*/
Barristers’ chambers should adopt formal, regulated mentoring schemes to encourage diversity, a Legal Services Board (“LSB”) report has recommended.
These schemes “should be supported by regulation or formal procedures including mechanisms to monitor their efficacy”.
The report, “Diversity in the legal profession in England and Wales,” published in October, looks at the career patterns of women and black and minority ethnic (“BME”) legal professionals.
Several practitioners, particularly in the north where there are few senior barristers and partners who are either women or BME, said they favoured mentoring and spoke of the importance of visible role models.
The legal profession has become increasingly diverse in recent years. In 2008-09, women made up 46 per cent of solicitors and 34 per cent of barristers, while BME professionals made up 13 per cent of solicitors and 16 per cent of barristers.
However, the report found that opportunities for lawyers are “not equally distributed”. White graduates from higher socio-economic groups are over-represented in City firms and at the Bar, while BME women from lower socio-economic groups are concentrated in small high street practices.
Individual choices accounted for some of these outcomes, but there were also other factors at play. Despite there being formal processes in most offices, work was often allocated unfairly so the careers of some were fostered at the expense of others. Networking events often involved “predominantly male” activities. Some women barristers commented on the fact their self-employed status meant there were few diversity initiatives available to them.
Informal mentoring through which “powerful senior figures (generally white men) tended to foster the careers of young white men” was present in most workplaces and was a “major obstacle” to diversity, the report found.
The report’s recommendations included: supporting outreach programmes; offering bursaries for the LPC and BPTC and for trainees and pupil barristers; encouraging the development of formal support networks and mentoring schemes and supporting role models; and ensuring work allocation and promotion procedures are transparent.
These schemes “should be supported by regulation or formal procedures including mechanisms to monitor their efficacy”.
The report, “Diversity in the legal profession in England and Wales,” published in October, looks at the career patterns of women and black and minority ethnic (“BME”) legal professionals.
Several practitioners, particularly in the north where there are few senior barristers and partners who are either women or BME, said they favoured mentoring and spoke of the importance of visible role models.
The legal profession has become increasingly diverse in recent years. In 2008-09, women made up 46 per cent of solicitors and 34 per cent of barristers, while BME professionals made up 13 per cent of solicitors and 16 per cent of barristers.
However, the report found that opportunities for lawyers are “not equally distributed”. White graduates from higher socio-economic groups are over-represented in City firms and at the Bar, while BME women from lower socio-economic groups are concentrated in small high street practices.
Individual choices accounted for some of these outcomes, but there were also other factors at play. Despite there being formal processes in most offices, work was often allocated unfairly so the careers of some were fostered at the expense of others. Networking events often involved “predominantly male” activities. Some women barristers commented on the fact their self-employed status meant there were few diversity initiatives available to them.
Informal mentoring through which “powerful senior figures (generally white men) tended to foster the careers of young white men” was present in most workplaces and was a “major obstacle” to diversity, the report found.
The report’s recommendations included: supporting outreach programmes; offering bursaries for the LPC and BPTC and for trainees and pupil barristers; encouraging the development of formal support networks and mentoring schemes and supporting role models; and ensuring work allocation and promotion procedures are transparent.
Barristers’ chambers should adopt formal, regulated mentoring schemes to encourage diversity, a Legal Services Board (“LSB”) report has recommended.
Now is the time to tackle inappropriate behaviour at the Bar as well as extend our reach and collaboration with organisations and individuals at home and abroad
A comparison – Dan Monaghan, Head of DWF Chambers, invites two viewpoints
And if not, why not? asks Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth Management
Marie Law, Head of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, discusses the many benefits of oral fluid drug testing for child welfare and protection matters
To mark International Women’s Day, Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth Management looks at how financial planning can help bridge the gap
Casey Randall of AlphaBiolabs answers some of the most common questions regarding relationship DNA testing for court
Maria Scotland and Niamh Wilkie report from the Bar Council’s 2024 visit to the United Arab Emirates exploring practice development opportunities for the England and Wales family Bar
Marking Neurodiversity Week 2025, an anonymous barrister shares the revelations and emotions from a mid-career diagnosis with a view to encouraging others to find out more
David Wurtzel analyses the outcome of the 2024 silk competition and how it compares with previous years, revealing some striking trends and home truths for the profession
Save for some high-flyers and those who can become commercial arbitrators, it is generally a question of all or nothing but that does not mean moving from hero to zero, says Andrew Hillier