The magic circle law firm made the change this summer after the issue was raised at the firm’s first-ever associate away-day earlier in the year.
Freshfields will now make sure that all of its departments use the same assessment criteria and hold more frequent informal talks with assistants.
When the firm initially met with associates in March, the appraisal system was one of a few areas — along with work-life balance, training and business development — that were singled out for discussion. Since the meeting, the firm has also been talking to each of the practices to focus on ways to get associates more involved in business development.
Following the away-day, the firm demonstrated its willingness to respond to concerns by replacing its reception carpet within hours of complaints about its colour.
One partner at the firm said: “This is about getting associates involved and creating mechanisms to make them feel part of the business — keeping the dialogue going so that we know how they are feeling and they know what we think is important.”
In a separate move, Freshfields has created two working parties to review diversity at the firm. The groups — one for fee earners and one for support staff — will canvass opinion in the firm and among its clients to ascertain what the firm can do better in areas such as recruitment, motivation and retention.
The groups are made up of 12-14 people. The fee earner team includes real estate partner Annette Byron, infrastructure partner Alex Carver, employment partner Kathleen Healy, corporate partners Vanessa Knapp and Laurie McFadden, litigation partner Jon Lawrence and tax head Sue Porter.
People partner Hugh Crisp, the firm’s former chief executive, commented: “Perception has lagged behind reality for some years and we are making progress with our work on diversity. However, we need to think about whether adopting the same structures as other institutions — such as diversity committees — is right for us.”
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