Nearly one in six of nearly 189,000 solicitors on the Roll comes from a BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) background, Law Society figures show.
However, only one quarter of new solicitors provided information on their ethnicity last year, and among the entire profession, 17% have not provided ethnicity data. Law Society President Simon Davis said it was ‘a real cause for celebration that solicitors come from an ever-widening pool’, but noted the gap continues at more senior levels. More than 40% of male solicitors in private practice are partners, compared to less than 20% of women and just over 20% of BAME solicitors.
