Bristol Law Society will be running 2 roundtables in association with my kinda future – the first around mentor & mentee experiences on 30 September; and the second around mentoring scheme design on 20 October.
Book the 30th Sept Roundtable here.
Book the 20th Oct Roundtable here.
Take the survey here.
A team from the Institute for Employment Studies, the University of Southampton and Half the Sky are interested in how organisations and legal professionals are managing during lockdown, with funding from the Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC).
They are particularly looking at:
Take the opportunity to take part in the research team’s survey and contribute to this research.
The findings are expected in late May and the team will be sharing the findings through a joint webinar with the Law Society.
International Women’s Day on 8 March is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.
In 2021 the Law Society will mark the year slightly differently to previous years, with a virtual event where they will be launching their joint Law Society and Bates Wells International Women in Law report “Practical Toolkit for Women in Law“. This webinar will highlight and disseminate the report’s key findings and recommendations.
This report reinforces the findings of the 2019 Law Society report ‘Advocating for Change: Transforming the Future of the Legal Profession through greater Gender Equality’, that there are still considerable challenges for women’s progression in the legal profession. This report suggests a series of activities that can be undertaken by individuals and organisations to continue striving for gender equality. One of the key findings is the importance of law societies and bar associations in taking robust leadership for accelerating transformative changes in this area within their own jurisdictions.
Written under extraordinary circumstances generated by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the report addresses the unparalleled set of challenges currently being faced by woman around the world. The report also highlights that there has been greater flexibility and more agile working resulting from the ‘working from home’ policy, which has contributed to changing attitudes towards working from home that has been made feasible and manageable due to technology. But this has also led to an increase in home-based burdens. Therefore, it is important to establish boundaries between home and work, which have become more blurred; so, a careful approach is needed. Sexual harassment continues to be a stubborn scourge in many workplaces, but that most women avoid talking about this issue due to the stigma attached and for fear that they will not be believed or will suffer a backlash for speaking out.
This webinar will offer an opportunity to learn about;
This event is also:
14:00 – 14:05 Welcome remarks
David Greene, President, The Law Society
14:05 – 14:10 Pre-recorded video message from Commonwealth Secretariat Baroness Scotland to the legal community
14:10 – 14:25 Keynote speaker
Gabriella Ramos, Assistant Director – General for Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO
14:25 – 14:30 Panel introduction
Christoph Sicking, Chair of the Law Society International Committee & Assistant General Counsel, EBRD
14:30 – 15:00 Panel discussion
Co-authors – Lizzette Robleto de Howarth and Melanie Carter
Interviewee – Brooke Holden, Principal, Lipman Karas – Hong Kong
Discussant – Amandeep Khasriya, Senior Associate, Moore Barlow / WLD-UK
15:00 – 15:25 Q&A session
15:25 – 15:30 Closing remarks
Christoph Sicking, Chair of the Law Society International Committee & EBRD Senior Counsel
Sign up for this event here.
The Law Society of England and Wales released new research earlier this month on the experiences of Black, Asian and minority ethnic solicitors in the law and indicates how we can build a more inclusive profession.
“In the solicitors’ profession, 17.5% of practising certificate (PC) holders come from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups. This is higher than the national average of 14.1% of the wider working population but 10% of this number is made up of Asian solicitors while only 3% of the profession identify as Black.”
During 2020 the Law Society has been working on research to understand the experiences of Black, Asian and minority ethnic solicitors at different points in their careers.
Here are links to some of the recently published articles and resources which may of interest to members:
If you missed the launch event you can watch the recording here.
The Fawcett Society report shows that the UK is at a coronavirus crossroads when it comes to gender equality. The report was published on Equal Pay Day 2020, the day on which women in full time work effectively stop getting paid compared to men.
What does it feel like to be a black and Ethnic minority solicitor in today’s profession?
“Race for Inclusion: the experiences of black and Ethnic Minority solicitors” research report launch event – 9 December, 16.00-18.00pm
The Law Society will present its findings from quantitative and qualitative research it has conducted to better understand the experiences of black and Ethnic minority solicitors
You are invited to join the launch event and hear from the researchers who will share the key themes emerging from the research. We have also assembled a range of experts to dissect and discuss the findings and we are also keen to hear your views and insights. Based on recommendations from the report the Law Society will present its next steps and the formulation of a Race action plan to support members and provide practical support to firms
The link to book your place here.
Next 100 Years and Obelisk Support have launched a new report showcasing a diverse range of Women Who Will – 30 leading female lawyers drawn from across the profession.
The Law Society Annual Statistics Report (ASR) has been compiled for over 30 years and provides a comprehensive picture of how the size and structure of the solicitors’ profession has evolved.
The ASR has tended to focus on private practice, which continues to employ most practising solicitors. However, in-house solicitors now make up almost one-quarter of the profession.
This year’s report expands on visually representing the distribution of practising certificate (PC) holders by:
Part one of the report looks at qualified solicitors, the sectors and the entities in which they work and analyses the diversity within the profession.
Part two covers the development and entry of new solicitors including numbers pursuing law degrees, training contracts and being admitted to the profession through various routes.
Key findings from this year’s report (with a focus on gender) show that:
You can download a copy of the report here.
Legal mental health charity LawCare has announced a new ground-breaking research study ‘Life in the Law’.
The charity has teamed up with leading academics in the field Dr Emma Jones (University of Sheffield), Professor Richard Collier (University of Newcastle), Caroline Strevens (Reader in Legal Education, University of Portsmouth) and Lucinda Soon (Solicitor and PhD researcher) along with Nick Bloy (Executive Coach and founder of Wellbeing Republic) and Kayleigh Leonie (LawCare trustee and solicitor) to develop the research study which will look at the impact of work culture and working practices on the wellbeing of legal professionals. The research seeks to understand the day to day realities of life in the law and uses three academic research scales for burn-out, psychological safety and autonomy. Anyone working in the legal industry, including support staff, can complete the online questionnaire across the UK, Ireland, UK, ROI, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
We encourage as many members as possible to take part, as the results of this study will help improve the support available to people working in the legal profession. The data will help drive long-lasting cultural change in legal workplaces to benefit both the present and future generations of lawyers and staff.
The results will form the basis of an academic paper and will be announced next year.
Take part at lifeinthelaw.org.uk
During 2020, the Law Society has been working with the Ethnic Minority Lawyers Division on a programme of research on the career experiences of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Lawyers.
To complement the report, they would like to collect the experiences of a wider group, to examine the prevalence of challenges identified through the roundtables and to collect views on how these challenges can be collectively addressed.
If you identify as a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic Lawyer please complete this survey.
