UK general counsel have thrown their support behind the open letter signed by 170 US legal heads warning law firms to do better on diversity or miss out on work, as talks over a similar initiative on this side of the pond get underway.

The letter, which was signed by GCs and chief legal officers from a range of companies including Cable & Wireless, Heineken and Mozilla, said their companies would divert their "substantial" legal spend to firms that commit to diversity and inclusion.

While the signatories of the letter were primarily from the US in-house community, a growing number of high-profile UK GCs have now told Legal Week that they would also sign the letter, or support a comparable initiative led out of the UK, discussions over which have already begun.