Clifford Chance creates women's network

The group, which is headed by competition partner Liz Morony and corporate partner Kathy Honeywood, has been established just weeks after the firm launched its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) network.

Morony said the network's guiding principle will be to make the magic circle firm a better place to work by supporting women throughout their careers.

"We'll build on the many different projects that are already going on and the existing networking groups in the firm and outside. We're trying to put a structure on that and trying to provide a venue for that support," she added.

It has not yet been decided whether to have one single overarching network or to operate a number of separate groups that communicate with each other. Currently 51 per cent of Clifford Chance's lawyers are female, while at the partner level the figure drops to 17 per cent.