Playing Catch Up
1 December 2009
By Tim Bates
The legal sector has long lagged behind other professions when it comes to diversity, but the Law Society’s Diversity and Inclusion Charter will place a duty on firms to embrace more inclusive recruitment practices, says Tim Bates
It is a common perception that the legal profession has traditionally lagged behind its contemporaries in the professional services sector, most notably accountants, when it comes to its general recruitment practices and, in particular, how it relates to the issue of inclusiveness and diversity.
While there is now a broad consensus of opinion that more needs to be done to attract a broader range of applicants to the legal sector, the issue of diversity and inclusiveness continues to be a source of nervous discomfort for many in the legal profession.
In an effort to bridge this gap, the Law Society has moved to introduce its Diversity and Inclusion Charter, which seeks to help law firms by giving them a broad framework of guidelines and places the onus upon firms to demonstrate a willingness to engage with inclusive practices.
A key focus of the recent debate has been the need to find a workable synergy between the objectives of recruiters and the responsibilities of law firms, a challenge which has too often been characterised by periods of mild conflict between the two.
For the charter’s overarching message to become a reality, consultants and employers are increasingly aware of the need to find a way of moving closer together and assuming more harmonious working practices. However, is this easier said than done and how will it work in practice?
Firms will only measure up to the charter once they wholly adopt a culture of diversity throughout their procedures and relationships – including recruitment. By following a few simple pointers, firms can easily maximise the inclusive nature of their recruitment operations and satisfy the charter’s requirements.
To ensure a consistent approach towards inclusion, this culture of diversity and inclusiveness should be adopted from the very outset, and throughout the business. It must become a feature of all supply and purchase arrangements, including the hiring of staff at all levels of the business.
This theme extends to ensuring that all members of staff are aware of the charter and that they understand its objectives and principles. If necessary, firms should hold training or information sessions to explain the diversity policy and give all employees the opportunity to ask questions.
When appointing a recruitment consultancy, firms should make every effort to make the consultant fully aware of its diversity policy and ensure that there is a system in place to demonstrate it has acted accordingly. In practice, consultants will rarely have considered this angle and it’s not enough for a firm to simply wash its hands if it is serious about observing the charter.
In the name of transparency, firms should request access to the data used by third party recruiters to filter applications. Only then can firms be certain that a wide screening process has been undertaken, rather than simply receiving a shortlisted handful of candidates and applying their own inclusion criteria at that stage.
A joint effort
Caroline Wilson, head of diversity at Eversheds who spearheaded the Legal Sector Recruitment Alliance, says the issue can only be tackled as a joint effort between law firms and recruiters.
“We’re playing catch up compared to many other sectors and the only way we can make up that ground and build a sustainable future for our industry is by working together,” she says.
“Law firms should ask their recruitment consultants to use a standard form which allows them to gather personal information from applicants and monitor engagement across the diversity groups, whether it is age, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion/belief or disability.
“I’d then like to see recruiters become obliged to feed back a summary of this information to the legal sector on a regular basis, so we can get a better handle on whether the industry is attracting a truly diverse range of candidates or if there is something discouraging certain groups.”
A key feature of the charter is that firms should appoint a senior individual who is responsible for implementing a diversity and inclusion strategy. While this may appear a daunting prospect to the chosen individual, it should be viewed as an opportunity.
The charter need not be onerous, and it’s worth remembering that it can actually give firms a competitive advantage over their rivals when pitching on client tenders.
A number of firms have attempted to take positive steps to address the inefficiencies, including the appointment of a diversity partner. This is certainly one way to seize the initiative; however, it is rarely a strong enough measure in isolation and it is not sufficient to make such an appointment without having the necessary support above and below.
“A joined-up approach means exactly that and by no means absolves law firms from their responsibilities,” says Wilson. “Firms must take equivalent steps to recruiters, including measures to address graduate intake strategies and performance management/promotions to see if the procedures have any inherent bias.”
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