Recruiting a diverse workforce is easy but top City law firms are falling down when it comes to creating an inclusive atmosphere where lawyers from all backgrounds want to stay and build their careers.

Leading diversity consultant Linbert Spencer (pictured) told delegates at a Shilton Sharpe Quarry (SSQ) forum last week, that inclusion is one of the hardest issues facing law firms today – rather than the initial recruitment of minority workers.

Spencer applauded the efforts already being made to encourage diversity in the legal sector, but said that firms need to be clearer about what they are trying to achieve. Firms need to concentrate on how many people from diverse backgrounds they can retain rather than the number they can recruit.

In particular, Spencer argued that distinct firm cultures – something many City leaders pride themselves on – can cause problems if they mean people from all backgrounds are forced to try and fit into the same mould.

"Diversity is a given – everyone is different. The task is managing inclusion. If you start by looking to change your diversity you are conceptually starting in the wrong place," Spencer said.

Delegates, including diversity officers and human resources managers from many of the City's largest firms, were also told to view Government diversity legislation as the base level below which no-one should sink. Current legislation deals with discrimination on the grounds of race, religion, age and sex, but there are other areas that can make people feel uncomfortable or isolated. To this end, Spencer argued firms need to be aware of the message they are sending to the market if they want to attract and retain the best talent.

Spencer said: "The recruitment process starts before you actually decide to go out and look for people. It is all to do with your image and the market perception of you as an office, as a firm and as an industry."

He also cautioned that recruiting from 'non-traditional backgrounds' should not mean lowering standards. He argued maintaining a 2:1 degree barrier was fine as long as, within that bracket, law firms ensure they are attracting the most diverse group of recruits.

His words come against a backdrop of law firms looking at broadening recruitment criteria to include aptitude and psychometric testing rather than just academic qualifications. Norton Rose is considering axing the minimum requirement of a 2:1 degree from training contract applicants, while Herbert Smith is also in the process of reviewing its application process.

Despite the additional costs involved in increasing diversity, firms were warned not to reduce efforts to recruit a mixed workforce as a result of the global economic crisis and cost-cutting.

SSQ director Gavin Sharpe likewise told delegates at the event, which was supported by Legal Week, that law firms tackling diversity should avoid knee-jerk reactions. He said: "Diversity panics partners. They say 'let's have someone with a 2:2 from an ethnic minority. That is not what I think diversity is about."