LawCare and University of Leeds introduce reverse mentoring in legal profession
updated on 27 June 2025
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LawCare and the University of Leeds have launched a reverse mentoring toolkit to help law firms and organisations build a more inclusive and fair workplace culture, prioritising meaningful change over performative gestures.
It’s designed to help legal organisations move beyond surface-level diversity initiatives. It offers practical resources to support every stage of a reverse mentoring programme – from creating safe spaces for dialogue to supporting mentors and mentees throughout the process, and turning insights into action.
Reverse mentoring flips traditional hierarchies by allowing junior staff or people from underrepresented backgrounds to mentor more senior colleagues. This new way of mentoring allows the legal profession to have more honest conversations and sees personal experience as valuable knowledge, helping leaders to better understand the lived experiences of those often excluded from important conversations and decision-making.
Find out more about what we can learn from Gen Z to improve working culture in law.
Director of engagement at LawCare, Trish McLellan, said: “This toolkit is such a valuable resource, especially for HR, EDI teams and senior leaders looking to build more inclusive, supportive workplaces.”
To organisations looking to take part, McLellan said: “[…] you’re not only investing in your own growth, but you’re also helping to shape a more inclusive, dynamic and forward‑thinking legal sector for the future.”
The initiative follows LawCare’s Life in the Law 2020/21 study, which found that the legal sector is still struggling to address challenges around mental health and inclusion. The study revealed that 69% of lawyers experienced mental ill-health and only just more than half had spoken about it at work. In addition, female, junior lawyers, disabled and racially minoritised lawyers reported higher burnout and lower levels of psychological safety.
The reverse mentoring kit is available to download now.
