Norton Rose Fulbright

At Norton Rose Fulbright our vision is to be an employer of choice worldwide, attracting and retaining the best people in order to provide our clients with the most considered and innovative advice.

To attract the best people, we strive to create a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone can realise their full potential. With more than 7,000 people worldwide, we benefit from the diversity of perspectives and experiences they bring to the firm – from national origin, disability and gender identity to religion, race and ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation and socio-economic backgrounds. We value difference and actively promote a culture of inclusion, encouraging everyone to be curious about the different perspectives of our colleagues, clients and the communities in which we operate.

The global D&I sub-committee reports into the Global Executive Committee and advises on the strategic commitments needed to ensure we build a diverse and inclusive partnership and firm. Our global D&I strategy focuses on gender; race and ethnicity; LGBTIQ+; disability; mental health; social mobility; family and carers.

We believe targeted measures drive change and enable us to measure progress. In 2020 we launched an aspirational global gender target of 40% women and 40% men, and 20% flexibility to be fully inclusive as well as a new race and ethnicity strategy to accelerate progress. The refreshed ethnicity strategy introduced UK BAME targets: by 2025, 15% of partners (currently 9%) and 25% of employees (currently 20%). The annual BAME trainee recruitment target remains 25%, and now includes a target of 10% Black trainees.

To support diverse talent through critical career stages and to strengthen our pipeline and increase representation of minority groups we have developed a suite of programmes and initiatives to foster an inclusive culture. For example, our Career Strategies Programmes (CSP) are global modular development programmes to support women and minority ethnic fee-earners on track for partnership. In the UK we are expanding the CSP to BAME business services professionals and creating two other career development programmes for more junior lawyers and business services professionals.

To support our wider inclusion strategy we have nearly 50 employee networks globally. The network groups cover all areas of inclusion and share the aims of building awareness, providing development and networking opportunities, supporting business development and profiling role models.

As a corporate citizen we use our skills and knowledge to make a difference for the wider communities in which we operate, to help shape the future in a way that provides economic, ecological and social benefits for all. We are active across our local communities, working closely with a number of charitable organisations utilising the skills of our people through pro bono and volunteering opportunities, fundraising for a number of important causes and ensuring we are an environmentally conscious business.