Change is inevitable, so only firms that look ahead will stand the test of time, says Sarah Henwood, CEO of the world’s oldest law firm, Thomson Snell & Passmore
Benjamin Franklin once said, ‘When you’re finished changing, you’re finished’. This year Thomson Snell & Passmore is celebrating 450 years, the world’s oldest law firm as certified by The Guinness Book of World Records. We wouldn’t be here today unless we were able to embrace change. From leading the way as early adopters of technology …
Continue reading “Survival of the most adaptable”
Female role models: spotlight on Norton Rose Fulbright’s US Management Committee
Female role models: spotlight on Norton Rose Fulbright’s US Management Committee
Four out of nine members of Norton Rose Fulbright’s US Management Committee are women. And three of these women come from minority backgrounds. In recognition of this strong example of female leadership within one of the largest global law firms, Helen Donegan (US editor for content) spoke with these partners to hear about their practices …
Continue reading “Finding your ‘belonging’ in law”
Diversity and inclusion
The Diversity Lab announcement regarding the Move the Needle Fund (‘MTN’) in September 2019 revealed the most ambitious, public, and collaborative effort by global law firms to achieve measurable diversity goals. The participating law firms have set aggressive five-year diversity goals and will publicly report on their progress and the actions they take to achieve …
Continue reading “Going further to move the needle on diversity and inclusion”
Diversity and inclusion
Amidst growing calls from clients, market consultants, and alternative legal service providers for a systematic overhaul of the traditional law firm model, ten of America’s most prominent trial attorneys banded together to re-architect law firm structure, operations, and culture.
The result: Selendy & Gay, a powerhouse litigation firm which opened its doors in February 2018, and today is one of the only elite, majority women-owned firms in the United States. In announcing its launch, the firm vowed to deploy diverse critical thinking to transform ‘the most challenging litigation scenarios into net positives’ for its …
Continue reading “Selendy & Gay reimagines the modern law firm”
Diversity and inclusion
The Mansfield Rule – increasingly well-known as a national movement to increase diversity in law firm recruitment and promotion practices in the US – was created by the Diversity Lab, a self-described ‘incubator for innovative ideas and solutions that boost diversity and inclusion in law’. The Mansfield Rule originated from a winning idea from the …
Continue reading “Diversity rules: A closer look at Mansfield Certification”
Diversity and inclusion
In a series of forthcoming articles, fivehundred will feature a selection of legal diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives from the US, highlighting the efforts of the law firms and GCs we work with in an effort to draw attention to the work being done in this area and hopefully inspire others to get involved. This inaugural article in the series focuses on promoting the law as a career amongst high school students from diverse backgrounds
Street Law’s Legal Diversity Pipeline Programs The legal teams seeking to make the most progress in terms of diversifying their talent pool are taking a multi-pronged approach in targeting diversity initiatives to recruit, retain, and promote individuals from different diversity backgrounds, while complementing this by addressing diversity at different career stages – or pre-career stage …
Continue reading “Building diversity into the legal talent pipeline”
Diversity and inclusion
This Pride season, The Legal 500’s Amy Ulliott spoke to representatives of three UK law firms to find out how they have championed equality at home and abroad, and what advice they would give other firms yet to embrace an openly inclusive environment
From Brunei to the UK, the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT+) people in society has rarely been out of the news in recent months. In April, Brunei introduced new legislation making sodomy an offence punishable by death, with lesbian sex now subject to corporal punishment and/or ten years imprisonment. In May, Kenya’s …
Continue reading “Being your true self at work”
Diversity and inclusion
As part of Pride Season, Daniel Gerring, head of pensions at Travers Smith and a founding members of The Law Society LGBT+ Lawyers Division Committee, shares his thoughts on the progress of inclusion in the legal profession
How would you rate the legal profession on LGBT+ inclusion? What more needs to be done? We have made enormous strides on rights for and attitudes towards LGBT+ people over recent years and I feel incredibly lucky to be living in the UK at this time. But challenges remain. A random sample might include: outright …
Continue reading “Don’t be afraid of ‘coming out’”
Diversity and inclusion
The Law Society’s committee member Umar Kankiya
recounts his personal journey into the profession and how law firms can be more diverse and inclusive environments
At 34-years old, I have six-and-a-half years post qualification experience (PQE), am married with two children under the age of four, and am a department head of a Legal 500-recognised law firm. Sounds like life is pretty plain sailing. Yes, life is pretty good, but the struggle to get to where I am now started …
Continue reading “For BAME students, the struggle to get into law is very real”
Diversity and inclusion
Asia Pacific deputy editor Andrea de Palatis speaks to leading partners on mentoring, flexible working, unconscious bias, and how to break Big Law’s glass ceiling
For many women lawyers, a long-term career at the top level of Big Law seems just out of reach. Even in 2019, the centenary year of women being allowed entry to the profession in the UK, it is still widely believed that women cannot ‘have it all’ and must eventually choose between having a family …
Continue reading “The battle for diversity is far from won”
