Diverse City

Leading City law firms are becoming increasingly diverse, but the profession still needs a lot of encouragement, says Debo Nwauzu

One of the most enjoyable aspects of what I do at the Black Lawyers Directory (BLD) is interviewing lawyers (and indeed non-lawyers), particularly for our Lawyers of the Month feature. What has struck me is that a significant number of those that I had interviewed were given what will now be shocking advice when they were starting out. One Chief Crown Prosecutor was told that they were aiming too high and should instead look at secretarial work. One partner at a top 100 law firm was told to forget becoming a lawyer and join the army instead because colour does not matter then.

An amusing story, as told to me by John Roberts QC, was when he had just finished his pupillage and was looking for a tenancy. He recalled: "A clerk said to me: 'Sorry, sir, with you being black, solicitors won't brief you. If they do, I will eat my hat!'"

Eighteen or 19 years later, when he took Silk, he saw that same clerk, who went over to him and shook his hand, saying: "Congratulations sir. I knew you would make it!" As he turned to go away, John Roberts QC called him back and said: "I notice you don't wear your hat any more."

Such prejudice is not limited to race, of course, as an anecdote told to me illustrates. A young man had sent his CV off to a set of chambers. His application was unsuccessful and the CV was returned to him, but they forgot to remove a note stuck to it which read: "Would we really employ someone with a name like Wayne?"

I do believe that we have come a long way on diversity since then and would hate to think that such blatant prejudice would still happen today.

So if we have moved on, why bother with diversity at all as all is now surely well? We need to bother because lack of diversity and inequality is still rife, although there are many organisations, including mine, which are trying to make things better. Also, as the Government recognises, declining social mobility also affects diversity. Things are worse than they were 30 to 40 years ago, as children from poor, working-class backgrounds are now less likely to move up the social ladder as the Alan Milburns of this world did back then.

What is BLD about?

In 2006, I founded BLD and the aim was, and still is, to make a real difference by highlighting and promoting diversity in law - highlighting areas where things are being done and those that can be improved, provide information, showcase the talent of black minority ethnic lawyers and others in the legal profession.

The aim is not to name and shame but to encourage, cajole and ask questions. Despite black and minority ethnic (BME) people making up more than 32% of first-year law students, just over 9% of solicitors and just over 11% of barristers, BME lawyers and law students are disproportionately disadvantaged in obtaining training contracts, pupillages and tenancies and they are also less likely to become partners, particularly in the top 100 law firms.

There can also be a feeling of isolation within the profession. For these reasons, they are less likely to reach the highest levels of the profession compared to their white counterparts.

At BLD we have done so much in the nearly three years since it was launched. Below are some:

• Establishing an online directory at www.onlinebld.com where individual UK lawyers and UK organisations with at least one BME ethnic lawyer can have their profiles up on the site;
• Publishing the annual ground-breaking Black Letter Law, showcasing the achievement and contribution of BMEs within the legal profession; and
• Launching our community-driven Legal Gateway scheme in January 2008, which has the backing and sponsorship of several major law firms as well as Barclays and BPP Law School. It is a diversity access scheme that encourages social mobility by raising aspirations, providing career opportunities and assisting BMEs to reach their full potential should they wish to enter the legal profession. Although largely targeted at school children and undergraduates from disadvantaged backgrounds, the mentoring programme also assists paralegals, trainee solicitors and barristers and qualified lawyers. The two major programmes within the scheme are Today's Children, Tomorrow's Lawyers and the Legal Launch Pad.

Room for improvement

Diversity statistics are a start and can be used to measure progression, but are not the end as they do not always give a full picture of an organisation, especially internal culture and commitment. So what more can be done?

Besides statistics, more clients need to ask the law firms they use what else they are doing on diversity, evidence of actual involvement and commitment, their overall strategy and plans for the future as well as the diversity of their legal suppliers (namely the barristers instructed). A substantial percentage of the top 100 law firms do not have any ethnic minority partners and I suspect that the large commercial sets have a few or no ethnic minority tenants.

Those recruiting lawyers must also look at their recruitment strategy, whether it includes monitoring where they advertise, monitoring the number of ethnic minority applicants, those who are successful and why not. Also, if they use recruitment agencies, what are their strategies for reaching a wider pool of applicants and of those shortlisted how many were from a diverse, including ethnic minority, background?

It used to be often repeated by organisations that they "only want the best" or "it has to be on merit". Of course we all want the best and it should be on merit. I hope that this is not by implication stating that ethnic minorities are not the best or will get there without merit but only by nature of their ethnicity.

One quote borrowed by Rabinder Singh QC is: "Do not look for extraordinary talent but look for talent in extraordinary places." Organisations doing what they have always done, the way it has always been done, targeting only Redbrick universities, only those who have attended university, inflexibility about A-level grades when that 18-year-old has been transformed since those A-level days, overlooking those who did not take the A-level route but have done so much to get to where they are - are all in my view failing to look for talent in extraordinary places.

Role models are very important, whether via networking groups, mentoring or publications. This can be done by setting up internal groups or linking up with external organisations. It is important to find a diversity champion within the organisation - not necessarily a very senior person or a lawyer.

Do not be afraid to take positive action - they are not dirty words and are not the same as positive discrimination. The law permits positive action to counteract the effects of previous discrimination so that an organisation can address disadvantaged and/or under-representated groups within it by taking steps to encourage them to apply.

Work with organisations and find out about other schemes - the BLD website lists various organisations. There are a myriad of diversity access programmes, but for ethnic minority-specific programmes also look at ACDiversity, which provides mentoring programmes for GCSE and A-level students, Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), which offers summer internships for undergraduates and TARGET chances, which runs some events for ethnic minority students.

Who needs diversity anyway? Well, think of it. It was predicted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) that by 2011 only 20% of the UK's workforce will be white, male, able-bodied and under the age of 45. So we all need diversity. Complacency is not an option.

Debo Nwauzu is a non-practising solicitor and founder and managing director of BLD.