International firm Norton Rose Fulbright has said 10% of its trainees will be black by 2025 as it became the latest high profile firm to announce a new race and ethnicity strategy.
In a sweeping set of targets for its UK office, Norton Rose Fulbright said 25% of its headcount should by BAME by 2025 (up from 19%) and 15% of partners (up from 8%). Annual UK trainee recruitment targets will be 25% BAME trainees, including 10% black trainees.
The firm also plans to introduce a reverse mentoring programme; ‘active bystander’ training; and will launch three new career programmes for BAME employees.
Peter Scott, managing partner for Europe, Middle East and Asia, said: ‘Change is needed in the legal sector and we aim to be at the forefront of this movement. Whilst we have made progress, we know that more needs to be done in our business to attract, retain, develop, and engage colleagues who are black, Asian and of minority ethnic backgrounds. Our strategy and action plan sets out how we will address systemic barriers to create a truly inclusive workplace.’
Several City firms have announced more ambitious diversity targets in recent weeks. While Dentons explicitly cited this year's Black Lives Matter protests for setting a 20% partner diversity target, Linklaters acknowledged it lacks black racial diversity, saying it is ‘committed to doing better’.
