Please join us for on Wednesday, 6 November at Weightmans for the last meeting in 2019 of the InterLaw Diversity Forum’s Race & Ethnicity (BAME) Network. We will be discussing the barriers to the recruitment, retention, and promotion of BAME talent in the legal sector.

While law firms have duties as service providers and employers under the Equality Act 2010, and are also subject to the SRA requirements on equality and diversity contained in Principle Nine and chapter two of the SRA handbook, we struggle with meeting these requirements as employers. Although some progress has been made, there remain barriers for black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) talent, both in terms of access to and progression within the profession. For example, although nearly 12% of solicitors in the profession are from a BAME background, they make up only 6% of partners. (Source: The Law Society) 

We have put together a panel of experts to discuss and explore the key barriers, as well as the key solutions to this critical issue. 

We also want to hear from you!

Please send an email to admin@interlawdiversityforum.org with the header “InterLaw Diversity Forum Race & Ethnicity (BAME) Network: “Barriers to BAME Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement in the Legal Sector - Crowdsourcing Solutions” and tell us:

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(1)  one barrier to BAME talent in the legal sector; and 

(2) one solution to remove barriers for BAME talent in the legal sector. 

We will be basing our panel discussion off of your input! 

Our panel includes:  

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• Ijeoma E. Okoli, Global Asset Management Compliance Lead, Executive Director, JPMorgan Chase & Co. 

• Charlene Brown, Co-Founder & Director of Howlett Brown; Legal Counsel, BNY Mellon (former)

• Ann-Marie Goodbody, Managing Consultant, Major, Lindsey & Africa

• Daniel Winterfeldt, Founder, InterLaw Diversity Forum; Partner, Reed Smith (Moderator)  

Thanks to Weightmans for generously hosting this event!

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