Achieving equality in the legal sector
In March, CILEx Regulation (CRL) hosted a roundtable discussion entitled “Prejudices supress talent – what actions can achieve legal sector equality?”
Following the launch of CILEx Regulation’s first Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy, the regulator hosted an EDI-focused roundtable discussion on 10 March. The session opened with an engaging introduction from Seema Kennedy OBE, chair of Levelling up Law, an initiative aimed at bridging the gap between potential talent and the opportunities that the legal sector can offer.
Ms Kennedy outlined the work of the project, setting the tone for a lively and productive session. The discussion centred on current initiatives within the legal sector to support fair career progression and how existing barriers negatively impact consumers of legal services.
To address what more can be done to ensure that the legal profession reflects the diverse communities it serves, attendees agreed that it was important to standardise the collection of diversity data to capture socio-economic disadvantage. This would then provide a benchmark against which progress could be effectively monitored and underlying issues addressed.
Contributors also discussed how barriers to progression could be overcome, including expressing support for the proposed statement by the Legal Services Board (LSB) on counter-inclusive behaviours.
Jonathan Rees, chair of CILEx Regulation, commented: “A number of key themes emerged from the session, including the importance of sector collaboration. It is essential that we learn from each other and work together as a sector to improve outcomes for everyone. Ensuring fair access for all is not just the right thing to do but it also contributes to positive outcomes for businesses and consumers.
“By working with the sector to tackle counter-inclusive behaviours, we aspire to ensure that everyone working in the legal profession is treated fairly.
“CILEx Regulation will now use outputs from this roundtable to develop the strategy we published earlier this year, including continuing to tackle the barriers CILEX qualified practitioners face in progressing in their careers.”
CILEx Regulation was joined by representatives from legal regulators, professional bodies, the LSB, Ministry of Justice, and representatives from the Legal Services Consumer Panel and the Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion.