Law firms must publish diversity figures

In a consultation document just published, firms and chambers would be obliged to publish information on age, race, disability, religion or belief, gender reassignment; sex; pregnancy and maternity; sexual orientation; and socio-economic background.  However, this could be done anonymously.

Recent data has revealed that much improvement still needs to be made in the legal profession as far as issues of diversity are concerned.  The LSB says in its paper that there are  still significant barriers to progression and retention for practitioners.

Chairman of the LSB David Edmonds said: “Whilst there has been positive work on widening access to the legal profession, there are apparent continuing inequalities. Through these measures there will be greater transparency and sharper scrutiny by regulators and consumers based on published data.”