBTQ+: Initiative of the Year at the Legal 500’s inaugural ESG Awards.

‘We are committed to creating a safe and inclusive environment for all of our colleagues and this includes our vibrant LGBTQ+ community’, comments Kate Millar, the firm’s head of responsible business. ‘We continuously challenge ourselves to ensure our policies, employee benefits and communications are fully inclusive, but the real impetus often comes directly from our fantastic Pride network, who are really committed to ensuring our policies and culture are best practice’.

Linklaters has established pride networks across the UK, Asia, the US and Europe and has also launched a global ‘Allies with Pride’ network. ‘As a global firm, we want Linklaters to be a space of inclusion and belonging to people of all sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions’, says Thomas McGrath, Linklaters’ US global practice head and antitrust partner, who is also one of the firm’s Executive LGBTQ+ Champions. ‘This is especially important when we know that some of the locations we work in are hostile for LGBTQ+ people once they leave our premises’.

‘We also want to build understanding of the issues through sharing stories of the lived experiences of our LGBTQ+ colleagues over the years’, adds Angela Ogilvie, who is also one of the Linklaters’ Executive LGBTQ+ Champions and the firm’s chief HR officer. A key example of this is the firm’s ‘Proud to work at Linklaters’ video series, which shows LGBTQ+ employees sharing their experiences. As Ogilvie highlights” ‘This has by far been the most impactful way to bring people along with us, and our annual pride video is always one of the most watched of the year’.

When assessing the success of these networks, firms report positive impacts across the board.

‘It has been instrumental in helping us attract and retain top talent, which can be evidenced in LGBTQ+ representation across the firm,’ comments Gemma Rowland, people development manager at Osborne Clarke and co-chair of OC Pride. ‘The LGBTQ+ community feel genuinely seen and understood thanks to the growing demonstration of active allyship we see around the offices. This sense of empowerment for the LGBTQ+ community cannot be understated.’

‘The LGBTQ+ community feel genuinely seen and understood thanks to the growing demonstration of active allyship we see around the offices. This sense of empowerment for the LGBTQ+ community cannot be understated.’ Gemma Rowland, Osborne Clarke

Perhaps a more tangible metric for the sector’s success in supporting LGBTQ+ individuals is the placement of firms on the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index, which highlights the employers making notable progress on LGBTQ+ inclusion in the workplace.

Law firms feature heavily on the list, with Clifford Chance taking the number one spot among all employers for 2023 in the UK. Other high-ranking inclusions on the 2023 UK list include Linklaters at number 9, DLA Piper in 17th and Leigh Day, which sits in 25th position. For the 2023 global list, of the nine employers featured as gold winners, five slots are occupied by global law firms: Baker McKenzie, Clifford Chance, Dentons, Freshfields and Herbert Smith Freehills.

Pride as a protest

But despite the progress, it’s important that the celebrations around Pride month don’t overshadow the challenges that remain, with some conservative mindsets pushing back against the hard-won progress achieved in recent times.

‘Sadly, there are many challenges still out there for LGBTQ+ people and it’s important to acknowledge that’, comments Daniel Gerring, a partner at Travers Smith who also sits on the firm’s diversity and inclusion board. ‘That isn’t to take away from the many changes for the better for some LGBTQ+ people over the past few years, for example around marriage and building a family – but it’s important not to get complacent in celebrating those gains.’

One of the biggest areas that is often overlooked is intersectionality. Jacqui Rhule-Dagher, a commercial litigation lawyer at Hogan Lovells and founder of the Legally Lesbians initiative comments: ‘There’s obviously room for improvement and one of the biggest areas is developing an understanding around intersectionality. For example, I might experience lesbophobia differently to a white lesbian by virtue of my race, and I might experience racism differently to a Black man by virtue of my gender. When organisations fail to take an intersectional approach, but rather a characteristic-by-characteristic approach, what they’re effectively asking people to do is to leave parts of themselves behind’.

When considering further challenges, Jess Carter-Syme, associate at Osborne Clarke and co-chair of OC Pride, adds, ‘LGBTQ+ employees and colleagues are likely to be impacted by the current waves of transphobia across the globe and mainstream media, they may be experiencing homophobic ‘banter’ in the workplace and not feel empowered to speak up, or they may be struggling with fertility issues – as of May 2024, LGBTQ+ people still do not have equal access to fertility treatments on the NHS. Strong, robust policies to prevent bullying and microaggressions, education of staff, and keeping the LGBTQ+ community in mind when drafting policies will go a long way to supporting colleagues’.

This increasingly harmful narrative around the LGBTQ+ community, particularly trans and non-binary individuals, has led to some concerning statistics around the experiences of LGBTQ+ people. In late 2023, the Office for National Statistics released data highlighting the increases in hate crime towards the LGBTQ+ community. The results showed a 112% increase in sexual orientation-based hate crimes over the last five years, while hate crimes against trans people increased by a staggering 186% over the same time period.

The workplace is not exempt from this shifting sentiment. According to a 2018 study conducted by Stonewall, around 35% of LGBTQ+ staff have hidden their identity at work for fear of discrimination, and 18% have been the target of negative comments or conduct at work due to their LGBTQ+ identity.

‘Some people within the community are more hesitant to be out at work than they may have been just a few years ago’, comments Ogilvie. ‘By its very nature, the LGBTQ+ community is a diverse one and there are many nuances within it. There’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach to inclusion, so it’s important to remember there is always more work to be done’.

However, the line between true allyship and performative action is often blurry.

Diluting the rainbow

The terms ‘pinkwashing’, ‘rainbow washing’ or ‘pink capitalism’ are often used to refer to companies’ use of performative marketing tactics, particularly during Pride month, to benefit from their supposed allyship and support for LGBTQ+ rights, despite not making tangible changes to business practices or actively supporting LGBTQ+ employees.

‘The reality of the situation is that there are too many businesses, including some law firms, that are talking the talk but not walking the walk on these issues,’ says Gerring. ‘In some cases, this kind of behaviour – ‘pinkwashing’ for want of a better term – is worse than doing nothing – bringing with it a risk of undermining some of the real progress which is being made. I’d encourage those who are making the asks for resources to support LGBTQ+ inclusion and those who are being asked for them to think carefully about the impact that deploying those resources will have overall’.

When establishing the best way to ensure true support, the consensus is that allyship shouldn’t just start and end with Pride month. ‘Show support 12 months of the year, not just in June’ comments Ogilvie, while Millar adds: ‘It’s important to have a real commitment to meaningful change throughout the year’.

‘It strikes me that pretty much any business can do something concrete to drive positive change, beyond (but not to the exclusion of) rainbow flags, logos and the odd unicorn’ adds Gerring. ‘In the legal sector there are great examples of firms and in-house teams making impactful changes to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion for their people – for example more equal benefits for those building alternative families – as well as undertaking excellent outreach work. One option for outreach is partnering with an organisation such as GiveOut, which provides a framework for support of LGBTQ+ development projects through its Legal Aid Fund.’

For Pears, the best way to avoid performative allyship is to pair words with action: ‘Initiatives need to be undertaken meaningfully and thoughtfully as people can see through disingenuous activity. What they hear must match what they see happening day-to-day. An organisation can have all the right policies in place, but if the culture people experience doesn’t match, then you risk losing their trust’.

Improving allyship

With that in mind, there are effective ways to imbed LGBTQ+ support into the fabric of a firm’s culture.

Taking it back to basics, speaking to LGBTQ+ employees is an effective starting point. ‘Every firm is going to be different, but above all it’s crucial to reach out to the community to find out what they actually want and need, and to test whether what is already in place is achieving what you want it to’, comments McGrath. Pears adds: ‘Speak to your people. They will give you the most valuable feedback on which aspect(s) of your LGBTQ+ programme to focus’.

It’s important to remember though that the onus for change doesn’t just lie at the feet of LGBTQ+ employees. ‘It’s incumbent on organisations to ensure that they are welcoming places for LGBTQ+ people’, states Rhule-Dagher. ‘What constitutes a welcoming space will look different at every organisation, but there will be common themes such as ensuring that policies and procedures are well drafted, regularly updated and are inclusive; that the firm has management buy-in when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives because senior leaders set the tone for the rest of the organisation and that people are afforded the same opportunities’.

Ogilvie agrees that changes at policy level are the most effective way to cement inclusion: ‘Really examine your policies and benefits to ensure that they are LGBTQ+ inclusive. This is where it matters!’.

For firms in the early stages of implementing allyship, Rowland advises: ‘If you’re new on your journey for LGBTQ+ inclusion, then my biggest piece of advice would be to start small. Focus on small changes that allow you to raise awareness and support – this is how you gain momentum’.

‘Allyship is a verb and it is meaningless unless people are actually active allies.’ Jacqui Rhule-Dagher, Hogan Lovells

Rhule-Dagher adds: ‘Allyship is a verb and it is meaningless unless people are actually active allies. Also, when we think of allyship, we often think of people from a dominant group advocating for those from marginalised groups. Yet this is only one aspect of allyship. What is not always considered is that people from marginalised groups can be allies to each other’.

Is it worth it?

In early 2024, the Solicitors Regulatory Authority released data collected from firms across the UK in summer 2023, evaluating diversity among lawyers within law firms. According to the final results, 4.4% of lawyers identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual (an increase from 3% in 2015), with a greater proportion of salaried partners identifying as LGB in comparison to equity partners (3.4% and 2.7% respectively). The figures show that bigger firms have higher percentages of lawyers identifying as LGB, with the percentage of partners identifying as LGB standing at 5.1% at firms with more than 50 partners, compared with under 3% at the smallest firms.

Similarly, a higher percentage of lawyers at smaller firms (11.7%) chose not to declare their sexual identity, compared with their peers at larger firms (4.9%) suggesting that those in bigger firms feel they can be more open about their sexuality and gender identity.

Although the percentage of lawyers identifying as LGBTQ+ is still very small, the numbers are rising year on year. But more can still be done and it is therefore important that more firms push allyship.

‘It is absolutely still necessary,’ states Ogilvie. ‘In many countries, LGBTQ+ rights are regressing, and we’re seeing that in the UK and the US, especially regarding trans rights. Our trans community needs to know that we see them, and they are safe with us’.

For Carter-Syme, people still feeling the need to hide who they are at work is evidence enough of the need for more progress: ‘The fact that anyone feels they need to hide their true self in the workplace – a place where they spend the majority of their days – shows why LGBTQ+ initiatives and corporate allyship are so important. Homophobia can be insidious and coming out professionally can be very intimidating. A workplace that actively shows its support could well be the catalyst that leads to someone deciding they feel safe enough to be their true, authentic self’.

As Pears concludes: ‘Support for LGBTQ+ people in the workplace is support for your people. It is always worthwhile and necessary.’ LB

The post Great minds don’t think alike – why LGBTQ+ allyship is a business must-have appeared first on Legal Business.

In celebration of Black History Month, Cleary partner Naomi Tarawali shared her perspectives on her legal career during a recent conversation with Legal Business.

Did you always want to become a lawyer?

No, absolutely not. It was a little bit of an accidental path of discovery for me. When I was deciding on what I wanted to study at university, I couldn’t really decide on the subjects out of the A-Levels I was studying, so I started thinking about other things. I looked into law and, I thought, ‘Oh, this sounds interesting’. So unfortunately, I’m not one of those people who always knew I wanted to do this, but I do like it now.

Tell us a bit about your journey from trainee to partner.

When people ask me why I moved to Cleary, it was just curiosity on my part. I really enjoyed the disputes work but wanted to see if I could do a broader range of work, with different people and at a different firm. Cleary was a really great move for me, both professionally and personally. When you train at a firm and stay, there are so many benefits but there’s also some growth that can come if you choose to move at some point.

How can the legal profession be more inclusive and diverse, and what steps can be taken to increase the representation of black lawyers?

It’s a big question. I always start these answers by saying it’s important to recognise that lots has been done, but we’re not done. I have increasingly come to the view that there’s not a one-size-fits-all answer – it depends on the firm, people, and environment. There just aren’t that many senior black lawyers. But the senior black lawyers that do exist, I’m always really impressed by the way they pull juniors up. They don’t do the typical thing of pulling up the ladder and it’s always been inspirational to see. But it doesn’t work if we leave it up to that group of people to improve things.

There are two things that could be done. Firstly, think about how you improve diversity in recruitment. In your recruitment processes, there’s lots of tools out there and there’s not really an excuse for not being thoughtful about it. Secondly, if you get diverse lawyers in, you need to think about how you’re able to motivate them, retain them and make them feel like it’s an environment for them to stay and thrive in.

Have you encountered any specific obstacles or biases in your legal career related to your race, and how have you overcome them?

The short answer is ‘yes’, but the interesting thing about this question is not always knowing. There may have been a decision made, or you may have had certain opportunities or not. It’s really challenging to be questioned about why that might have been, and some people will never have to face that question. The difficulty is thinking: ‘Was this about my race? Or because of something else, like my age or because I’m female?’

I don’t think there’s an easy way to overcome that. Two things have really helped me. Firstly, having supportive mentors and seniors, who have really invested in me and spent time encouraging me. Secondly, a showing a little bit of grit and trying harder to stay here and hopefully make a space that’s easier for someone else who has similar issues to come into. It’s not a simple fix but that’s what I do in my small world in the grand scheme of things.

What advice do you have for aspiring black lawyers who want to enter the profession?

Do it. I know that’s overly simplistic, but if you look and don’t necessarily see yourself represented at various levels of the profession, then I would say try not to let that put you off. It looks a lot different today than when I started. I’m hopeful that in another 10 to 12 years, it’s going to look a lot different again than it does today. And part of that is because there are people who have been able to say, ‘I really deserve and want to be in this space’. You may not see people who look like you, but you will be able to find people who will stand beside you and understand aspects of you. You might need 10, or even 15 people to invest in your journey but you will find people to encourage you along the way. So, I would say if you’re keen on the field, do it and try not to be put off by the current state of affairs. It’s evolving, and you can be part of that evolution. This might sound a bit overly positive, and I don’t mean to downplay what are really very serious issues. But part of the solution is encouraging people to come and encouraging people to stay.

Elisha.Juttla@legalease.co.uk

The post Black History Month Q&A: Naomi Tarawali, Cleary Gottlieb appeared first on Legal Business.

In celebration of Black History Month, V&E partner Miguel Colebrook shared his perspectives on his legal career during a recent conversation with Legal Business.

Can you tell me about your path to becoming a partner at V&E?

I became a partner in the firm’s M&A and capital markets practice group in January, having joined the firm back in 2020 as a senior associate.

I began my career as an economist before I went to law school and my skills paired well with transaction work and within that, capital markets. I started as a US capital markets associate at Latham & Watkins, but my first love was always M&A. I left Latham to go to Paul Weiss where I joined the M&A private equity team, and it was a happy marriage between both law and economics.

I also had an interest in infrastructure including energy, social and digital infrastructure, which are now the areas I specialise in. When I saw Vinson & Elkins, the firm fit became really important to me, for example things like commitment to diversity and supporting people from entry to promotion. Now actually sitting in the team, I’ve had all my initial perspectives around the firm validated time and time again.

Have you encountered any obstacles or biases in your legal career related to your race?

I’ve been incredibly privileged in that I’ve not experienced explicit racism. But that shouldn’t erase the experiences of those who have unfortunately experienced overt racism. However, I have experienced a series of microaggressions that were kind of wrapped in an outer layer of racial bias. To give a couple of examples earlier in my career: I remember a senior lawyer saying to me that I should ‘watch my tone’ when on a client call. I thought this was surprising because no one ever said I was aggressive. To take another example, someone once described me as ‘the big black guy, very hip hop’. Yes, I’m tall and I do like hip hop, but the articulation that I’m somehow urban because I’m black was a strange description of me, especially in a professional context. Lastly, I once had a colleague at a work dinner say, ‘oh, I knew you’d like the chicken,’ and I just thought ‘oh my god, that one wasn’t even subtle’.

How would you overcome instances like this?

Any response needs to be rooted in patience and understanding. I like addressing things head on, but I also want to be reflective which means thinking about both sides of those particular circumstances. For example, thinking, ‘Is there something that can undermine the otherwise hurtful implication I’m getting from that experience?’. If there is something legitimate, then the situation ends there. By virtue of this exercise, if I’m still not able to wash away the stain that’s been created then I will approach that person. Of course, thoughtfully, and discreetly. The goal is not to name and shame. That’s my approach though – if it were more overt racism then that probably requires a more visible approach.

How can the legal progression be more inclusive and diverse, and what steps can be taken to increase representation of black lawyers?

There’s still a lot to be done in terms of barriers to entry. Even if we are seeing more black individuals entering the profession, they certainly aren’t staying there because they are not being promoted. When they enter the profession, they need to look up and think ‘I can accomplish that!’.

Law firms are about relationships. One of the most important relationships is between an attorney and the person who’s going to shepherd them throughout their career and make sure they get promoted.

These observations mean that a concerted effort needs to be made for increasing retention and promotion of diverse candidates. It cannot just be window dressing, it cannot just be nice PR, there has to be substance. V&E is engaged in that concerted effort to try to disrupt that otherwise typical trend that’s observed throughout the legal industry. For example, assigning mentors specifically for diverse candidates to make sure they have somebody who is uniquely and specifically interested in their career.

Do you have any advice for aspiring black lawyers who want to enter the profession?

You need to prioritise the firm fit which means making sure you’re entering an environment that is going to result in you excelling. It’s thinking like, ‘Is this a place that’s going to allow me to come to work every day, in the fullness that is me, Miguel, as a black attorney?’. Because it could be a great place to work, for example, for private equity or infrastructure, but not for someone who looks like me.

Unfortunately, there are stereotypes that are quite pervasive about black individuals. Sometimes people feel like they know us without having met us purely by virtue of what they’ve observed in the community. One of the ways to dispel that, aside from having human interactions with those people, is making yourself beyond reproach. I will acknowledge that’s unfair, as you have to fly to places where other people can walk. But we also do need to be realistic. So, having a dogmatic commitment to being the best and then there’s nothing that can be said about your capabilities and competences.

Please network to try to facilitate relationships. If you know you want to enter the legal profession, then you need to be making those connections early.

Lastly, those of us who are in the profession have a responsibility to make sure that when we make it up the ladder that we are lending a hand back down to help those coming up. I feel so strongly about that and when I don’t see that happening, I’m so disappointed. It’s a responsibility and nothing less than that.

elisha.juttla@legalease.co.uk

The post Black History Month Q&A: Miguel Colebrook, Vinson & Elkins appeared first on Legal Business.

Talking about diversity in law is hard. While there has been widespread progress when it comes to driving up the number of women in law, it is clear there is still much to be achieved with regards to other underrepresented groups. It is a particularly challenging task given both the scarcity of useful data and the related privacy considerations that make it hard to capture.

Put simply, we know there is much more to diversity than the issue of women in law – and that gender is not binary. That said, to ignore the progress women are making in the upper echelons of the legal market (and, in turn, The Legal 500 rankings) would mean we were failing to do justice to those breaking the glass ceiling and the profession more broadly.

According to McKinsey’s most recent Women in the Workplace report, women and female leaders are switching jobs at the highest rates ever. Whether moving to other organisations in search of career development opportunities that are not open to them at their current employer, or in search of a better work/life balance, women are voting with their feet. And the top end of the legal market is no exception.

With the pandemic driving everyone to rethink their approach to work and life, the most recent Legal 500 UK solicitors rankings include countless cases of female partners moving from one firm to another, as well as instances of those making the move in-house or stepping into management roles within their firms.

While, in the past, female partners may have been more reticent to make the jump, there are a host of recent examples of high-profile lateral moves impacting firm and individual rankings, including Allen & Overy infrastructure co-head Sara Pickersgill’s departure to Kirkland & Ellis, Judith Seddon’s move from Ropes & Gray to Dechert and the creation of Boies Schiller spin-off Pallas Partners by high-profile litigator Natasha Harrison. More recently, another in-demand infrastructure partner, Jessamy Gallagher, left Linklaters for Paul Hastings alongside project finance partner Stuart Rowson.

Whether it is because greater recognition means women now have more opportunities to enhance their careers, or that they are simply more comfortable taking these risks, all of this movement at the top end of the market is a great indicator of the strides female lawyers are making in the UK profession, and there has never been a time when women have been so well-represented in law firms or in the Legal 500 rankings.

The number of women with coveted individual rankings in the Legal 500 London guide – as either leading individuals, next generation partners or rising stars – has never been higher; 38% of the 5,700 individuals ranked in London in our most recent research are women. Given the effort that the Legal 500 has made over the last few years to recognise talented women within our rankings and, in turn, to play some part in boosting their profile in the wider market, it is a statistic that is gratifying to see.

But the flipside (from a purely Legal 500 perspective) is that in a profession where women are still inadequately represented at the most senior level, even as the number of ranked women climbs, the rate of growth cannot consistently move in the same direction.

Retirements or in-house moves can have an impact on our efforts to boost female representation. So too can the fact that, in many instances, the pipeline of new contenders for our individual listings simply is not there to ensure our figures move in the right direction year-on-year.

While the total number of women we rank grew last year, the rate of growth slowed, with the percentage of women in our rankings edging up a nominal 1% on last year’s figure of 37%.

And, while 70 of our London rankings saw an increase in the proportion of women included within our individual lawyer listings, the number of practices that saw the percentage of ranked women stay static or decline was not that far off this figure.

In total, 46 London practices saw the proportion of women ranked fall year-on-year, while a further ten stayed static.

The practices with the best and worst year-on-year change

This year in London we ranked lawyers across 129 unique practice areas, with 5,700 individuals spread across the Hall of Fame, Leading Individual, Next Generation Partner and Rising star categories.

Practices that saw a very small year-on-year drop in female-to-male ratios include core areas such as M&A and litigation. In reality, this equates to only one or two female partners fewer than the previous year.

Only ten practices out of 127 in London saw the percentage of women drop by 5% or more, and it is notable that these were mainly smaller practice areas, where percentages are more easily skewed by changes in the number of ranked lawyers.

Over the two years since we started tracking the gender of the lawyers in all our London rankings, we have made significant progress, with the current figure of 38% women significantly up on the 2020 equivalent, when just over a third of the then 5,000 lawyers ranked in the capital were female.

And, in core City practices, that progress is greater still when compared to our rankings from four years ago. For example, the 2018 London M&A rankings included only four women – there are now more than 60 across all three value bands, representing almost 40% of those ranked.

In the most recent research, a full 16 London practices saw the percentage of women included in the rankings increase by 5% or more year-on-year, with hedge funds, customs and excise and social housing all seeing this figure increase by more than 10%.

The best practice areas for female representation

Customs and excise and social housing also top the list of practices with the greatest representation of women ranked, with women making up three quarters of all ranked individuals in both practices.

In total, 27 of our London practice areas have now achieved male/female gender parity when it comes to individual lawyers. Some of the practices with the highest percentage of women ranked include areas where female representation is traditionally strong, such as clinical negligence, family, immigration and employment, but competition litigation and white collar/corporate crime are also now close to a 50/50 split.

Many core City practices have now reached the critical 30% marker and even notoriously male-dominated areas – such as high value private equity – are now only a couple of percentage points off this benchmark when looking at lawyers of all levels of seniority.

Premium M&A and high-value litigation have seen the percentage of women ranked increase by 7.5% and nearly 4% over the last two years, meaning women now make up 38% and 33% of each respective ranking.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, sport, non-contentious construction, transport finance and venture capital are among the worst performing practice areas for gender balance within our lawyer rankings.

The regional perspective

For the first time, our 2023 UK research measured the gender breakdown of our individual lawyer lists outside London. Our analysis demonstrated that the percentage of women ranked was higher outside the capital – helping to drive up our overall representation of women in the UK research.

Women account for 45% of almost 5,800 individual lawyer rankings across 445 practice areas outside London, a figure which helped to increase the overall proportion of women in our UK-wide individual tables to 42%.

The best performing region when it comes to the percentage of women ranked is the South East, where 401 of the 748 lawyers ranked (54%) are female.

This is closely followed by the North on 49%, East Anglia on 48% and the South West on 47%. At the other end of the scale, in Northern Ireland, Guernsey and Jersey fewer than 40% of all ranked lawyers are female.

The best firms for ranked women

When looking at firms with at least 20 ranked UK lawyers, Bindmans has the highest percentage of women with 81%, followed by Moore Barlow (71%), BDB Pitmans (70%) and Penningtons Manches Cooper (69%).

Looking only at London-ranked firms with at least 20 individuals, Bindmans is joined by strong performers such as Kingsley Napley (68%), Bates Wells (67%), Russell-Cooke (57%), Forsters (57%) and Irwin Mitchell (57%).

Other large firms with an impressive gender mix include Withers (56%), Pinsent Masons (53%), Charles Russell Speechlys (46%), Mishcon de Reya (46%), DWF (46%) and Addleshaw Goddard (45%).

Ethnicity

While we are pleased to have made so much progress in recognising women within our rankings, it is clear that there is still much to be done on ethnic diversity. The primary obstacle here is the pipeline of talent within law firms itself, as well as the number of minority lawyers being put forward for consideration as leading individuals. Our rough estimates suggest that just 5% of all ranked UK lawyers are minority ethnic. This figure rises slightly at rising star and next generation partner level but not much. The London rankings are slightly more ethnically diverse than the UK as a whole, but we would estimate that the average figure is still under 10% when looking across lawyers of all level of seniority within our rankings.

At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, we still need your help to improve the diversity of our rankings further. As things stand, we are unlikely to be able to formally measure anything beyond binary gender data, but that does not mean that making our rankings more inclusive in all ways is not important both to us and the wider profession.

As a listing of the best lawyers in the country, we can only reflect the talent that exists at the top end of the legal market itself. We do not have targets or quotas, and every lawyer in our ranking is there on merit alone, having demonstrated roles on market-leading work and secured the recognition of peers and clients alike.

Where firms can help us is by making sure that you are including a diverse selection of candidates for us to consider – but the name alone is not enough. We need to see evidence of their client base and the quality of the work they are taking on. We also need positive client feedback, so please do make sure that you have included client referees for those you are nominating who are likely to respond favourably on their behalf.

Measuring and talking about diversity in the legal profession is undeniably hard, but it is an ongoing conversation that needs to happen – and we are keen to keep pushing things forward. LB

georgina.stanley@legalease.co.uk

The Legal 500 UK Solicitors 2023 is available at www.legal500.com

The post Success or failure? The push for gender equality is no longer a binary matter appeared first on Legal Business.

An institution’s values and commitment to inclusion are only real when tested. It is in challenging times that we decide whether we embrace those values and these are the defining moments that ultimately prove their worth. Amid a global pandemic, political upheavals, the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent movement that has flowed from his death, the profession’s actions will show if our values are either luxury items to be paraded when convenient or the rock on which we build our business.

It is precisely now beset by challenges that we need to put inclusion at the heart of our decisions. Leading law firms have often waxed lyrical about commitments to diversity; now is the moment to step up if we truly believe inclusion is a core value and an economic imperative.

Clifford Chance recently announced a comprehensive set of inclusion targets, which aim to deliver meaningful change across gender, ethnic minorities and LGBT+ at the firm. They are not a numbers exercise where figures are picked on the whims of woke. It is about delivering a firm where the top floor looks like the front door and to help stem the drain of diverse talent quitting the law. To be a successful law firm, we need that inclusion. Diversity of thought and experience is a critical ingredient if we are serious about finding creative answers to the most complex and challenging questions our clients face.

These new targets have been announced in the middle of a global health and economic crisis because it is times like this when a firm’s values come to the fore. We take action now because it will strengthen our firm, but also because the potential impact of these crises on inclusion will be terrible if left unchecked. Covid-19 is no social leveller. We already know certain ethnicities face worse health outcomes. The impact on our education system will be disproportionately felt by the less affluent, which runs the risk of a career in law seeming beyond the reach of many. Women face the risk of a gendered economic recovery from the pandemic and are more likely to have to make choices between family and career. None of these challenges will correct themselves. They need active leadership and conscious interventions. If City law firms believe in their values, they have to be willing to champion them.

Inclusion is not a new value for the profession. The law is about justice, fairness and equity. Law firms should not be neutral players in the very system that protects these concepts. We need to lead and shape that system to uphold this identity. We need to see inclusion not as a faddish concept but a modern understanding of the foundation the law has been built on for centuries. The 16-year-olds writing law in their college applications are more likely thinking of fairness and justice than the thrills of debt restructuring and asset-backed securities. Inclusion is about returning to those values and being a bridge between the wider business community and justice system.

Building an inclusive environment also enables us to attract and retain the best talent. The job for life is long dead. With greater movement comes greater scrutiny and less institutionalisation. We are all becoming more discerning about which firm we will work for. People want to feel proud, or at the least not ashamed, of their employer. They prefer to work at an organisation that shares their values, and one of the most important measures by which people decide whether the firm is right for them is its commitment to diversity. Perhaps even more important for staff engagement is a firm’s ability to deliver on the ground what its marketing claims the institution stands for.

Unsurprisingly, smart, well-educated workers can easily tell the difference between values talked and values lived. If inclusion is put in the drawer during difficult times then businesses will deservedly lose credibility with staff and clients. When the tough times pass they will face steep barriers if they think they can play catch up and hope no-one notices.

Businesses that continue to lead on inclusion are the ones that will build great cohesion within their teams, enhance their reputation with staff and customers and strengthen credibility on all matters pertaining to their values. During this period of unprecedented challenge, we need to stand up, not sit back.

Tiernan Brady is global director of inclusion at Clifford Chance

The post Guest comment: Corporate values mean nothing without cost – City law’s moment has come to champion diversity appeared first on Legal Business.

Allen & Overy is confronting the must-solve issue of achieving ethnic diversity in City law with a raft of new targets aimed at levelling the playing field by 2025. 

The set of targets includes having 15% of partners and 25% of lawyers and support staff identifying as ethnic minority in the next five years. 

Ambitiously, given the lack of traction in attracting BAME candidates to the London offices of elite law firms, the targets would also see 35% ethnic minority trainees, including 10% black trainees, each year, as well as equal retention rates, especially  for black associates. 

The move comes after Clifford Chance (CC) threw down the gauntlet in mid-July with its own set of diversity targets that would see 15% of its UK and US partner promotions and lateral hires from minority ethnic backgrounds by 2025. CC is also aiming for 30% representation for senior associates and senior business professionals by 2025 as a whole, not just hires and promotions. 

A&O has also published its ‘ethnicity Stay Gap’, which reveals the worrying trend that black, Asian and minority ethnic lawyers leave the firm seven months earlier than their white colleagues and that black lawyers leave two years and five months earlier than their white counterparts.  

The report followed analysis by consultant Rare Recruitment, which found that the average BAME lawyer’s tenure at a law firm is around 18 months shorter than that of the average white lawyer. A&O plans to publish the Stay Gap every year. 

Jo Dooley, the firm’s head of diversity and inclusion, told Legal Business that ethnic minorities make up 9% of the firm’s partners and around 32% of its trainees, figures that are not a far cry from A&O’s stated goal, with the greatest challenge being around addressing these unfavourable retention statistics.  

‘Everything points to the retention issue so that is where we have decided to focus our efforts,’ said Dooley. This gives us a metric to measure whether the work we are doing to rectify it is working or not.’ She added that the attrition of ethnic minority lawyers was more of an issue at junior level. 

Ian Field, A&O’s UK diversity and inclusion partner, said: ‘We must all play our part in creating a truly inclusive workplace and for us that starts with accountability. The Stay Gap figure is an uncomfortable truth for us and the legal industry but it gives us an objective way to measure the success of our efforts in this area. We want to be clear that we recognise the problems within our own firm and are committed to tackling them head on.’ 

With CC and A&O nailing their colours to the mast on what is arguably one of the most controversial but pressing matters facing the legal profession, it seems inevitable that peers must follow suit with similar ambitions or face awkward scrutiny for not doing so. 

nathalie.tidman@legalease.co.uk 

For more on the challenges to creating ethnic diversity in City law, see our 2019 analysis ‘Ticking boxes – Is City law going beyond the platitudes on ethnic diversity?’

The post A&O aims to tackle ‘uncomfortable truth’ with 2025 ethnic diversity targets appeared first on Legal Business.