Eversheds Sutherland

Our vision

A diverse team and an inclusive culture that places respect and support for everyone at its core and empowers all of our people around the world to fulfil their potential.

We are committed to developing a culture that embraces everyone and internal systems that align with our vision. Our aim is not just to ensure that there is no disadvantage to anyone, but to ensure that everyone can thrive.

Our purpose is “Helping our clients, our people and our communities to thrive” and “Inclusivity” is one of our 5 values. 

Our strategy

DE&I underpins our values and are at the heart of our strategy. Our global DE&I strategy is focussed on both diversity and inclusion.

The six pillars that guide our strategic planning focus on local priorities, embracing intersectionality and leveraging difference to ensure that everyone has a platform to thrive:

• Leadership and accountability
• Recruitment of diverse talent
• Evaluating our progress
• Awareness and career support
• Balancing global and local
• Clients and collaboration

Our DE&I strategy encompasses a number of diversity dimensions including ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, faith, parents and careers, and social mobility.

To drive our DE&I journey we have a dedicated DE&I team, as well as great support from our Inclusion Council, partner sponsors, employee network committees/members, local representatives and our people.

Awards, recognition and commitments

We have a number of activities, interventions and training that focus on: tackling inequality and improving diversity; raising awareness; embedding a DE&I calendar; monitoring, measuring and reporting on activities and their impact; seeking feedback.

We are proud of the progress our people have made towards embedding DE&I and good practice across Eversheds Sutherland. Below are some examples of the organisations we are working with, awards/recognition we have received and our initiatives:

We have firm wide targets in place in respect of gender and ethnicity:

• 35% female partner representation internationally by the end of 2027. 31% internationally and 35% in the UK as of 1 August 2024. 62% of our new partners promoted across our international offices in 2024 were female.
• 15% ethnic minority partner representation across the UK population by 2030. 9% as of 1 August 2024.
• 23% ethnic minority fee earner representation across the UK population by 2030. 18% as of 1 August 2024.
• 24% ethnic minority representation across the UK population by 2030. 18% as of 1 August 2024.
• 35% ethnic minority trainee solicitor representation across the UK population by 2030. 33% as of 1 August 2024.
• in 2024 we were ranked among The Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality, the eighteenth year we have been included in this list.
• we have run a series of workshops for senior leaders on our approach to inclusive leadership. We have launched an inclusive teams version for all people.
• we are a signatory to the Race at Work Charter and are a champion partner of the BITC’s race equality campaign.
• we were the first global law firm to join the Say Gap project in 2021 and have created a structured, data-driven program to meet targets for both gender and ethnicity for our media spokespeople. We want to ensure that we hear and celebrate more voices from across our global firm, to ensure that those voices are diverse and to create opportunities and exposure to new and different experiences for our spokespeople. In 2024 we achieved a 45% representation of female spokespeople in our media coverage and in the UK, where we are able to measure the data, achieved a 7% rate for minority ethnic spokespeople.
• inclusive recruitment, promotion and retention strategies that include: a targeted list of graduate institutions specifically to access more diverse talent; RARE Contextual Recruitment System for our Training contract and Vacation scheme recruitment and blind CVs; diverse representation at external events; access to coaching at critical career points; diverse panels of trained interviewers; sponsorship programmes for underrepresented groups.
• we were listed in the Stonewall Top 100 Employers list in 2024 and awarded a Gold award for LGBTQ+ inclusion.
• participating in a cross-firm scheme initiated by the Law Society of England and Wales’ Disabled Solicitors Network committing to offering all successful trainee candidates the opportunity to train on a part-time basis, starting from September 2024.
• our Unlocked Programme has been running since 2008 and supported over 1,300 students. It is a UK based programme which is aimed at sixth form students from less advantaged backgrounds, who are the first of their family to go to university, are studying at state schools and have a genuine enthusiasm for the legal profession. We offer the students a period of work experience within the firm providing them with an in-depth insight into what it is like to work for an international law firm. After the programme a number of students then progress to apply for training contracts or apprenticeships with us. We operate a bursary scheme funded by our charitable trust for up to 3 students from our Unlocked programme each year, which covers University tuition fees across a 3 year law degree.
• we have participated in the 10,000 Black Interns initiative since 2022 and 6 black students/graduates completed a paid 6 week work experience programme with us in our London office across various practice groups each year. We have committed to host interns each year for five years.
• our Career Sponsorship Framework is open to Senior Associates and equivalent roles who are female and/or from an ethnic minority background. Bringing a formal and structured approach to sponsorship, we are matching candidates with partners within their practice group to have a series of one-to-one conversations over a 12 month period. During the year, the sponsor and candidate will explore diverse work opportunities, and see how to leverage the sponsor's influence to open up networks and connections that will give that candidate experiences that they may not have previously had access to. We have now expanded this programme to diverse Fixed Shared Partners aiming to become equity partners. The programme matches a diverse FSP with a product group head (or equivalent) sponsor from another practice group, with the aim of providing sponsorship opportunities.
• we have been a Disability Confident Employer since 2016 and we are aiming to become a Disability Confident Leader. We became a member of the Valuable 500 in 2019 as a commitment to ensure disability inclusion is on our leadership agenda.
• our Reverse Mentoring Scheme is designed to help raise awareness of the perspectives of colleagues with different backgrounds and identities, the impact on their experience of work, and contribute to a more inclusive work culture for all.  A senior colleague is mentored by a junior colleague (the reverse mentor) and the mentoring responsibility is shared by both parties.
• We are in partnership with Aspiring Solicitors through their Social Mobility and Real Talent (‘SMART’) Commitment initiative. We provide financial assistance for incoming apprentice, trainee and vacation scheme candidates from lower socio-economic backgrounds who may require funding in advance of joining the firm. The SMART Commitment initiative covers expenses such as business attire for assessment days, vacation schemes, and initial employment, as well as funding towards accommodation and IT equipment. The scheme is confidential and completely anonymous for each participant. Aspiring Solicitors will manage the administration on the firm's behalf and the firm will not be provided with details of the candidates who have chosen to access the scheme
• we have been recognized as a top 75 employer in the Social Mobility Employer Index.
• in the UK we publish our diversity statistics, along with our gender and ethnicity pay gap report.
• over 1,000 of our people globally are actively involved in networks and affinity groups generating high levels of engagement across the business in many countries. Our network groups, based across Eversheds Sutherland International, include Gender, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (LGBT+), Disability, Ethnicity and Faith. You can learn more on our People Network Flyer.
• we are a signatory to the Mindful Business Charter and are committed to reducing unnecessary workplace stress. We prepared our “Working Well with Clients” guidelines, a collaboration with clients to create a shift in workplace culture while meeting client demands, which we consulted with staff on to ensure relevance and to empower them.

PRO BONO

As a participant in the UN Global Compact, we are committed to advancing Sustainable Development Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. As a leading global law firm, we recognise our ability to increase access to justice through an impactful pro bono legal advice programme.  We provide free legal advice and support to individuals in need, charities and not-for-profit organisations, both through our established pro bono projects and relationships and via new initiatives and partnerships established to meet emerging legal need.

We encourage all our people to be involved in pro bono work, allowing them to develop key skills, broaden their networks and enhance wellbeing while helping our communities to thrive.

Protecting the rights of undocumented children

In the UK, we work with Kids In Need of Defense UK (KIND UK), helping undocumented children to make applications for formal British citizenship. We have over 50 UK colleagues participating in this work and have a 100% success rate where decisions have been made. We will soon be launching a collaboration with two of our key commercial clients on this project.

In France, we are members of L’Alliance des Avocats pour les Droits de l’Homme (AADH).  As part of AADH’s Enfance Précarité Zéro program, we support NGOs representing families of undocumented children and unaccompanied migrant children to gather evidence and make applications for French citizenship, asylum and/or residence permits. We also provide support in relation to navigating the processes involved in integration of these children into French society.

Welfare and disability 

In the UK, we work in conjunction with local law centres and charities to support individuals navigating the complex welfare and disability benefits application process, and to mount appeals where they believe their claims for benefits have been incorrectly assessed or refused. Our pro bono volunteers help to prepare and submit applications and collate supporting evidence. We also help to present appeals, and we have maintained a 100% success rate in appeal cases to date.

In Germany, our lawyers provide ongoing pro bono legal support to long-standing client Special Olympics Deutschland (SOD), the world's largest sports movement for people with multiple disabilities.

Racial and social justice 

Over 100 of our partners and lawyers around the world volunteer their time and skills to assist Amicus in its pursuit of combating the death penalty in the US.  Working with the Florida Centre for Capital Representation (FCCR), we monitor pre-trial death penalty cases in the state of Florida, to identify patterns in the charging and conviction processes, with a particular focus on cases where race may have influenced decision making or outcomes.

In the UK, we partner with charity United Legal Access to help individuals making claims for compensation under the Windrush Compensation Scheme. Our volunteers assist these applicants to compile relevant evidence and to complete the complex application process so they can access compensation they are rightfully entitled to, as well as dealing with appeals against negative decisions or low awards.

We offer pro bono support to the Youth Justice Legal Centre and its Youth Criminal Justice Helpline service.  Our volunteers triage new enquiries on the Helpline; research enquiries and prepare advice; and draft legal updates on youth justice issues for YJLC’s website and newsletters.

Supporting survivors of domestic abuse

Since 2022, we have been part of the Domestic Abuse Response Alliance (DARA), an alliance of ten leading UK law firms, in partnership with UK charity LawWorks. Supported by specialists in family law, our volunteers apply for protective injunctions on behalf of domestic abuse survivors who do not qualify for legal aid against their abusers. We provide vulnerable clients with legal support from the beginning to the end of court proceedings, guiding them through the traumatic process of confronting their abusers in court. We have maintained a 100% success rate in applications made to date.

Protecting the rights of asylum seekers, refugees and migrants

The firm is a proud signatory of the multi-stakeholder  Global Refugee Forum Legal Community Pledge, launched at the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva in December 2023.  The Pledge seeks to unite the legal community and allies around a shared goal of working with and for refugees and other forcibly displaced people, harnessing the power of the law to advance their access to rights, justice and lasting solutions to their displacement.  Being part of the Pledge community will help us to maximise the impact of the work we do in this area, while ensuring that the voices of refugees and displaced persons are placed front and centre of that work.

Since October 2021, lawyers from across our European offices have been working on the Rule 39 Initiative, a collaboration between eight international law firms and international human rights expert, Daria Sartori, that provides life-altering legal support to displaced persons across Europe. Rule 39 of the Rules of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) allows applicants to seek interim relief in cases of imminent risk of irreparable damage to human rights. Rule 39 requests can typically be used to stop collective pushbacks of asylum seekers, ensure dignified reception conditions and the provision of food and water to refugees and asylum seekers stuck at or between borders.

We are working with the Global Strategic Litigation Council for Refugee Rights and Earth Refuge on the development of a new Climate Displacement Case Database. The database will hold case summaries of migration and asylum cases, globally, where a climate event has played a part in a person’s displacement. Pro bono lawyers across our international offices review reported cases with a climate element across a range of jurisdictions and prepare case summaries for inclusion in the database. The database will be used by NGOs and strategic litigators as a tool for informed decision making, effective strategy development and better advocacy in the area of law and policy relating to climate refugees. 

Middle East Law Programme for Refugees

In December 2022, we launched the Middle East Law Programme for Refugees, in partnership with UNHCR and UNRWA.  The Programme is a comprehensive scheme for displaced individuals which enables them to develop their skills and employability, with the aim of opening up career opportunities. It is open to individuals of any age or nationality who have refugee status with UNHCR or UNRWA, who are based in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan or the Palestinian Territories and who are studying law at University.

In the Programme's first year, we ran a series of webinars for the 28 participants on topics such as Conflict Resolution & Mediation, Conducting Legal Research, Personal Brand & Networking and Paths to Qualification. Eight individuals undertook in-person internships in our Amman office, and one completed an internship in our Erbil office. We have seen a very high pass rate in participants' English language exams and participants continue to benefit from all the resources available on our purpose-built online platform.  We have also continued our financial sponsorship of several UNRWA and UNHCR students, and are now funding the tuition fees of four students (two from each organisation) for the duration of their University studies.  The 2024/25 Programme is underway.

Women’s Legal Protection Project

An initiative set up by colleagues in our UAE offices, the WLPP is dedicated to supporting vulnerable women facing challenging situations in the region. We support women subjected to unlawful working conditions and threats of false absconding charges. Our efforts focus on helping these women connect with government authorities, lawfully change their employment status, rectify their immigration status and claim unpaid wages and other dues from their employers.

Support for Ukraine

The Ukraine Advice Project (UAP) is an online service for those displaced by war in Ukraine. Established in March 2022 by a team of immigration specialists in response to the conflict, the project is now run as a collaborative pro bono project by Eversheds Sutherland alongside three other law firms.  The UAP provides displaced individuals with reliable information about UK visa/immigration routes, and signposts useful resources to help navigate life in the UK. Through online chat exchanges, more than 6,000 Ukrainians have been able to obtain vital information and support quickly and securely while on the move, and continue to do so.

Representing Afghan legal professionals 

Since late 2021, we have represented members of the Afghan judiciary in relation to their applications under the bespoke UK immigration schemes put in place in response to the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan.  Our clients include Supreme Court Judges, prosecutors and women’s rights activists, a number of whom remain in hiding in Afghanistan. Over 50 volunteers in the UK have worked to prepare immigration applications and to compile detailed witness evidence in support and judicial review proceedings in the High Court are continuing in a number of these cases. Colleagues in Germany, France, Sweden and the US have provided support on non-UK resettlement options for our clients.  We work with the broader UK legal community to provide support to those members of the Afghan judiciary who have arrived in the UK and who wish to rebuild their careers, and we are proud to have an Afghan judge completing an apprenticeship with the firm.

In January 2024, we developed and launched a project in collaboration with German non-profit Max Planck Foundation (MPF) to collate evidence and prepare applications for resettlement to Germany under a bespoke scheme for at-risk Afghans.  The individuals we assist are legal professionals still in Afghanistan, at serious risk of harm from the Taliban as a result of their previous work or public profile.  Our colleagues in Germany and the UK work with MPF to gather the detailed evidence required to be able to submit applications on behalf of main applicants and their family members, and prepare the application documents ready for submission.

We are part of a collaboration of 14 UK-based firms working with NGOs Safe Passage and Refugee Legal Support, set up to provide end-to-end casework support and information services to Afghan refugees regarding resettlement and family reunion applications in the UK.  

Awards and recognition for our pro bono work

2023

• Winner, LexisNexis Awards, Pro Bono Project of the Year 2023, Ukraine Advice Project
• Winner, The Lawyer Awards, Pro Bono Initiative of the Year 2023, Domestic Abuse Response Alliance
• Winner, PILnet, Local Impact Award 2023, Domestic Abuse Response Alliance
• Winner, PILnet, Global Partnership Award 2023, Rule 39 Initiative
• Winner, LawWorks Pro Bono Awards 2023, Best International Pro Bono Award, Rule 39 Initiative
• Highly Commended, The Lawyer Awards 2023, Pro Bono Initiative of the Year, Afghan Pro Bono Initiative
• Highly Commended, LawWorks Pro Bono Awards 2023, Most Effective Pro Bono Partnership, KIND UK
• Shortlisted, FT Innovative Awards Europe 2023, Responsible Business Category, Rule 39 Initiative
• Shortlisted, FT Innovative Awards Europe 2023, Responsible Business Category, Afghan Pro Bono Initiative
• Shortlisted, The Lawyer European Awards 2023, Best Pro Bono Initiative, Rule 39 Initiative
• Shortlisted, The British Legal Awards 2023, Outstanding Social Impact Award, Rule 39 Initiative
• Shortlisted, The British Legal Awards 2023, Outstanding Social Impact Award, Afghan Pro Bono Initiative
• Shortlisted, The British Legal Awards 2023, Outstanding Social Impact Award, KIND UK
• Shortlisted, LawWorks Pro Bono Awards 2023, Most Effective Pro Bono Partnership, Domestic Abuse Response Alliance
• Shortlisted, LawWorks Pro Bono Awards 2023, Best New Pro Bono Activity, UCL/PIP Project
• Hong Kong Pro Bono and Community Service Awards 2023: Gabrielle Honey and Steven Yuen, Silver Awards; Karen Fan, Bronze Award

2024

• Winner, Legal 500 ESG Awards 2024, ESG Firm of the Year
• Shortlisted, Legal 500 ESG Awards 2024, Pro Bono Initiative of the Year, Domestic Abuse Response Alliance
• Shortlisted, Legal 500 ESG Awards 2024, Pro Bono Initiative of the Year, Rule 39 Initiative
• Over 70 lawyers from our offices in England and Wales were included on the inaugural Pro Bono Recognition List, which recognises lawyers who gave 25 hours or more pro bono legal assistance during the 2023 calendar year. The initiative is supported by the Law Society, the Bar Council and overseen by the Attorney General’s Pro Bono Committee.