Research archive
Ensuring fairness, creating opportunities - Sept 2009
A practical guide on how firms can improve practice, broaden
skills and develop new business by understanding the needs of
different clients and staff is published this month by the Law
Society of Scotland.
The guide is designed to support solicitors in understanding why
diversity is important, and a central element of building a
sustainable and profitable business.
Neil Stevenson, the Society's Director of Representation and
Professional Report, said: "The solicitors' profession in Scotland
is already known for its high standards of professional excellence
and core values that include honesty, trust and integrity.
"In upholding that reputation and maintaining the key role
solicitors play in the lives of individuals, businesses and the
wider community, an understanding of the diversity of clients and
staff is vital. It is also essential to running a successful
business.
"The Society regards the promotion of equality and diversity as
central to the development of a modern profession, which is why we
have produced this simple and accessible guide. It includes handy
tips and case studies that show how other firms have tackled common
challenges."
He said the guide would be useful to firms of all sizes and those
working every sector.
He added: "We would encourage all solicitors to read the guidance
and discuss it as a firm or in-house legal team, considering what
may need to be done to ensure all solicitors can meet the
requirements of equality and gain the benefits of diversity."
Major justice sector project to involve disabled
people
A major project has been launched in July to examine the
experiences of disabled people within the Justice sector. One
element is a questionnaire for disabled service users but this
is only part of a much larger project.
The project is an exciting collaboration including representatives
from the Law Society of Scotland, Scottish Government, the
Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, the Crown Office
and Procurator Fiscal Service, the Scottish Court Service, the
Scottish Legal Aid Board and the Scottish Prison Service.
The primary aim of the group is to develop ways in which disabled
people can get involved in the improvement of access to services
across the justice system in Scotland and to draw on disabled
people's skills and experience to improve the Scottish justice
sector for all.
The Justice Disability Steering Group (JDSG) recognises that,
whilst much of the system is delivered fairly and in an accessible
way, some physical, attitudinal and procedural barriers do exist
and more needs to be done to promote equal access and
opportunities.
In order to achieve this aim the JDSG has formed a collaborative
partnership with leading disability organisations interested in the
justice process. The JDSG is committed to improving effectiveness
and efficiency across the justice sector. This collaboration will
offer a wider perspective and enable the JDSG members to identify
what changes are required in each specific organisation.
As part of this partnership the JDSG has launched a 6-month
involvement programme with disabled people aimed at eliminating
discrimination and promoting equal opportunities. The JDSG has
appointed Capability Scotland to manage this programme on their
behalf.
The involvement events, which will be held in late summer and
autumn this year at locations across Scotland, aim to identify and
examine the specific issues and barriers which disabled people face
when accessing the justice system. They will take the form of
co-ordinated focus groups, at which people with a wide range of
impairments will have the opportunity to present and discuss their
experiences.
The series of events will culminate in a national conference in
late autumn this year. At this event the JDSG, disability
organisations and representatives from the earlier focus groups
will look at how to remove the barriers to justice and recommend an
approach to long-term involvement of disabled people in the justice
sector.
During the course of these involvement events the intention is also
to build a network of advisors by identifying individual disabled
people who have an interest in contributing to a longer-term
involvement strategy.
Capability Scotland is currently conducting a poll with the 500
members of its One in Four Poll group about their experiences of
accessing the justice system. The findings of this poll will be
used to inform the ongoing work of the JDSG. To aid this, the poll
has been made available to individuals who are not currently part
of the One in Four Poll Group, through the Capability website. We
would therefore ask you to encourage your members and service users
to visit the Capability website and complete the survey.
Results of latest involvement work 2008
The Law Society of Scotland wants to ensure that it continues to
learn from solicitors, clients and the public in order to promote
best practice in relation to equality and diversity.
The Society commissioned Equality Works to undertake the work between
August and October 2008 to inform the production of forthcoming
guidance for solicitors on equality and diversity and to inform the
development of a new three-year equality strategy.
The report identifies successes, opportunities and challenges to
the work, and makes recommendations which will inform our upcoming
strategy. Download the report here or from the menu to
the right of this screen.
Have your say on new equality strategy
The Society is currently in the final stages of developing a new
three-year strategy on equality and diversity, but you still have
another chance to share your views on proposed policy and
targets.
We've carried out impact assessments across all our
functions, to ensure they are fair for all, we've commissioned
research such as Women in the Legal Profession and
the Profile
of the Profession, and we've been carrying out focus groups and
interviews across the profession and stakeholders to gain their
views.
But what do you think? Are there things the Society could be doing
to promote equality in the education, training, recruitment,
employment, and the service provision of solicitors? Can our own
services be improved to increase access? Do we represent well the
people who make up the profession irrespective of age, gender,
race, disability, sexual orientation, and religion and
belief?
As well helping us provide better services and ways of working,
this work is vital in meeting the various 'public sector duties'
placed on the Society in relation to equality. So work has to be
done, but you can help shape the actual detail of the objectives we
set.
In this strategy we are thinking of setting targets to:
- Encourage law firms and legal employers to publish data on
their composition and their pay practices (process, not actual
salary data)
- Increase awareness and understanding of equality in the
profession through training and guidance
- Identify what issues members of the public may have in
accessing legal service through a 'Secret shoppper' approach
- Research the experience of lawyers from minority ethnic groups
in Scotland.
- Promote flexible working, which is fair to all within legal
profession
- Collect a follow-up profile of the profession, which can be
linked to our original baseline survey to start to identify
trends
Do you think these will help? What else might we be able to do?
Please
e-mail your views (from one sentence to a detailed plan of
action!), in confidence.
Launch of free, online CPD on equality
We have now launched of a free CPD webcast, providing
information on key equality and diversity issues to solicitors, and
those interested in the profession.
The 'webcast' platform allows users to access a video presentation,
supporting slides, a transcript, and copies of the Society's
research into equality and diversity issues within the profession.
Those wishing to claim use of the programme as CPD can complete a
short multiple choice assessment at the end of the session, and can
download a certificate confirming they have responded
appropriately.
Access the webcast here:
Communicating with diverse audiences
The Society tries to ensure that it is reaching out to a diverse
audience, whether in relation to its members or general services
for the public such as careers advice and 'find a solicitor' for
the general public.
We regularly place articles and adverts in a wide range of
publications, from Able Magazine to Ethnic
Britain. A sample advert is below, to give an idea of how we
encourage people to contact us:
Profile of the profession
New research sweeps away 'old boys' network myth of Scottish
legal profession.
More than 3,000 solicitors, almost a third of the entire
Scottish profession, responded to the survey, which is one of the
first from a UK professional body to monitor all strands of
equality including age, disability, gender, race, religion, sexual
orientation and transgender status.
The research follows the 2005 Women in the Legal Profession survey,
which revealed that more women are entering law and by 2011 it is
estimated that there will be more female solicitors than
male.
This latest study, carried out by The Grange
Group, reveals a profession made up of people from a range of
backgrounds which broadly reflects the make up of Scotland
population and that far from having a strong 'old boys network',
fewer than six percent of solicitors' fathers worked in the legal
profession.
Neil Stevenson, head of diversity at the Society, said: "It is just
not the case that to be a Scottish solicitor you had to have
someone in the family in the profession and the results show that
this hasn't been the case for a number of years - only 10 percent
of respondents over 46 had a father who was a solicitor.
"We could not have anticipated such a strong response and are
delighted that so many members of the profession took the time to
complete the questionnaire. It reveals a changing profession with
people from across all social classes."
"The study also provides a very useful set of data which has helped
us build an accurate profile of the profession today, compare this
to sources such as the Scottish census data, and in the future will
allow us to monitor changes and identify new trends. It also
provides information for firms which will serve a practical purpose
including how they recruit and retain staff or tender for certain
types of business, such as the public sector."
The survey questionnaire was split into four areas. The first
focused on a demographic profile on the strands of equality, such
as race/ethnicity or sexual orientation. The second looked at how
people had qualified into the profession and their background.
Current career details were collected in section three with the
final part looking at experiences of discrimination, issues within
the legal profession and what solicitor expected from the
Society.
One of the most serious issues to arise from the research was that
up to 22 percent of the respondents felt they had been
discriminated against at some point during their career - from the
allocation of work or being excluded from communication to
bullying. Only nine percent of those suffering discrimination
actually reported it.
Stevenson said: "This is a real concern for us and should be a
concern to the wider profession. Even although the study may not
fully represent our 10,000 members, it means that 662 individuals
feel they have suffered some form of discrimination at work. The
fact that more than a third are under the age of 35 means it is
still a current issue.
"While this figure is high, we have found the situation to be
similar in other professions. However we need to work to address
this and engage with firms to ensure that their policies and
working practices are not discriminatory. Suggestions from
respondents support this with the most common being for the Society
to promote best practice, issue guidelines on discrimination to all
solicitors, provide training and offer an advisory service."
The Society is already looking at how to tackle this and will be
encouraging firms to examine the survey data to ensure they could
not fall foul of a discrimination claim. Increasing numbers of
firms also realise there is a strong business case for ensuring
they manage equality issues, whether in an effort to reduce costs
by lowering staff turnover, raise morale or attract clients.
The Society also published its Gender Equality Scheme in June,
following on from its Disability Equality Scheme which both address
specific points in the research, and will review its entire
equality strategy next year.
Farah Adams, convener of the Society's equality and diversity
committee and who works for A & R Robertson & Black WS in
Blairgowrie, said: "This is important research and the results
highlight that the profession is more diverse than some may have
imagined and that it is actively dealing with equality issues. The
project is an example of the Society going beyond minimum
compliance and leading best practice in this area.
"Legal firms are having to compete not just with each other, but
with other professions for the best candidates. If they are to
continue to attract and retain high quality graduates, improve
accessibility for clients and those seeking to enter the
profession, and keep the confidence of clients and the public, we
have to prove that we are tackling these issues. This research also
highlights the changes which must take place to eliminate any type
of discrimination in the profession and legal firms should think
seriously about ensuring they have the correct procedures in place
to stay ahead.
"There is also much more of an emphasis on work/life balance and
firms are increasingly aware that it's not just be a case of
offering an attractive salary to potential recruits; flexible
working opportunities could really put them ahead when it comes to
finding the person they want. It's interesting to note that of the
24 percent of the profession who had taken a career break, only 60
percent related to maternity leave and the rest included taking a
sabbatical, sick leave and other reasons.
She added: "In some ways I represent the changes that are happening
in law. I retrained as a solicitor in my mid-30s, took two breaks
for maternity leave during my training period, and now work
part-time. As a result, I have learned that to be a good solicitor,
one of the most important things is to ensure that you work well
rather than simply count the number of hours you spend in the
office."