Only 2% of lawyers working in law firms are black, according to diversity data published by the Solicitors Regulation Authority that appears to show minimal diversity progress in relation to ethnicity.
The figures are based on information submitted to the SRA last summer from more than 8,700 firms employing more than 180,000 people. Firms are required to collect, report and publish data about the diversity make-up of their workforce every two years.
The overall proportion of black, Asian and minority ethnic lawyers is 17%, compared to 13% of the national workforce. The regulator said the figure represents a 0.55% increase ‘but with rounding shows as no change since 2019’. Nearly eight in 10 solicitors (79%) are white – another figure that has remained unchanged.
While the proportion of Asian lawyers has increased from 11% to 12% (compared to 7% of the national workforce), the proportion of black solicitors has remained at 2% (compared to 3% of the national workforce). Only 1% of lawyers are from a minority community (compared to 2% of the national workforce).
Black, Asian and minority ethnic lawyers make up only 8% of partners in the largest firms and 9% in firms with 10 to 50 partners. By contrast, they make up 35% of partners in the smallest firms and 23% in firms with two to five partners.
A further breakdown shows that 1% of partners in the larger and biggest firms are black.
Social mobility figures show that 23% of lawyers attended a private school – significantly higher than the national average of 7.5% and up one percentage point on 2019 figures. Nearly two-thirds (63%) attended a state school. Over half (58%) of lawyers are from a professional family background compared with 37% nationally.
On gender diversity, women make up 52% of lawyers, compared to 48% of the national workforce. However, they only represent 35% of partners.
While 14% of the UK workforce have declared a disability, only 5% of lawyers declared they were disabled.
Anna Bradley, chair of the SRA board, said: ‘A diverse and inclusive legal profession which reflects the wider community is not only good for the public, but good for legal businesses themselves. These latest results show that while we continue to see change for the better across many areas, work is needed to achieve real diversity and inclusion across the sector as a whole.
‘Diversity for black, Asian and minority ethnic solicitors and women at senior levels is a particular challenge at large firms. We know that many firms have excellent initiatives in place to address progression and retention, but there is clearly more to be done. We will be using this data to inform our decisions about the contribution we can make to bringing about the difference we all want to see. We encourage everyone else to do the same.’
