November 23

November 23, 2004: Lawyers Urged to Widen Diversity

Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) Minister David Lammy yesterday called on top law firms and chambers to take a leading role in increasing diversity in the legal profession. Opening the Standing Conference on Legal Education, sponsored by the Legal Services Consultative Panel (established under section 35 of the Access to Justice Act 1999), in London, Mr Lammy said:

"The legal profession should be taking a leading role and setting an example to the other professions when it comes to recruitment and retention. A change in attitude or a change in culture needs to come from those at the top. I want to see the top law firms and top chambers take a leading role. If those from non-traditional backgrounds can see the leaders of the profession setting the standard, this will hopefully encourage smaller firms and chambers to try and keep pace."

While women and minority ethnic groups are well-represented at the lower levels of the legal profession relatively few break into the most senior ranks. Only 15.8 per cent of court judges are women, and just 3.4 per cent come from minority ethnic groups. Information on women in the judiciary can be found here. Information on minority ethnic groups in the community can be found here.

The DCA has published a consultation paper, Increasing Diversity in the Judiciary, which seeks to determine what steps are needed to widen the pool from which applicants for judicial appointment are drawn. The DCA presented a discussion paper, Entry and Retention in the Legal Professions, which asked:

What are the educational and social backgrounds of those entering the legal professions and how representative are they of the population?
Do sex, ethnicity and social background affect the career paths of those hoping to enter the legal professions?
Could advertising and recruitment campaigns be better targeted to promote diversity?

In June 2003, the Prime Minister announced the creation of an independent Judicial Appointments Commission as part of the Constitutional Reform Bill, introduced in the House of Lords on 24 February 2004.

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