Vardags

Vardags knows that when the very best people are given the very best opportunities and appropriate support they will excel, regardless of their background. We do not ask questions about gender, race, sexuality or religion, as we feel they are private, and not relevant to employment. As an equal opportunities employer, Vardags works to foster an environment that nurtures and stimulates achievement, encouraging others to do the same.

Vardags has pursued pioneering approaches to parental leave and childcare to ensure that new parents are never sidelined – practices recognised in founder and president Ayesha Vardag’s receipt of the 2015 Natwest Everywoman Award. We relish the perspective and compassionate leadership that mothers and fathers can bring, rather than forcing our employees to choose between their career and their children, and we encourage others to follow our lead and work to make the legal profession supportive of parents.

No-one should be held back from excelling in the legal profession because of their financial background. Vardags’ graduate training programme was crafted in recognition of this, and those starting their careers with us benefit from earning a real salary throughout their training period. This means that no matter where they started, the more promising young lawyers can reach the top.

Vardags feels strongly that quality jobs and elite representation should not be focused exclusively in London. Vardags seeks to bring our calibre to regions of the country often ignored by other firms. This has brought high-quality legal representation to these areas, as well as the opportunity for talented lawyers to work on top cases without the need to relocate.

We have great faith in the power of the law to change society for the better. Vardags is a passionate advocate for no-fault divorce, which removes blame culture in divorce and means that marriage breakdown need not destroy respect and decency between spouses. We championed these reforms for several years and were delighted to see the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill receive royal assent earlier this year. Most recently, we have campaigned to change surrogacy laws in England, which currently restrict the options of hopeful parents, forcing them abroad, or into unreliable arrangements with British surrogates.