Law firms need to introduce quotas to make the representation of women at partner and management level more equal after “years of talking” about diversity have failed to effect real change, the founder of The First 100 Years project has said.

New research has revealed that privately educated lawyers still make up the majority of legal professionals at the country's top 20 law firms.

Major law firms including Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Herbert Smith, Linklaters, Norton Rose, and Slaughter and May have pledged their support for a new work experience project designed to boost social mobility in the legal profession.

Founded in 2011, PRIME now has 61 firms involved, 27 partner organisations and has given out more than 12,000 weeks of work experience.

Pinsent Masons has been named the UK’s most inclusive employer by LGBT-rights charity Stonewall, while Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) and Baker McKenzie are the other law firms to rank in the top 10 in Stonewall’s top 100 employers index for 2019.

The social mobility scheme Pathways to Law is being widened to GCSE students, the Sutton Trust has announced. 

Statistics in a recently published annual report show that The College of Law’s Pathways to Law scheme has actively helped young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to gain places at leading universities.

A recent study has revealed that 37% of legal professionals worked on their days off last year, a figure predicted to rise to 50% in 2023.  

Just 90 out of over 13,000 partners at law firms within England and Wales are Black, according to a report by diversity consultancy extense.

The popularity of podcasts has soared in recent years, with 12.3 million people listening to podcasts each week in the UK, according to the BBC. Here are the 15 podcasts we think all aspiring lawyers should listen to.

City practices Linklaters and Addleshaw Goddard have revealed their Spring newly qualified retention rates.

As reported in Legal Week, Norton Rose has joined forces with Sponsors for Educational Opportunity in order to encourage more black and ethnic minority individuals to sign up for its summer vacation scheme.

International firm Norton Rose Fulbright will introduce a new hybrid working policy, allowing staff to work remotely for up to 50% of the time once the pandemic has passed. Linklaters and Taylor Wessing have also introduced agile working strategies. 

For aspiring lawyers, building a robust professional network isn’t just beneficial – it's essential.

Legal Week reports that both Linklaters and Allen & Overy have announced a freeze on associate pay bands for the 2011-12 financial year.

Two more leading law firms have announced partnerships with Vantage, the online portal that matches diverse candidates with opportunities at top legal employers.

Mid-tier law firms Simmons & Simmons LLP, RPC and Shoosmiths have launched new policies to reward lawyers for billing higher hours, with bonuses of up to 40% of base salary on offer. 

For many years mental health and the legal profession have been at loggerheads. Long hours, high-intensity workloads and covid-19 are among a seemingly endless list of factors that continue to contribute to the profession’s mental health crisis. And what about those vying to get through the door? The competition is, as ever, fierce and expectations high.

Global law firm Mayer Brown International LLP has revealed plans to split its Hong Kong and Chinese operations from the rest of its international network, making it the latest firm to consider its presence in China amid tensions with the US and weakness in the Chinese market. 

Irish firms Matheson and Arthur Cox have been named among Europe’s most innovative law firms in the Financial Times’ (FT) Innovative Lawyers 20 Years Report, which was launched on 24 June at the FT’s Innovative Lawyers Global Summit.