Equality

The legal profession’s claim to be a ‘guardian of fairness’ is under scrutiny after stark findings on gender imbalance and opaque progression. Writing in NLJ this week, Joshua Purser of No5 Barristers’ Chambers and Govindi Deerasinghe of Global 50/50 warn that leadership remains dominated by a narrow elite, with men holding 71% of top court roles

A fair & equitable profession? Joshua Purser & Govindi Deerasinghe explore some troubling research

Draft Legal Services Board (LSB) proposals on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) could make life tougher for many Black, Asian or minority ethnic solicitors, the Law Society has warned

Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot

Professor Graham Zellick KC on the assertion that there is a ‘Welsh seat’ on the UK Supreme Court

Ian McDougall on the dangers of blurred lines between counsel & cause

Draft guidance for schools on how to support gender-questioning pupils provides ‘more clarity’, but headteachers may still need legal advice, an education lawyer has said

The billable hour rewarded time over talent & sacrifice over sustainability. Good riddance, says Ian McDougall

The long-predicted death of the billable hour may finally be here—and this time, it’s armed with a scythe. In a sweeping critique of time-based billing, Ian McDougall, president of the LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation, argues in this week's NLJ that artificial intelligence has made hourly charging ‘intellectually, commercially and ethically indefensible’

The judiciary has set itself a trio of objectives and a trio of focus areas for the next five years, in its Judicial Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2026-2030