Diversity

Diversity at the Bar is ‘inching’ forward but needs to accelerate, Bar Chair Derek Sweeting QC said this week in response to the annual Bar Standards Board diversity report. 

The Bar has become marginally more diverse, according to the annual Bar Standards Board (BSB) report

In a special NLJ report, Grania Langdon-Down talks to Mrs Justice Cockerill, head of the Commercial Court, and litigators about the challenges of 2020 and what 2021 will bring in relation to work-flow, procedural reform, diversity and well-being. She also draws on responses from the latest London Solicitors Litigation Association (LSLA) and NLJ Litigation Trends Survey. Overall, most responders were positive that the litigation market would grow or, at least, remain unchanged. There was overwhelming support for virtual hearings and agile working. But there was also a strong message to the profession’s leaders that the legal community needs to do more to promote both diversity and inclusion and the importance of good mental health.

As members prepare for an expected spike in litigation, LSLA president Chris Bushell (pictured) is determined to ensure that mental health and diversity and inclusion remain key priorities for London’s litigators

The Employment Lawyers’ Association (ELA) is launching a 21 Day Racial Habit-Building Challenge for members to help advance the conversation around race in the UK

Black and Asian solicitors are disproportionately likely to be investigated for regulatory breaches, official figures have revealed

Law Society research into the experiences of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) solicitors has highlighted a clear disparity in career paths and representation across different firm types

Bar chair Amanda Pinto QC has criticised ‘shocking discrepancies in pay between male and female barristers’ revealed in Bar Mutual data for the year ending 2019

Several law firms have made it into the top 75 employers in the Social Mobility Foundation’s employer index

Hodge, Jones & Allen (HJA) housing solicitor Bahareh Amani has been appointed as the firm’s diversity champion