Skip to content
Legal Business
Twitter Logo Email Icon Youtube Circle Icon Facebook Circle Icon LinkedIn Icon Google+ Circle Icon
Newsletter Subscribe App Trial
Menu
  • Blog
    • Miami, Florida, USWelcome to Miami: Kirkland and Winston open in Florida as Willkie targets Frankfurt capital marketsCharles Avery
    • Berlin,Brandenburg,Gate,,Berlin,,GermanyQuinn Emanuel expands European footprint with fifth German office in BerlinTom Baker
    • strategic_recruitment_hooplaRevolving Doors: Eversheds snaps up white-collar specialist as Kirkland adds US funds teamCharles Avery
    • ПечатьGuest comment: How are law firms retaining the top talent?Guest Blog
    • Morrisons supermarketDealwatch: Ashurst and Travers double up on McColl’s and Ideagen acquisitions as Freshfields energises offshore wind dealCharles Avery
    • More Blogs
    • SUBSCRIBE TO LEGAL BUSINESS
  • Analysis
      • Deals Yearbook 2022 Cover FeatureAccess your print copy online – Deals Yearbook 2022
      • lb307_issue_menuGlobal London 2022 – contents
      • global london spread draft 2Global London Overview: Power plays
      • arbitration_harriet_fosterThe next generation of arbitration
      • international_womens_day‘Get the credit you deserve’ – top female partners on breaking biases and inspiring role models
      • sfoDisputes Yearbook 2022: Staying alive
      • natasha-harrisonBoies Don’t Cry
      • risk road signs ideaRisk management and professional indemnity survey 2022: Do the right thing
      • hsf_maslen-stannage_dagostinoHerbert Smith Freehills: Between two peaks
      • shutterstock_761559577 [Converted]The business of saving lives
      • LB305 p22-23 Legalease Research Services.inddLegalease Research Services: Held to account
        • Law firm financial data

          Access the full range of Legal Business financial reports, including  The LB100 and Global 100 – comprehensive coverage of the largest law firms in the world by revenue.

          Disputes hub


          Head to the LB Disputes hub for focused Disputes coverage, including news, events, analysis, comment and the latest Disputes Yearbook.

      • ‘The most tonto year ever’: the story behind a frenetic 12 months for private equity – and what’s next
      • Access your print copy online – Deals Yearbook 2022
      • Deals Yearbook 2022: The next generation of dealmakers
      • Shining a light on the next generation of dealmakers
      • Marching on
      • Deals perspectives: Nallini Puri
      • More analysis
    • SUBSCRIBE TO LEGAL BUSINESS
  • Insight
      • Law Tech: GC readers manualSponsored briefing: Legal tech – Too much of a good thing?Guest Blog
      • Tunnel diverThe New GC Toolkit: New game, new rules, new playersLegal Business
      • banks_peter_partnershipThe Path to Partnership: A Special ReportLegal Business
      • digital mapInternational Arbitration Insight: Bigger, longer, more complicatedJames Wood
      • Brexit close to finalThe edge of the cliff – Brexit response for worried GCsJames Wood
    • More Insight
    • SUBSCRIBE TO LEGAL BUSINESS
  • Comment
        • lb302_widget_esgGuest comment: How are law firms retaining the top talent?
        • Guest comment: How are law firms retaining the top talent?
        • ESG – What is it good for?
        • Time for a reality check on salaries
        • The Last Word: Broad stripes and bright stars
        • Lessons in management: Spoiler alert – it doesn’t get easier
        • Stronger together? Not really
      • More Comment
    • SUBSCRIBE TO LEGAL BUSINESS
  • News review
      • alvarez_and_marsalSponsored briefing: As data breach becomes a battleground for class action litigation, companies need to take a risk-based approach to cyber securityGuest Blog
      • Moscow,City,Skyscraper,And,Skyline,Architecture,,Moscow,International,Business,FinancialConflict prompts Moscow exodus for Global 100 firms as Ukraine crisis takes its tollCharles Avery
      • ldl_diala_minottLife During Law: Diala MinottMegan Mayers
      • ПечатьLegal 500 data: The Legal 500 Global London rankingsGeorgina Stanley
      • Conyers_PMSc539Sponsored briefing: Utilising offshore structures for digital assetsGuest Blog
    • More news review
      • Crisis management

        Law firm coverage of crisis management amidst the Covid-19 pandemic

    • SUBSCRIBE TO LEGAL BUSINESS
  • International
        • Africa
            • Aerial,Of,Skyline,Of,Maputo,-,Capital,City,Of,Mozambique,Africa focus: Rising again?
            • Empty,Wooden,Deck,Table,Over,Mosaic,Ornament,Wall,BackgroundMiddle East Focus: Light on the horizon
            • African Union FlagAfrica focus: Africa first
            • GC Powerlist Africa Teams

              The Legal 500 law firm rankings: Africa

        • Cyprus
            • Cyprus doveA new hope for Cyprus’s recession-battered lawyers
            • Cyprus flag puzzleCyprus: Picking up the pieces
            • black dog howling at grungey Cyprus flagReturn of the black dog – Hard times return for Cyprus’ legal community
            • GC Powerlist: Greece and Cyprus Teams

              The Legal 500 law firm rankings: Cyprus

        • Germany
          • Berlin,Brandenburg,Gate,,Berlin,,GermanyEuro Elite Germany: Bouncing back
          • Germany_5Germany focus: Age of independence
          • germanyleadimgHow the dust settles – Germany’s profession is forever changed but singular still
          • The Legal 500 law firm rankings: Germany

            The Legal 500 law firm rankings: Deutschland

        • Iberia
          • PLMJ_Logo_H.S2.POS.CMYKSponsored briefing: How the Climate Law may change the Portuguese economy
          • PrintIberia focus: Banking on Success
          • PrintLetter from Iberia – Despite global meltdown, local lawyers remain upbeat
          • GC Powerlist: Iberia Teams

            The Legal 500 law firm rankings: Portugal

            The Legal 500 law firm rankings: Spain

        • Ireland
            • PrintIreland focus: Riding it out
            • no_luck_required_ireland_desert_shamrockIreland: No luck required
            • DublinIreland: Follow the money
            • GC Powerlist: Ireland

              The Legal 500 law firm rankings: Ireland

        • Israel
            • PrintIsrael focus: Land of milk and honey
            • Tel AvivIsrael: Anti-fragile
            • Man walking on tightrope over Tel AvivIn the game – Israeli law firms embrace risks to secure the tech icons of tomorrow
            • The Legal 500 law firm rankings: Israel

        • Italy
          • PrintThe Italian report – Midway upon the journey of our life
          • Italian astrology sceneThe Euro Elite: Italy – And yet it moves
          • Sepia Trevi foutain sceneRenaissance style – the battle to modernise Italy’s legal elite
          • GC Powerlist: Italy Teams

            The Legal 500 law firm rankings: Italy

        • Malta
          • PrintLife in a bubble – the Malta report
          • maltaMalta – Island Haven
          • The Legal 500 law firm rankings: Malta

        • Middle East
            • Empty,Wooden,Deck,Table,Over,Mosaic,Ornament,Wall,BackgroundMiddle East Focus: Light on the horizon
            • PrintThe Middle East: The rough with the crude
            • RiyadhMiddle East: Mission unaccomplished
            • GC Powerlist: Middle East

              The Legal 500 law firm rankings: Middle East

        • Nordics
          • Nordic_07032022Nordics focus: High-value and strong values
          • nordics bridgeNordics: Northern Lights
          • Nordic rivals
          • The Legal 500 law firm rankings: Europe

        • Offshore
          • uk_offshore_posterUK Offshore report: Keeping a weather eye
          • Palm,Tree,Leaves,Cast,Shadow,On,An,Orange,Textured,ConcreteCaribbean Offshore Report: The vital signs
          • PrintShoring up – the Offshore report
        • Southern and Eastern Europe
            • Sponsored profile: Gajski, Grlic, Prka & Partners, Zagreb, Croatia
            • Southern and Eastern Europe – A different hue
            • Greece – the long road back
        • Switzerland
            • Prager DreifussSponsored practice area spotlight: Insolvency and restructuring: Combining unique skills to achieve a successful outcome
            • Bouncing back SwitzerlandSwitzerland focus: Bouncing back
            • Aerial,View,Of,Zurich,City,Center,With,Famous,St.,PeterSwitzerland focus: Still standing
            • GC Powerlist: Switzerland

              The Legal 500 law firm rankings: Switzerland

        • Turkey
          • PrintTurkey focus: Chronology of a crisis
          • PrintLegal perspectives from Turkey
          • asc_law_20_yearSponsored briefing: Q&A with ASC Law’s senior management
          • GC Powerlist: Turkey Teams

            The Legal 500 law firm rankings: Turkey

        • Euro Elite 2022
          • euro_elite_coverEuro Elite 2022 – Contents
          • euro_elite_main_tableEuro Elite 2022: Main table
          • Vilnius,,Lithuania,,Eastern,Europe.,Modern,Office,Buildings,Skyscrapers,In,BusinessEuro Elite Baltics: Closer together
          • Amsterdam,,Holland,-,August,24,,2019:,Old,City,,Amsterdam,AtEuro Elite Benelux: Full steam ahead
          • Budapest SunetEuro Elite CEE: The middle ground
          • Paris,,France.,Panoramic,View,From,Arc,De,Triomphe.,Eiffel,TowerEuro Elite France: Vive l’autonomie
          • SUBSCRIBE TO LEGAL BUSINESS
  • In-House
      • Malpensa,Airport,,Italy,-,May,21,2020:,Part,Of,TheThe Client profile: easyJetMegan Mayers
      • Elisabeth Sullivan, Waterstones, LB306, February 2022The Client profile: Elisabeth Sullivan, WaterstonesTom Baker
      • Sarah-HolfordThe Client profile: Sarah Holford, Scania UKTom Baker
      • Logo for the GC Powerlist Series

        Powerlists

        Nominations

      • Available Now…

        GC Powerlist UK 2020: The Change Agenda

        The GCs and in-house legal teams in the UK making a major contribution to positive change, either at an industry or sector level

        GC Powerlist: Turkey 2019

        The most influential and innovative in-house teams working in Turkey…

    • SUBSCRIBE TO LEGAL BUSINESS
  • Awards
      • MPP8074Photos from The Legal Business Awards
      • MPP8091Sponsors
      • Contacts
  • Events
  • Covid-19
Analysis

L500 UK: Gender diversity hits new high – time to focus on the elephant in the room

Posted on 17 December 2021 09:30am31 January 2022 12:07pm
Georgina Stanley
The Legal 500 View Gender diversity

It’s fair to say that legal directories have come in for more than their fair share of flack over the years, particularly when it comes to speed of change. But if proof were needed that The Legal 500 is more than capable of setting the pace, then the latest UK gender diversity stats neatly provide it.

When I joined The Legal 500 three years ago, only 5% of leading individuals ranked for premium M&A in London were women. Today, that figure stands at more than 31%. And, crucially, this progress has been replicated across the wider guide, both in London and the rest of the UK.

Looking at all of our ranked individuals – from the senior figureheads in our Hall of Fame down to the Rising Star associates – women now make up almost 40% of the roughly 11,000 lawyers recognised by us as leaders in their field.

In London, the percentage of women ranked climbed year-on-year across almost 100 of our 126 practice areas, with women now making up 37% of all ranked lawyers in the capital – up from 34% last year.

This growth rate is particularly impressive given the London guide includes some 600 more individuals this year than last.

And, while it remains true that the proportion of women ranked is higher at the junior end than the senior, reflecting the fact that many women continue to drop off the partnership track, we’ve made progress with diversity at all levels in the rankings this year.

Thirty one percent of our Leading Individuals are female, and so are almost a quarter of the most senior lawyers recognised in our Hall of Fame. Here, this rise has been aided by our decision to remove any time-based barrier to entry, on the grounds that this was holding back those lawyers who only gained recognition by The Legal 500 later in their careers, which tended to apply to many women and minority lawyers.

To head off the inevitable questions – these increases are not token gestures made simply to make our data look better. They reflect a very conscious effort on the part of our UK research team to identity the most deserving female talent in London and beyond.

Every lawyer in our ranking (regardless of race, gender or any other measure) is there on merit alone – they have demonstrated lead roles on market-defining deals and received the praise of clients and peers alike. All we have done is addressed the unconscious bias that was previously holding them back – questioning firms and partners more intensely to reveal the most talented women in their midst in order to secure them the recognition they deserve.

It will not be possible to continue this rate of growth year after year. What I would hope will happen though, is that the balance of our rankings will shift over time, as Rising Stars climb to Next Generation Partner, Leading Individual and beyond, buoyed by the extra visibility they gain in the market as a result of their ranking.

Melissa Fogarty

‘We know what a difference role models make and seeing someone like you achieve recognition is really powerful.’
Melissa Fogarty, Clifford Chance

The role of directories will always be limited by what is happening in the profession itself – we have to reflect what is happening in firms – but our part in providing visible role models to future generations cannot be underestimated.

As Clifford Chance London corporate co-head Melissa Fogarty comments: ‘Diversity exists in our profession, but it hasn’t always been reflected. We know what a difference role models make and seeing someone like you achieve recognition is really powerful.

We need to continue to focus on reflecting the breadth of people who are successful in the legal profession. Dealmakers like Karen Davies at Ashurst and Claire Wills at Freshfields have been prominent role models for me, but there are others too, and people need to see them.’

Related  1COR tops QC appointments table as female applicants remain ‘stubbornly low’

A key part of our ongoing efforts will be to try to edge up the numbers in some core City transactional practices, such as private equity and acquisition finance, that continue to lag slightly behind that crucial 30% marker.

Levelling up

Of course, London accounts for only half of all of the individuals ranked in The Legal 500, and it is crucial for us to ensure that we are measuring gender diversity across the entire guide.

This year, for the first time, we have measured gender diversity in all of our rankings outside London. As this is the first year we have done this, we don’t yet have comparative year-on-year data, but the efforts our researchers have gone to, in conjunction with help from the market, mean the gender mix is slightly more evenly balanced outside London.

Some 44% of the 5,500 lawyers included in our 441 regional UK rankings are female; ranging from roughly a quarter of those in the Hall of Fame, up to around 60% of our Rising Stars. By region, the South East comes out top, with women making up more than half (52%) of all ranked lawyers, just ahead of the North, East Anglia and the South West, all of which are around 50% female.

So far, so good.

But while I am proud of the progress we’ve made in terms of gender diversity, I’m under no illusions about the far bigger challenge we still need to overcome. Women in law remains an important issue that still requires continued attention, but it’s the easiest part of the diversity puzzle to solve.

Other aspects of diversity – both visible and invisible – are far more difficult to grapple with, not least because of the privacy issues around obtaining accurate data. Representation of ethnic minority lawyers remains the elephant in the room, both within the firms themselves and within our rankings.

Roughly 14% of the UK population come from a minority ethnic background – a similar percentage to those in the legal profession, according to Law Society data. An estimate of representation in the UK solicitors guide suggests our numbers lag behind this, at less than 10%. It’s something that we have to improve. But we really do need your help in order to do this.

Tim Regis

‘I’d say it’s for law firms to create a wider diverse talent base so that you can reflect reality. Everyone has talked the talk but now it’s about the practical action that happens next.’
Tim Regis, Ashurst

Our efforts to improve representation in The Legal 500 are limited not only by the issues around how we measure the relevant data accurately but also by the institutional challenges facing lawyers of colour.

As Tim Regis, real estate partner and multiculturalism champion at Ashurst, acknowledges: ‘I’d say it’s not for directories to change their rankings but for law firms to create a wider, diverse talent base so that you can reflect reality. That means directories looking at which individuals firms are putting forward, and firms looking at how they recruit, retain and promote diverse talent. Everyone has talked the talk but now it’s about the practical action that happens next.’

One practical first step that we’ll be taking is challenging firms that don’t put forward any diverse lawyers for consideration within our individual rankings.

We want – and need – to play our part in helping to improve representation and we can only do it by working with you. So please, do get in touch to share your ideas about how we can work together. It’s vital that we are showcasing role models for all – instilling the belief that recognition isn’t dependent on race, colour or creed. LB

georgina.stanley@legalease.co.uk

  • Subscriber Login

  • Latest Issue

    LB307 cover

    • Global London 2022
    • The next generation of arbitration
    • ‘Get the credit you deserve’ – top female partners on breaking biases and inspiring role models
    • Conflict prompts Moscow exodus for Global 100 firms as Ukraine crisis takes its toll
    • Turkey focus: Chronology of a crisis
    • Nordics focus: High-value and strong values
    • Leader: ESG – What is it good for?
    • Pritchard: Time for a reality check on salaries
    • Life During Law: Diala Minott
    • The Client profile: easyJet
    • The Last Word: Broad stripes and bright stars
  • Related by topic

    winner celebrating with trophy
    The Legal 500 View: Promotion prospects – the firms with the biggest gains in the UK Legal 500
  • Related by topic

    Partner promotions: Ashurst 20-strong round includes 45% females while Macfarlanes reduces round to five
  • Most read this week

    1. Ince in firing line over ‘inappropriate’ restaurant behaviour allegations
    2. Dechert condemns former partner Gerrard after High Court rules the firm breached ENRC client duty
    3. Comment: A personality crisis and the great WFH salary cut brouhaha
    4. Global London 2022 – contents
    5. Revolving doors: Four in three out for Squire as Ropes brings in private equity trio

    Analysis

    • ‘The most tonto year ever’: the story behind a frenetic 12 months for private equity – and what’s next

    • Access your print copy online – Deals Yearbook 2022

    • Deals Yearbook 2022: The next generation of dealmakers

    • Shining a light on the next generation of dealmakers

    • Marching on

    • Deals perspectives: Nallini Puri

    • Deals perspectives: Sylvia Andriessen

    Useful Links

    • The Legal 500
    • Comparative Guides
    • GC Magazine
    • GC Powerlist
    • In-house Lawyer Magazine
    • The Lex 100
    • Legalease Law Journals
    • Legalease Publishing
    • Practical Lawyer

    © 2022 Legal Business Magazine

    Legalease Ltd, 188 Fleet Street, London, EC4A 2AG

    T: +44 (0)20 7396 9313 | E: subscriptions@legalease.co.uk

    About & Contacts | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Subscriptions