Diversity

At Mishcon de Reya, we believe that to give the best advice to clients, we need to not only employ and work with the best lawyers and business professionals, but we must also actively seek out as diverse a pool of individuals as possible. This is because to enable our clients to shape the world’s possibilities requires a broad spectrum of people, each of whom bring their unique perspectives and experience to any advice, transaction or dispute.

Many lawyers came into the profession originally because of their sharp sense of justice, keen to play a role in public life. At Mishcon de Reya we have always embraced our role in public life and supported causes and campaigns driven by our people. From Lord Mishcon’s role on the Wolfenden Committee in the 1950s which led to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK, to our pro bono work fighting equal pay claims for women in broadcasting since 2018, championing diversity and inclusion is part of the firm’s essence and both are true to our core values.

That said it is not enough to lean on past successes. We need to ensure that these values also drive our business internally. We have long been focussed on achieving greater equality at every level in our business, but there is more for us to do. By critically assessing the initiatives we have in place, never being satisfied when the pace of change is too slow and holding ourselves accountable every day we can and will make change happen.

Our ambitious three-year strategy for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion requires a collective effort, led by our colleagues that form the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and driven by all of our people.

The purpose of our EDI Committee is to assess what Mishcon de Reya needs to do to provide equity for all. This will include identifying different methods of recruiting, developing, promoting and recognising our people to provide everyone with equal opportunities.

Our EDI Committee is co-chaired by Employment Partner Joanna Blackburn, and Partner and Chief People Officer Vanessa Dewhurst, and brings together people from across the firm, including diversity, wellbeing and communications experts. The committee is supported by steering committees and interest groups focussed on Race, LBGTQI+, Gender, Social Mobility and Disability issues.

Visit our website for more information on our stance on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and our thought leadership pieces.