In her recent blog, the Chair of the Legal Services Board, said that the regulatory bodies in England and Wales should do more to get a grasp on diversity data. The blog was published after the latest Board meeting and notes that in January the Board agreed with regulators to assess their performance on gathering…
California approves measures to advance equity in attorney discipline
At its July 16 meeting, the State Bar Board of Trustees approved a plan aimed at improving equity in the attorney discipline system, following up on the bar’s first-ever study on racial disparities in the disciplinary system. The first group of reforms aim to expand representation by counsel when an attorney faces a disciplinary investigation….
Victorian Legal Service Board report shows that sexual harassment in the legal workplace is common
On April 1st Victorian Legal Services Commissioner, Fiona McLeay, released data showing that sexual harassment in Victorian legal workplaces is common, and has a disproportionate effect on women. Results showed that 1 in 3 respondents had experienced workplace harassment at some point in their career. As well as this there was a significant gender imbalance in the…
The Bar Standards Board publishes new equality and diversity strategy
On the 7th April, the Bar Standards Board (BSB) published its equality and diversity strategy 2020-2022. The strategy comes on the back of the Board’s report into the same topic, which suggested that whilst the situation in the profession was slowly improving more work still needed to be done. Objectives outlined in the strategy include Addressing…
SRA diversity findings show that representation is improving, but work still needed
Newly released data from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), has shown that representation is improving in law firms. The data collected from 186,000 people working at 9,500 law firms across England and Wales shows that nearly half of all solicitors are now women (49%) up 1% since 2017, however, this changes greatly depending on seniority with only 34%…
BSB publishes annual report on diversity at the Bar
On the 31st January, the Bar Standards Board of England and Wales (BSB) published its annual report on diversity at the Bar. The report demonstrates that there has been some progress, with increased diversity and representation across the profession. However, the report also demonstrated that whilst the direction of travel was positive, there is still…
Law Society of Alberta piloting part-time membership
The Law Society of Alberta is currently piloting a part-time membership programme, which would be the first of its kind in Canada. In order to be eligible for the part-time membership, a lawyer must be in private practice, work fewer than 20 hours a week, and average fewer than 750 billable hours per year (not…
ABA releases annual profile of the legal profession
The American Bar Association has published its annual profile of the legal profession in the US. The report uses the data gathered over the course of the year to analyse changes and developments in the profession across the country. Subjects covered include women and minorities in the profession, legal technology, pro bono, pay, legal education,…
ABA releases report on why women are leaving big law
A new survey released by the American Bar Association and ALM Intelligence is addressing why women are leaving big law. The Walking Out The Door: The Facts, Figures, and Future of Experienced Women Lawyers in Private Practice study is part of an ABA initiative launched by former-President Hilarie Bass. Over the past decades, women have made up roughly 45-50%…
International women in law research project
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) of England and Wales is flagging an ‘International women in law’ research project and questionnaire, which may interest ICLR members. The project is striving to address one of the main issues faced by women globally, which is the lack of support available to them within the legal sector. This research builds…