The legal profession and government legal bodies have made a concerted effort to broaden the profile of the judiciary, according to the first progress report of the Judicial Diversity Taskforce.
According to the Taskforce report, work has begun on each of the 53 recommendations made by the advisory panel on judicial diversity, chaired by Baroness Neuberger, which reported in 2010.
The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) now prepares feedback reports to help candidates for judicial office, while the judiciary has introduced mentoring for deputy district judges and new High Court judges, in addition to taking part in outreach work.
The Bar runs mock trial competitions and organises mini-pupillages for school pupils, while the Employed Barristers Committee has promoted judicial opportunities to its members.
Christopher Stephens, chairman of the JAC, said: “Women are applying and being selected in increasing numbers; black and minority ethnic lawyers are applying in larger numbers and are doing well in entry-level posts and solicitors are performing better in entry and middle ranking posts.
“More needs to be done and the Taskforce members must continue to pull together to maintain and enhance an end-to-end system that is fair, selects only on merit and attracts a higher calibre of candidates from all backgrounds.”
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