Why aren’t Black Lawyers becoming Partners?

By Imani Stewart.

Reading time: four minutes

In honour of Black History Month 2024, it is important to investigate how the continued lack of diversity at the biggest UK law firms has permeated all levels of seniority. With Black lawyers rarely advancing to partnership, we must ask ourselves why after a push for diversity in 2020, the proportion of Black partners typically decreases as the law firm size increases and how the legal industry can remedy this.

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What does the statistics say?

According to a survey conducted by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, 3% of lawyers are Black. When comparing this figure to the 4% of Black people in the work force, we can acknowledge that there is still a way to go in terms of diversity within the legal industry. Black lawyers are also woefully underrepresented at the partnership level of mid to large size firms, with the largest firms having the lowest proportion of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) partners. Currently, only 1% of salaried partners are Black, in comparison to 3% being full-equity partners. This trend can be attributed to the tendency of Black lawyers to set up as sole practices. We can clearly see a prevailing theme of the underrepresentation of Black lawyers in senior roles within the country’s biggest law firms.

We know that in recent year’s law firms have tried to centre diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives, particularly in response to the murder of George Floyd and subsequent emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement. The visibility this movement provided to the very real structural barriers Black people face globally, led to law firms introducing key D&I focused initiatives. Namely, initiatives to:

Examples of such initiatives included ambitious diversity targets set by various law firms in response to the 2020 protests. Norton Rose Fulbright set a BAME trainee recruitment target of 25% just days after Linklaters revealed its own diversity quota, which aimed to have 35% ethnic minority trainees in the UK starting from the 2020/2021 recruitment cycle.

Not only was there a clear push to encourage diversity at trainee level but A&O Shearman also set a target of 15% BAME partners in the UK by 2025. Similarly, Clifford Chance aims to have 15% of its UK and US partner promotions and lateral hires from minority ethnic backgrounds by 2025, a target which the firm is currently exceeding.

Several law firms also rolled out anti-racism talks and workshops to educate employees on the barriers Black colleagues face within the workplace. Well-known Lincoln’s Inn set Hardwicke Chambers even changed its name to Gatehouse Chambers in recognition of the role Lord Hardwicke, after whom the set was named, played in perpetuating slavery in the 18th century.

Despite some successes, four years on, the underrepresentation of Black lawyers in the country’s largest law firms and most particularly in senior positions still largely prevails.

What are the reasons for this trend?

According to the People in Law article, mid-ranking Black lawyers in the largest UK firms are four times more likely to leave as their peers. The issue of poor retention rates is pivotal when it comes to understanding the lack of diversity within senior roles at large UK firms. It is always going to be difficult for Black lawyers to move up the ranks of a firm if they resort to resignation due to racism and hostile working environments. The article also refers to lack of quality feedback and unfair work allocation as having hindered representation of Black lawyers at partner level.

Feedback

For lawyers to develop the necessary skills to advance to senior positions, there must be a mechanism for regular and honest feedback from managers. Law firms should therefore prioritise mentorship schemes and regular one to one feedback meetings. The continuous nature of such schemes means there is room for lawyers to continuously develop. The dual nature of mentorship and feedback meetings means that lawyers also have opportunities to voice their concerns. This is key to building trust between diverse lawyers and their managers and can help to avoid situations in which they only communicate about adverse working conditions upon resignations.

Fair work allocation

Fair work allocation will allow Black lawyers to cultivate key client relationships and provide value to the firm, which will in turn support their bid for senior positions. One of the key roles of a partner is to bring new clients to the firm. If Black lawyers are not given the opportunities early in their career to network with clients and contribute to business development focused tasks, they can be overlooked for partnership roles as their network will be considerably smaller to their peers. Boosting diversity at partnership level must take a comprehensive approach where all lawyers have quality work opportunities early on in their careers and build the experience necessary for the achievement of senior and partner roles.

Read this article on stories from Black legal professionals: https://thestudentlawyer.com/2024/07/26/were-fighting-to-exist-angela-francis/

Summary

It is incredibly important that law firms seek to address diversity at all levels of seniority. It is no longer enough to focus on encouraging a diverse pool of trainees. Law firms must also be committed to addressing the structural barriers regarding Black lawyers attaining senior and partner positions. This will give law firms a competitive advantage in the market as diversity across all levels of staff, including leadership has been linked to improved organisational performance. In addition, law firms operating within diverse communities and providing legal services to global businesses should want to ensure that all lawyers can also hone their skills and move up to the partnership, should they wish. This keeps the firm relevant to the clients they serve and their values and is also the ethical thing to do.

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By taking a comprehensive approach to diversity within the legal industry and considering the statistics at all stages of seniority, we will be truly addressing disparities and working together to create a more diverse and inclusive legal industry that is representative of the communities it serves. Addressing the poor retention rates among Black lawyers by prioritising feedback and fair work allocation will foster effective integration and is a necessary step to boost diversity. A positive working environment, free from discrimination and unconscious bias will allow Black lawyers to flourish by building the necessary skills for advancement to partner level roles at the same rate as their peers.