Macfarlanes LLP

We are committed to fostering an inclusive culture throughout the firm, from entry level to partnership. It is about recruiting, retaining and promoting all groups in the firm fairly, and we have invested in our processes to ensure that everyone has the same chance to develop and advance. Following on from key initiatives delivered in 2020 and 2021, during 2022 we have continued our work within D&I delivering our programmes with a focus on allyship, ethnicity and social mobility.

Gender and ethnicity partnership targets

In February 2021 the firm announced updated gender and ethnicity partner targets for 2026 and 2030. Our focus in this action plan is on retention, career development and progression to meet the partnership targets. These actions, together with all of the other steps that are already underway at the firm, will help us to continue to develop both the strength of our culture and an inclusive environment that encourages and values input from all perspectives.

Our staff networks

We have four staff-led networks which are open to all staff. All of the networks have mission statements and clear objectives that align with the firm’s wider D&I and sustainability strategy.

1. Balance– a forum for all staff managing careers and home lives, enabling discussion, support and the exchange of the information and ideas, to achieve a work-life balance.
2. DAWN(Disability and Wellbeing Network) – The network offers support to staff who have direct experience of or support others with: Neurodiverse conditions e.g. dyslexia, dyspraxia, autism, ADD/ADHD, Long term health conditions, Disabilities and mental health.
3. Pride– a forum for networking and peer support, open to everyone regardless of their sexual orientation, to inform staff on LGBT+ action and to communicate information to colleagues interested in LGBT+ matters.
4. REACH(race, ethnicity and cultural heritage) – a forum for networking and peer support between ethnic minority staff and allies, which enables the sharing and exchange of relevant information and ideas.

These employee-led groups provide an important platform through which different groups are able to have a voice - to express their views and offer a diverse range of perspectives. All of the networks have mission statements and clear objectives that align with the firm’s wider D&I and sustainability strategy.

Our D&I initiatives

• Since 2019 Macfarlanes has been awarded the Good Work Standard (GWS) at excellence level, the highest level possible. The Good Work Standard is the Mayor of London’s accreditation recognising the best employment practices in London businesses.
• MentorMacs (reverse mentoring) - We launched our first reverse mentoring programmewith a focus on race and ethnicity, facilitated by Afua Hirsch, in 2020. The programme enables senior leaders to learn from more junior colleagues, who can offer a different perspective on important topics. This programme was shortlisted for the UK Diversity Legal Awards 2021.
• In 2020 our Lawtech team produced a bespoke tool to encourage our D&I efforts – a religious and cultural events calendar. This calendar was produced in HighQ Collaborate and can be downloaded and overlaid with the standard Outlook calendar.
• In July 2020, Macfarlanes was one of 17 initial law firm signatories to the Race Fairness Commitment (RFC).The RFC has been developed by Rare, the diversity recruitment specialists we have partnered with for seven years.
• Conversations about race - The firm launched this programme in 2021. This programme, which is mandatory, is an important part of our progress in relation to building a more representative partnership. The first part of the programme comprises five short videos featuring members of our management board and external experts, Howlett Brown. The second part of the programme will involve a series of facilitated discussions due to take place later this year (2022).
• In May 2021 we launched a new gender-neutral drafting policy across the firm and all of our standard precedents are now updated to comply with the policy.
• We joined with seven other law firms to launch Legal CORE(Collaboration on Race and Ethnicity) in October 2021.
• In January 2022, as part of our commitment to creating a more inclusive workplace, we have launched a new pronunciation tool on our internal Macfarlanes directory system (MDS).