CEO of Obelisk Support and founder of The First 100 Years and Next 100 Years campaigns Dana Denis-Smith has been recognised in the New Year’s Honours List for her services to women in law. 

TLT LLP has introduced a new diversity access programme, Beyond, aiming to eliminate barriers to entry into the legal profession for aspiring lawyers from ethnic minority backgrounds and improve diversity in early careers.

The Law Society has awarded 14 scholarships to aspiring solicitors through its Diversity Access Scheme (DAS), which supports aspiring solicitors who are facing social, educational, financial or personal obstacles to qualifying.

RPC has announced the expansion of its solicitor apprenticeship programme to London. The international law firm will start training solicitor apprentices in its London office from September 2025 with applications for the scheme now open.

The Legal Services Board has published an interactive map and two reports aimed at understanding and tackling the barriers that individuals face when pursuing a legal career, regardless of background and circumstance. 

There were 238 more barristers in 2023/24 compared to 2022/23, according to data from the Bar Standards Board’s (BSB) annual report. This takes the total number of BSB-regulated barristers to 17,656.

The Times recently released its Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality list, with the likes of Addleshaw Goddard, TLT LLP, Linklaters LLP and DWF Group Limited, among other law firms, named on the list.

Women made up 36% of partner hires in the United Kingdom during Q1 2024, according to Legal Monitor’s latest UK partner hires report. 

The London managing partner of Jenner & Block LLP, Christine Braamskamp, has updated the law firm’s parental leave policy to promote equal opportunities for both women and men.

Eleven interns have started their six-week paid internship at the Law Society of England and Wales, as it continues to participate in the #10000BlackInterns initiative.