Big firms join forces to improve BAME under-representation


Bi: Action orientated

Twenty one major commercial law firms have joined forces on a new initiative aimed at tackling the under-representation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups in the profession.

Legal CORE (Collaboration on Race and Ethnicity) describes itself as “the first leadership-led, cross-firm collective” targeting a “fundamental shift” across the UK legal sector in terms of retaining and promoting BAME lawyers.

The eight founding firms – Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Freshfields, Herbert Smith Freehills, Linklaters, Macfarlanes, Norton Rose Fulbright and Slaughter and May – came together last year and the launch last week saw 13 other practices sign up.

They are Ashurst, Baker McKenzie, Bird & Bird, Burgess Salmon, Scottish firm Burness Paul, Clyde & Co, Dentons, Kingsley Napley, Penningtons Manches Cooper, Simmons & Simmons, Stephenson Harwood, Travers Smith, and Trowers & Hamlins.

One of the first projects will be a pilot of a leadership forum for senior leaders across the founding firms “to facilitate conversations on championing race diversity and explore how to effect change within their firm”.

There will also be a cross-firm hackathon, inviting participants from across the sector to crowdsource ideas, and a best practice forum “to share collective success and challenges on themes such as data analytics, reverse mentoring and retaining Black talent”.

The firms cited Law Society research highlighting the under-representation of BAME groups at partner level among the top 50 firms, as well as lower levels of workplace wellbeing and retention when compared with White solicitors.

Paul Stacey, executive partner at Slaughter and May and co-chair of Legal CORE, said: “We know there needs to be a deeper focus on Black representation and an improvement across other ethnicities at law firms.

“When we came together as a group last year we were all in agreement that by acting unilaterally, firms can make progress, but ultimately we all have similar challenges, so a sector-wide approach will have a more sustainable impact.”

Farmida Bi, Norton Rose Fulbright’s EMEA chair, added: “Legal CORE is different in that we are independent and law firm-led and therefore closer to the challenges that need to be addressed within private practice.

“Our intention is not to create a new charter or replicate existing work, but to be action orientated, act as a convening body for law firms, and provide a forum to find collaborative and innovative solutions.”

Legal CORE is open to any law firm with a UK office.




Leave a Comment

By clicking Submit you consent to Legal Futures storing your personal data and confirm you have read our Privacy Policy and section 5 of our Terms & Conditions which deals with user-generated content. All comments will be moderated before posting.

Required fields are marked *
Email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Blog


What the law can learn from fintech’s onboarding revolution

Client onboarding has always been slow. It’s not just about the paperwork and manual workflows; it’s also about those long AML checks and verifications.


Civil enforcement – progress at last with CJC report

‘When do I get my money?’ is a question that litigators acting for successful parties are used to fielding. The value of judgments is of course in the recovery made.


Paralegals: Progression and recognition are key to retaining talent

Many lawyers could not do their jobs without the support of paralegals and for law firms to remain competitive, paralegals need to be central to their business.


Loading animation