How diverse is the legal industry?

Diversity within employment is a subject that has been prevalent for quite some time, but often the question arises – are we really doing anything to combat this?

An insightful article in the Washington Post by Deborah L. Rhode, Professor of Law, tells us that Law is the least diverse profession in the US, and whilst figures do differ slightly here in the UK, it is still an issue that needs to be addressed across the globe.

In the US in 2015, a mere 12% of legal professionals are considered BAME represented (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic). This figure does not improve significantly in the UK, where BAME representation stands at 15%, although this is a figure which has more than doubled since 2000.

Max Harris, Associate Solicitor at Baker McKenzie and Chair of the Junior Lawyers Division at the Law Society of England and Wales comments ‘The fact that BAME representation has doubled in the past 15 years shows that firms are taking positive steps to ensure open and fair recruitment. The growth in BAME representation is largely down to positive campaigns from universities, law firms, the Law Society and other organisations. Students from all backgrounds are beginning to realise that the legal profession is a viable option for them. The concept of "it is not what you know, but who you know" is becoming less and less prevalent in the solicitors profession. We are starting to see a large number of talented individuals enter the profession purely on merit. We cannot, however, become complacent after seeing these figures. It shows that the legal profession is heading in the right direction, but we are not at the finish line yet. There is still under-representation of individuals from BAME backgrounds, and as a profession we need to continue to break down any conscious and unconscious barriers.’

Within her article, Deborah L. Rhode tells us ‘Unconscious bias and exclusion from informal networks of support and client development remain common. Minorities still lack the presumption of competence granted to white male counterparts, as illustrated in a recent study by a consulting firm.’

Whilst the statistics do show improvements in BAME representation, the industry needs to work harder to remove this issue. This also extends to gender representation. In 2014, figures showed that some 56% of BAME solicitors, and 6 in 10 PC holders under the age of 35 were women, but these figures drop to just 4 in 10 PC holders over the age of 35. Max Harris advises ‘We do see a large difference in the proportion of female junior solicitors compared to female senior solicitors. This is particularly worrying because the trend does not look like it is changing any time soon. Firms are driving away their female talent. They need to invest more time, effort and resources into understanding the social reasons for this, and in turn address these. Again, it is likely that both conscious and unconscious barriers play a role here. There are positive initiatives which are on-going and aim to tackle this problem. The Women Lawyers Division of the Law Society continues to be involved in several of these initiatives.’

As one of the leading Legal Recruitment Agencies, we at Douglas Scott continue to ensure that candidates are considered solely on their suitability for a role, which was one of the many criteria that led to us achieving ISO9001:2008 accreditation.