Astraea Group

One of our motivations for adopting an alternative structure to the traditional law firm and barristers’ chambers models is the need to promote diversity in the legal professions. Practitioners operating within the traditional models have historically struggled not to hire in their own image; we believe that our alternative structure, in which our core team consists of barristers, solicitors and non-lawyers, is capable of breaking down traditional impediments to diversity and nurturing new ideas about how to make the multiple professions that we house more representative.

We are committed to initiatives that promote diversity in the legal professions. We participate in the Access to the Bar Placement Scheme by providing work experience placements to aspiring barristers from groups underrepresented in the profession, especially those with state-educated and non-Oxbridge backgrounds. More broadly, we have provided assistance to those starting out in their legal careers, including work experience, mentoring programmes and support for students with personal statements, CVs and interviews.

We are an equal opportunities employer and seek to develop a business culture that promotes diversity.

We are proud that our commitment is reflected in the diversity of our team. For example, our firm has gender balance within the partnership, and this filters down throughout the core team and continues in business services. We are also committed to assisting our diverse team with their own personal development. We have mentored our legal assistants through pupillage and training contract application processes, have supported two of our qualified solicitors through their Higher Advocacy Rights examinations, and are currently supporting legal assistants who are qualifying as solicitors through the SQE route and undertaking their qualifying work experience with us.