*/
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.
Chair of the Bar reports back
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs
A £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs has been made to the leading UK charity tackling international parental child abduction and the movement of children across international borders
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, outlines the drug and alcohol testing options available for family law professionals, and how a new, free guide can help identify the most appropriate testing method for each specific case
By Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth Management
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, examines the latest ONS data on drug misuse and its implications for toxicology testing in family law cases
A career shaped by advocacy beyond her practice, and the realities of living with an invisible disability – Dr Natasha Shotunde, Black Barristers’ Network Co-Founder and its Chair for seven years, reflects on a decade at the Bar
Responding to criticism on the narrow profile of government-instructed counsel, Mel Nebhrajani CB describes the system-wide change at GLD to drive fairer distribution of work and broader development of talent
The odds of success are as unforgiving as ever, but ambition clearly isn’t in short supply. David Wurtzel’s annual deep‑dive into the competition cohort shows who’s entering, who’s thriving and the trends that will define the next wave
Where to start and where to find help? Monisha Shah, Chair of the King’s Counsel Selection Panel, provides an overview of the silk selection process, debunking some myths along the way
Do chatbot providers owe a duty of care for negligent misstatements? Jasper Wong suggests that the principles applicable to humans should apply equally to machines
