Allen & Overy has implemented ethnic diversity targets for its London office and become the first major firm to reveal its ethnicity 'stay gap' – how long Black, Asian and minority ethnic lawyers stay at the firm compared to their white counterparts.

Ethnicity targets had been under discussion at the firm for around a year, according to a London partner with knowledge of the situation.

The targets, announced Wednesday, aim to boost the firm's ethnic minority make-up across all levels of seniority.

The firm is now aiming for a 15% Black, Asian and ethnic minority partnership and 25% of the same metric in its lawyers and support staff group by 2025.

Currently, the firm's partnership is 9% Black, Asian and ethnic minority, while associates stand at 22%.

The firm is also targeting a 35% Black, Asian and ethnic minority trainee intake, including 10% Black trainees, each year from now, and equalised retention rates for trainee lawyers "in particular retaining more Black associates." Its current trainee group make up is 31% while its support staff is 16%.

A&O has also become the first known firm to announce its ethnicity stay gap.

It revealed that Black, Asian and minority ethnic lawyers leave the firm seven months earlier than their white colleagues and that black lawyers leave two years and five months earlier than their white counterparts.

The firm partnered with U.K. people data analytics company Pirical for the research, which analysed the differences in average tenure of employees who have left the firm in the last five  years.

A&O UK diversity and inclusion partner Ian Field said in a statement: "We must all play our part in creating a truly inclusive workplace and for us that starts with accountability. The Stay Gap figure is an uncomfortable truth for us and the legal industry but it gives us an objective way to measure the success of our efforts in this area. We want to be clear that we recognise the problems within our own firm and are committed to tackling them head on."

A&O's move follows a push by firms to improve their ethnic make up in recent years, though few outfits have opted for targets so far. Eversheds Sutherland and Clifford Chance are among those to do so.

The group has committed to several steps designed to improve the career opportunities for ethnic minority lawyers and prevent them from being blocked or dissuaded from senior roles.

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