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Clifford Chance is to track its use of female barristers in a bid to increase the diversity of those it instructs.
Matthew Newick, global head of litigation and dispute resolution at the Magic Circle firm, told Counsel that he also wants to achieve a default position where there must be a ‘very good reason’ for there to be no women on the list of counsel suggested to clients, adding: ‘I can’t imagine any time when there would be a list without a woman.’
He said that the firm already kept data on who it instructed, but is in the process of ‘formalising’ the tracking of that information in order to ensure it instructs a more diverse range of barristers.
He said he was against setting a target for the percentage of female instructions, but that he wanted to see an ‘upward trajectory’. Having looked at the number of women already instructed, Newick said he was ‘surprised and pleased’ to see it was already high and at varying levels of seniority.
Newick said: ‘It reinforced the fact that if we look outside the concentrated bastions of senior male talent at the top end of the Bar, it’s amazing what talent is out there.’
‘We want to find the hidden gems,’ he said, laying down a challenge for chambers to ‘show us your wider talent – make sure we can see it and make it easy for us to find’.
Clifford Chance is to track its use of female barristers in a bid to increase the diversity of those it instructs.
Matthew Newick, global head of litigation and dispute resolution at the Magic Circle firm, told Counsel that he also wants to achieve a default position where there must be a ‘very good reason’ for there to be no women on the list of counsel suggested to clients, adding: ‘I can’t imagine any time when there would be a list without a woman.’
He said that the firm already kept data on who it instructed, but is in the process of ‘formalising’ the tracking of that information in order to ensure it instructs a more diverse range of barristers.
He said he was against setting a target for the percentage of female instructions, but that he wanted to see an ‘upward trajectory’. Having looked at the number of women already instructed, Newick said he was ‘surprised and pleased’ to see it was already high and at varying levels of seniority.
Newick said: ‘It reinforced the fact that if we look outside the concentrated bastions of senior male talent at the top end of the Bar, it’s amazing what talent is out there.’
‘We want to find the hidden gems,’ he said, laying down a challenge for chambers to ‘show us your wider talent – make sure we can see it and make it easy for us to find’.
Update from the Chair of the Bar
By David Green
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs, examines the forensic science underpinning hair drug testing, its evidential scope and limitations, and why it remains the gold standard for evidencing patterns of drug use in family proceedings
Unlocking your aged debt to fund your tax in one easy step. By Philip N Bristow
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, discusses the upcoming changes to pensions and Inheritance Tax and the potential impact on your financial future
Save the Children UK is the latest charity to benefit from a £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
The Chief Legal Officer to the Metropolitan Police, barrister Brett Welch, tells Anthony Inglese CB about his mission and the work to turn the Met around
Barrister apprenticeships – shortly to provide the fourth pathway to the Bar – are an ideal opportunity to support local talent and ‘grow your own’, say Tim Coulson and Dr Jane Dennehy
Grok around and find out – or not? Mariya Peykova investigates the nudification scandal, what the law has to say about sexually explicit deepfakes, and whether stronger regulation is needed
Oliver Lewis spotlights an overlooked yet rapidly evolving area of law – coercive and controlling behaviour within care contexts
For one night only at Middle Temple Hall (Sunday 26 July 2026) – Abigail Bright introduces the famed annual fundraising theatrical event. This year, Martin Shaw and Jason Watkins perform John Mortimer’s The Dock Brief, a mixture of farce and pathos and all in support of the work of the Kalisher Trust in its 30th year
