Jessikah Inaba, aged 23, made history last week, qualifying as Britain’s first Black, blind barrister.

In February 2021, Bridging the Bar (BTB) and the supreme court joined forces to collaborate on a diversity scheme for Black, Asian, and minority ethnic candidates.

Bushra Ali Solicitors appoints Aisha Seedat as disability, diversity and inclusion champion – a first for a UK-based law firm.

The UK Diversity Legal Awards celebrates its 11th anniversary this year and continues to “promote the successful work and commendable efforts of individuals and organisations in the legal profession.”

Addleshaw Goddard, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Hogan Lovells have made it into the Times' Top 50 Employers for Women list.

The Treasury Solicitor’s department has become the first government department to commit to the Law Society diversity charter, making it the 400th signatory to date.

Corporate law firm Travers Smith is partnering with a LGBT charity to develop a mentoring programme designed to empower a new, diverse generation of lawyers. 

Elite corporate firm Travers Smith has become the latest big firm to announce that it is embracing flexible working.

Travers Smith is encouraging staff to use ‘safe-words’ to call out inappropriate language in the office.

Diversity, equal opportunity and the end of the ‘old boys network’ remain a long way off in the legal profession, a study by the Sutton Trust and PRIME showing that three quarters of judges and 71% of Queen’s Counsel (QC) barristers were privately educated has revealed. 

International firms Herbert Smith Freehills and Hogan Lovells are moving to encourage more experienced women lawyers who are on extended career breaks to return to practice.

Six magic circle sets of chambers have collaborated to create a mentoring scheme for aspiring barristers from underrepresented groups, including women, people with ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, LGBTQ+ people and those with disabilities.

UK businesses, including law firms, are to be ranked on their openness to talent from all backgrounds in a joint initiative by the Social Mobility Foundation and Social Mobility Commission. 

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has released its findings into how pupillages were advertised and the selection criteria used by barristers’ chambers in 2018.

High numbers of female lawyers feel that the profession must undergo serious cultural change in order to increase the representation of women in partnership positions and stop female lawyers from deserting law altogether, a survey has revealed.

The legal super-regulator is to use its powers to coordinate technological innovation in the sector, it has revealed. 

The legal sector is set for another decade of change, with increased consumer protection and provision high up the agenda in the Legal Service Board’s (LSB) new 10-year strategy.