A number of City firms have revealed new ethnicity targets in response to the global Black Lives Matter protests.

Due to concerns of a potential coronavirus outbreak, around 1,100 staff at the London office of City firm Baker McKenzie were asked to work from home on Friday 28 February.

International firm Kingsley Napley has adopted the Halo Code – which “explicitly protects employees who come to work with natural hair and protective hairstyles associated with their racial, ethnic, and cultural identities” – and has formally incorporated the code into its dress and appearance policy.

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

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.

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. 

The British Inter-University Commercial Awareness Competition (BIUCAC) is running for the third time this year, sponsored by over 20 City law firms.

Candidates from working class backgrounds are being locked out of the legal profession, says Alan Milburn, chair of the Social Mobility Foundation and a former cabinet minister.

A number of City law firms have collaborated to create a legal operations graduate scheme, which includes a four-week course and workshops. 

Law firms make up almost a third of the organisations which feature in what is believed to be the first ever social mobility index, which was unveiled by the government today (21 June). 

Last year marked a record year for law firm partner moves, with 510 commercial law partners moving between firms – a 6% rise on 2022’s figure. 

Global disability network The Valuable 500 has reached its target to get 500 global businesses to add disability inclusion to their business leadership agenda, including several law firms.

Two leading City firms have delayed partner promotions due to pandemic pressures.

Ashurst has delayed partner promotions until later this year due to “continuing market uncertainty”. 

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. 

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.  

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has revealed that apprentices are achieving top performance levels across the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE), averaging scores that are 8% higher than other candidates on SQE1 and SQE2.  

A recent survey of working hours reveals that trainees and junior lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis LLP work on average for more than 14-hours a day. This is the third year in a row the firm has sat at the top of the table for working hours.

The Social Mobility Foundation revealed its top 75 UK employers for social mobility earlier in the week, with law firms making up 30% of the listed employers.