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International Edition

The gender agenda: what firms are doing to tackle female under-representation

What are law firms doing to ensure more women rise to their senior ranks? Helen Mooney talks to several firms that have signed up to a new programme designed to tackle female under-representation...
9 minute read

International Edition

Law Society backs targets to boost senior female lawyer ranks

The Law Society has called on law firms to introduce targets to boost the number of female lawyers in senior roles, in a wide-ranging report canvassing almost 1,200 lawyers around the world. The recommendation is one of a number of proposals put forward in the report by the representative body, which last week presented the survey's findings at a women in law summit held at its City base.
3 minute read

International Edition

Diversity Initiative of the Year: Allen & Overy

In a year in which diversity has been high on the agenda in the legal industry, there was no shortage of strong entries in this category. Eversheds was one of the stand-out candidates with its Eversheds Unlocked scheme, a three-day programme for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The law firm then expanded the initiative to create the 'Unlocked Academy', a four-year mentoring programme. The firm's efforts won praise for rigour with one judge commenting: "It was detailed and looked well thought-out." Also highlighted as having range and ambition was the Legal Diversity Council, which was created by the EMEA legal department of Citi. The council was formed to bring together a range of existing schemes with a focus on encouraging four key policies: recruitment of diverse staff; merit-based promotion; effective monitoring of diversity; and incentivising legal service suppliers to commit to diversity.
2 minute read

International Edition

Major firms join influential 30% Club initiative to boost female partners

Clifford Chance (CC), Ashurst and Eversheds are among a band of ten firms to have signed up to a major new initiative to boost women partner numbers across professional services firms in the UK.
4 minute read

International Edition

Diversity initiative PRIME surpasses work experience targets by 10%

Social diversity initiative PRIME has exceeded its target for the number of work experience placements offered, with 10% more opportunities offered at law firms than was aimed for.
3 minute read

International Edition

Cultural revolution – China's emerging ranks of female partners on making it to the top

"Be a rainmaker or don't make partner," says Cheryl Luan, partner in Guantao Law Firm's Beijing office. In 1979, there were less than 200 licensed lawyers in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and by 2010 China had 206,000 lawyers nationwide. Of those, it is roughly estimated that 22% or 45,000 plus are female. It wasn't until the early '90s that the legal market really started to blossom. Those who have made it to partnership over the last 20 to 30 years are China's first generation of lawyers. They "only have peers, not predecessors", says Shao-Ying Mautner, managing director at GC.GC. And they are not just rainmakers; they are "ground breaking". While it is not possible to ascertain the percentage of female partners in the PRC, there is consensus that although there are equal or even more numbers of women entering the profession, for now their representation at partnership level is significantly lower to men and comparable to the trends found in other countries. At the same time the success and talents of prominent female lawyers in the China region is drawing attention.
13 minute read

International Edition

Black Solicitors Network names UK's most diverse law firms

Shoosmiths has been named as the UK's most diverse law firm for the second year running by the Black Solicitors Network (BSN) Diversity League Table. A total of 50 law firms, including 30 top 100 UK firms, took part in the research, with participants marked out of 500 in two key areas - demographics and policy and practice.
2 minute read

International Edition

New Bar stats reveal 20% drop in number called during 2010-11

The number of barristers called to the Bar fell by nearly 20% in 2010-11 compared with the previous year, according to new research compiled by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) and the Bar Council. The latest Bar Barometer report shows the overall number of barristers called to the Bar in 2010-11 fell to 1,494, down 19% on the 1,852 that formally joined the Bar in 2009-10.
3 minute read

International Edition

Saudi Arabia set to allow female lawyers to appear in court

Saudi lawyers have hailed news that women are set to be permitted to argue cases in court, in an overhaul of the country's justice system which could be in place as early as next month.
3 minute read

International Edition

Outright sexism still commonplace in law despite profession's push for change

"The views which sexists share are a national problem which will only be amplified by the increase in the Muslim minority in the country in regards to forced marriages and pedophilia..."
4 minute read

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