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8 February 2022Influential Women in IPMuireann Bolger

SRA: large firms lagging behind on D&I

Smaller law firms have become more diverse than their larger counterparts, according to a new report by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

The diversity study based on data supplied by more than 8,700 law firms employing more than 180,000 people across England and Wales, showed that the pace of change is slower in the larger firms.

Overall, women make up 61% of solicitors (no change since 2019) and 35% of partners overall (up from 34%). But in the largest law firms, women make up only 31% of partners.

In terms of ethnicity, the study revealed that 17% of lawyers working across all firms were of Black, Asian or minority ethnic origin, up around 0.5% since 2019.

However, there is a widening gap in the profile of partners in the large and small firms, with just 8% of partners at the largest firms being Black, Asian or of ethnic origin, compared to 23% at firms with two to five partners, and 35% at single-partner firms.

There is a significant difference in the proportion of lawyers from a ‘privileged’ background compared to the UK population, with the largest firms having the greatest proportion of those who went to independent/fee-paying schools, at 29% compared to 7.5% nationally and the greatest proportion of lawyers from a professional socio-economic background, at 68% compared to 37% nationally.

The study found that there continues to be potential under-reporting of disability within the sector, although there has been an increase from 4% in 2019, just 5% of lawyers reported they had a disability, compared to 14% of the wider UK working population.

Commenting on the lack of diversity in UK IP,  Suzi Fish, partner at Boult Wade Tennant and co-lead of the Women in IP committee of IP Inclusive, called for more mentorship schemes and support in larger firms.

“It is important to support and encourage people to achieve their potential. This is particularly the case where there are barriers to progression, such as being from an under-represented group.”

Challenges in IP

Fish added: “The IP profession, in particular the patent profession, is known to not represent the make-up of the general population. One way to accelerate change in this area is to provide support to those moving up through the profession, especially if there are no role models in senior positions, and mentoring is one way to provide this support.

“By providing support and encouragement and building confidence in mentees. It can also work that the mentee can provide a new perspective, that can encourage those in more senior positions to think differently and become more of an ally to those who are from under-represented groups.”

Commenting on the study’s findings, Anna Bradley, chair of the SRA, said: “A diverse and inclusive legal profession which reflects the wider community is not only good for the public, but good for legal businesses themselves.”

These latest results, she added, show that while we continue to see change for the better across many areas, work is needed to achieve real diversity and inclusion across the sector as a whole.

“Diversity for Black, Asian and minority ethnic solicitors and women at senior levels is a particular challenge at large firms. We know that many firms have excellent initiatives in place to address progression and retention, but there is clearly more to be done.

“We will be using this data to inform our decisions about the contribution we can make to bringing about the difference we all want to see. We encourage everyone else to do the same.”

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