Diversity and Inclusion Charter
In this section:
The Law Society Diversity and Inclusion Charter is the flagship diversity initiative of the legal profession. It is an instantly recognisable public statement of commitment by its signatories and a framework for positive action across all strands of diversity.
Purchasers of legal services are invited to support and promote supplier diversity through adoption of the Protocol on the Procurement of Legal Services.
Initiated by the Society of Asian Lawyers and BT and led by the Law Society, this is a developing initiative through which its signatories will work together to develop, share and adopt best practice.
The Charter
The Charter is a public commitment by its by providers of legal services, regardless of practice size, to develop and implement best practice in equality, diversity and inclusion - as employers, as providers of legal services, as purchasers of goods and services and in their wider roles in society.
Procurement protocol
The first Protocol under the Charter is a simple commitment by purchasers of legal services to collecting and considering standard diversity information from any law firms tendering legal work using a model questionnaire.
We have been exploring how the protocol is working in practice and might be enhanced to meet the needs of in-house teams procuring services. Earlier this year we commissioned a review of this protocol, to evaluate its effectiveness and identify ways to increase its impact and reach.
- Procurement Protocol review report (PDF, 4.2mb)
Monitoring protocol
The second Protocol under the Charter provides guidelines for following best practice in the collection and monitoring of workforce diversity information.
Flexible working protocol
The third Protocol under the Charter presents a clear business case for flexible working, guidelines, checklists, case studies and practical tools to help law practices embed flexible working in the workplace.
Registration
To become a signatory to the charter, or a protocol partner, please email confirmation of your commitment to inclusioncharter@lawsociety.org.uk. In line with the Charter commitment, please note that this should be from a senior representative at partner or director level. Please also provide contact details for those with overall operational responsibility for diversity within your organisation.
Members: access your account page.