News focus: Landmark report probes Black partner shortfall

Black History Month is coming to an end, but a landmark report on the scarcity of Black partners at major law firms is an important reminder that work to support Black solicitors in reaching the senior levels of the legal profession must continue beyond 31 October.

Of the 13,403 partners at major law firms in the UK, only 1% identify as Black, hence the name of the report: The 1% Study.

The study is the culmination of nearly two years’ research conducted by Julian Richard, managing director of extense, a legal sector inclusion consultancy.

‘More than disheartened or surprised, I was deeply curious – who exactly were these individuals that comprised the 1%? And what could be learned from their collective experiences of progression to the partnership level, to improve this worryingly low representation?’ he said.

Some of those experiences were shared by members of the 1% at an online event last week to mark the report’s launch.

David Ziyambi, a partner at Latham & Watkins, said: ‘At the beginning of my career, I felt I was spending 70% of my energy just fitting in. I spent 30% of my energy excelling as a lawyer and honing my craft as a lawyer. It was a real challenge because there are a lot of people around you not having that issue. The probability of promotion rises when you can increase the energy spent being a better lawyer and decreasing the energy trying to assimilate.’

Akima Paul Lambert, a partner at Hogan Lovells, recalled when she was a junior associate, wanting to travel to Hong Kong for work.

‘I was told, rightly or wrongly, “They do not like people like you in Hong Kong, so you should not go to Hong Kong. Why don’t you go to Paris instead?” This was my reality. This was not 50 or 40 years ago. This was 15 years ago. This closed another segment of the market to me, another jurisdiction. One of the moments of my life when I realised that how work is allocated and who it was allocated to needed reform.’

Big firms take action

Later in her career, a partner chose Lambert to handle an important matter. The partner said others had already been given high-profile work – it was her turn. ‘That matter was so important to my development, to the firm. It was so important to the clients I met, in terms of exposure to barristers who went on to vouch for me.’

When it comes to supporting Black talent in reaching the senior levels of the profession, some of the major firms are already on the case.

Linklaters is introducing ‘billable credit and recognition’ that will see up to 100 hours of diversity, equity and inclusion contributions considered as chargeable time or taken into account as part of overall bonus assessments.

DLA Piper has introduced a sponsorship programme called Elevate. ‘A mentor is someone who gives you advice, answers questions. A sponsor promotes you to other people to help advance your career, someone who shouts for you when you’re not in the room,’ said David Ampaw, a partner at the firm, who has benefited from sponsorship.

The 1% Study identifies five evidence-based actions that many law firms are currently not taking that would help promote more Black solicitors to partnership level.

These include tying executive compensation to diversity, equity and inclusion outcomes. This would show DEI is ‘mission-critical’ to the firm.

Firms should also invest in a combination of algorithmic technology and people-based solutions to interrupt work allocation bias. As well as multiple gains for the firm, the report says more and more clients are requiring their supplier law firms to data-monitor and report on the diversity characteristics of solicitors staffed on their matters.

Richard said: ‘Previous research on ethnic minority group career progression in the legal profession has been limited by the categorisation of “BAME”. This reductionist grouping has masked disparities in progress for different ethnic groups. Black representation has remained relatively stagnant for several years and worryingly low at the partnership level. Our actions lay a path for accelerating the retention and progression of Black talent to senior levels. We encourage firms to be bold with this necessary step change.’

I. Stephanie Boyce, past-president of the Law Society, which endorsed the report, told the event that ‘more must be done to remove the barriers to progression’. The 1% Study provides a blueprint for action.