Thompsons Solicitors crowned most diverse in BSN’s latest league table
The proportion of ethnic minority partners at the UK’s largest firms has remained broadly static over the last year, although there are still proportionately far fewer ethnic minority partners than there are trainees.
According to the Black Solicitors Network’s (BSN) Diversity League Table 2009, 3.53 per cent of partners come from an ethnic minority background, compared with 3.65 per cent in 2008.
This is in contrast to the figures for trainees. Ethnic minority trainees make up 13.58 per cent of total would-be lawyers. This is actually slightly less than in 2008, when the figure was 14.32 per cent, although it is up significantly from the 10.65 per cent in 2007.
The diversity table, which is based upon both ethnic minority and gender statistics, reveals that trade union specialist Thompsons Solicitors, which is outside the Top 100, is the most diverse firm.
Within the top 100, Wedlake Bell and Russell Jones & Walker are the most diverse firms and Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance are the most diverse top 10 City firms (at joint 16th place).
Michael Webster, editor of the Diversity League Table and a Black Solicitors Network Board member, commented: “The data tells the story; while there are many positives, the league table also highlights a decrease in the numbers of ethnic minority lawyers across many areas. So there’s still some way to go.”
Webster added: “Maybe we need to start looking more closely at the actual impact of some of the initiatives which attempt to attract more ethnic minority lawyers to the profession.
“It’s also important to look at what initiatives exist to assist in the retention of ethnic minority lawyers as it’s the percentages at the associate and partner levels within the leading firms that are decreasing.”
Among the strongest players in ethnicity terms were Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, which declared 13.64 per cent ethnic minority partners, while Weil Gotshal & Manges had more than 34 per cent ethnic minority trainees.
The trends in retention for ethnic minorities are broadly reflective of those for women, with female lawyers on average making up a majority of associates (55.31 per cent), but still a minority in the partnership (22.05 per cent).
Pannone is a notable exception, with nearly half of its partnership (43.75 per cent) made up of women.
A total of 49 firms took part in the survey, of which 15 are international firms.
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Readers' comments (11)
Grendel | 17-Dec-2009 3:06 pm
I am sorry but the table is absolutely unintelligible - what on earth does it show? It seems to be a random number generator...
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Joy Ha Kyung Lee | 17-Dec-2009 5:11 pm
Among the strongest players in ethnicity terms were Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, which declared 13.64 per cent ethnic minority partners, while Weil Gotshal & Manges had more than 34 per cent ethnic minority trainees.
This is definitely good news. Our society should work to become more internationally minded especially at law firms as a just system of meritocracy is intended in a fair democracy not one of discrimination or prejudice. When we have diversity we know our society is achieving more. Thank you for this article !
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JL | 17-Dec-2009 5:42 pm
The diversity issue intrigues me. Will the world be a fairer more sharing place just because more 'white' (whatever that means) people are living at subsistence level or return to forests to forage for themselves in peasant communities thus enabling other perceived social groups and classes to ingratiate themselves into the patriarchal ways and methods of control? Diversity seems to be a bad case of envy. However, I have never understood the belief that dependency upon money is more essential than humanity itself as this leads to desperation. Women are people too, really, and being a diversity seems to evade that point, whatever associations the stats put out. What is diversity and what is it trying to acheive? A levelling of ideals and the reinforcement of unworkable values, pushing inequality into other areas of the spectrum of people. Plus ca change plus c'est la meme chose.
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Clarity Jane | 18-Dec-2009 10:41 am
The table is misleading because the international firms include their non white partners from Asia, Middle East etc. Lovells for instance has no black partners and only two Asian partners in London and no non-White part ers in London. A bad/lazy piece of research.
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Clarity Jane | 18-Dec-2009 3:31 pm
The last part above should say that Lovells has no non white female partners in London.
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someone from earth | 20-Dec-2009 10:43 pm
the figures in the table are nothing but jargon, smoke-screen for the main problem - the law profession has always been and most likely will be a white-middle/upper class profession....the system is in place to stop EM from gaining partnership status. Implied racism will always exist..lets face it, you can't beat the system. Its a farce that there are not enough black or asian partners.
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Anonymous | 22-Dec-2009 10:17 am
someone from earth: How do we deal with this dreadful menace of implied racism? Maybe the government should step in and axe 10% (say) of all non-white partners in a firm, replacing them with a mix of ethnic minority solicitors which properly reflects society at large.
If there is a statistical tie between a white and a non-white position, the non-white should get the job as a marker of beaconicity in social justice blah blah.
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Anonymous | 23-Dec-2009 5:28 pm
i agree whole heartedly with clarity jane. the research is incredibly lazy. there are firms in the top 31 list that have no black partners at all, in london or in the universe generally. This type of research helps nobody at all.
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Anonymous | 23-Dec-2009 7:30 pm
Please don't treat this a joke - we are living in 21st century and no one expects a free ride just equality of opportunity. Firms that fail to provide equality of opportunity should be named and shamed. I wonder if Hogan & Hartson paid any attention to Lovells' record of not making any non white partners fn London for the last 6 years. I hope Hogan will brings its more balanced approach to Hogan Lovells and we'll see more non white partners in the merged firm's London office.
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Anonymous | 27-Dec-2009 5:56 pm
Diversity - I would like to see data about people with disabilities within law firms ..in particular, at recruitment level and getting a training contract....
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