Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP

We are committed to being an equal opportunities employer. It is the firm's policy to treat all employees, partners and all others we work with (including clients, barristers, other lawyers, consultants, contractors, casual workers, agency staff and job applicants) fairly and equally regardless of their gender, marital or civil partner status, gender reassignment, pregnancy, maternity and paternity, sexual orientation (including civil partnership status), race or racial group (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins), religion or belief, age, disability (together “the protected characteristics”). Furthermore, the firm will ensure it does not unlawfully discriminate against employees, partners and third parties (as described above) nor victimise or harass because of any of the above protected characteristics. No requirement or condition will be imposed without justification which could disadvantage individuals because of any of the protected characteristics and other characteristics such as social mobility.

The firm has an active and highly engaged Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I) Committee, which is directly accountable to the board. Its remit is to focus on, encourage and promote equality, diversity, and inclusivity throughout the firm and to raise awareness of ED&I throughout the workforce. The ED&I Committee and HR Team regularly review the firm’s policies and procedures and actively seek to identify and address any practices the firm has that might have an adverse effect on opportunities for anyone to have access to support and development or be able to progress in their role and career at the firm. Furthermore, the ED&I Committee and HR Team actively seek to provide access to support for those people from protected groups e.g., through mentoring/coaching opportunities; and help facilitate mutually supportive networks across the firm e.g., for women in leadership, for those from ethnic minorities, etc.

The ED&I Committee is formed of the following people:

• Sandy Munroe, Partner
• Ann Houghton, Partner
• Phil Saunders, Head of HR and Office Services
• Alex Laud, Solicitor
• Sally Hassall, Knowledge & Information Manager
• Chloe Brant, Trainee Solicitor
• Niamh Millross, Associate
• Puja Desai, Solicitor
• Jainika Patel, Solicitor
• Ruth Dufty, Department Coordinator

We strive to recruit and retain a diverse group of people with one thing in common: a passion for working to improve lives, communities and society. As a result, gender equality has always been an important issue for us, and we have a strong track record. Significantly above the industry average, 36% of our partners are women, which far exceeds the normal average for law firms within the UK Top 200. We also have numerous examples of flexible working arrangements in place to enable our people to work in a manner that enables them to follow their vocation, whilst balancing other responsibilities.

Gender pay gap reporting is something we have embraced as an opportunity to build an even stronger culture. The firm has delivered on commitments such as signing the Women in Law pledge and is making good progress with ongoing targets to improve gender diversity across the firm, particularly at senior and leadership levels.

In 2021 & 2022 the firm reported on both gender and ethnicity pay gaps. We continue to take definitive action to ensure those from ethnic minorities are given equal opportunities and treated fairly at work. It is for this reason, and following last year’s commitment to focus on accreditations, that we have decided to sign the Race Fairness Commitment. We will continue our targeted approach to provide access to mentoring and coaching for women and those from ethnic minorities both internally and through networks such as the ‘Women in Law Mentoring Programme’ and the ‘Black Solicitors Network’. We are proactively encouraging participation and focussing closely on succession planning and development for Partners and senior managers.