Firms team up for new effort to tackle lack of diversity on career track
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), Hogan Lovells and Eversheds are among a line-up of eight City firms spearheading a new initiative to promote diversity and multiculturalism for all legal sector employees. NOTICED, which will be launched at the Law Society this Wednesday (20 March), will feature a series of events at which legal professionals from all backgrounds can network, debate diversity issues and share good practice, in an effort to make the legal industry more accessible and boost cultural awareness.
March 18, 2013 at 01:29 PM
3 minute read
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), Hogan Lovells and Eversheds are among a line-up of eight City firms spearheading a new initiative to promote diversity and multiculturalism for all legal sector employees.
NOTICED, which will be launched at the Law Society this Wednesday (20 March), will feature a series of events at which legal professionals from all backgrounds can network, debate diversity issues and share good practice, in an effort to make the legal industry more accessible and boost cultural awareness.
Its events will be open to fee-earners and support staff from all legal firms and the Bar. The NOTICED acronym stands for 'Networking Opportunities to Integrate, Celebrate, and Educate on Diversity'.
Bhavesh Patel, HSF associate and co-chair of NOTICED, said the scheme should address a need not satisfied by existing law firm diversity initiatives. "We've found that there's a big focus on diversity at a recruitment level and providing support and mentors in the initial [employment] period, but there are limited organisations that focus on how diversity impacts a person's growth through their career in the legal sector," he said.
Patel added that NOTICED is not restricted to members of minority groups: "Even things like [having a different] accent can have a big impact on someone's perception of you, and how that's dealt with is not often discussed."
The eight founding member firms are Addleshaw Goddard, Ashurst, Baker & McKenzie, Eversheds, HSF, Hogan Lovells, Simmons & Simmons and Mayer Brown. "We are delighted to have eight member forms on board so quickly. If other firms want to come on board that would be fantastic – the more the merrier," said Patel.
In a joint statement with co-chair Rashida Abdulai,an associate at Hogan Lovells, Patel added: 'Individually, [the founding members] are all running active campaigns of communications and events, but for true change to occur we all need to work together to this end'.
NOTICED is the second legal diversity initiative to launch this month after DLA Piper introduced its 'Break into Law' scheme on 4 March. The global initiative aims to make it easier for currently underrepresented groups of young people to pursue legal careers by offering mentoring, work experience, CV and interview skills training and scholarships through its offices worldwide.
DLA Piper global co-chairman Tony Angel commented: "We have initiatives in offices around the world designed to help young people to break into the legal sector. Break into Law brings together the best of these to create a truly global initiative that plays to our collective strengths. With our operations across the world, we can create fantastic opportunities that will make a real difference to young peoples' lives."
Five of the NOTICED firms already belong to PRIME, a social diversity initiative established by 22 UK firms in 2011. Each has pledged to provide work experience places equal to at least half the number of training contracts it offers annually. Member has subsequently rise to more than 75, including participation from a number of major corporates including Yahoo!, Vodafone and Lloyds.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllClifford Chance Further Modifies Lockstep to Better Reward Top Performers
2 minute readUK Black History Month: Four A&O Shearman Staffers Honour Their Unsung Heroes
6 minute readAggressive, Assertive: Is There a Private Equity Lawyer Stereotype, and is it Deterring Talented Juniors?
Trending Stories
- 1Trump and Latin America: Lawyers Brace for US's Hardline Approach to Region
- 2Weil Advances 18 to Partner, Largest Class Since 2021
- 3People and Purpose: AbbVie's GC on Leading With Impact and Inspiring Change
- 4Beef Between Two South Florida Law Firms Deepens With Suit Over Defamation
- 5Judge Skips Over Sanctions in Talc Bankruptcy: 'That’s A No'
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250