News, Announcements and Events
RESULTS OF LATEST INVOLVEMENT WORK
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. The report can be downloaded by clicking 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? You can e-mail your views (from one sentence to a detailed plan of action!), in confidence, by clicking here.
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.
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE WEBCAST:
RETAINING TALENT - FREE CPD WORKSHOPS ACROSS SCOTLAND
High turnover rates and the growing demand for skilled professionals are impacting on employers across the United Kingdom. Successful organisations recognise employee retention and talent management is integral to sustaining leadership and growth in the marketplace. Consequently, employers are broadening their focus to not only select high-calibre employees, but also ensure talent is retained.
Approaches to enable you to retain talent as well as discussion of the issues impacting on retention in the Legal Profession will be presented at an upcoming series of free, one-hour CPD management workshops, jointly sponsored by Hudson Talent Management and the Law Society of Scotland. Attendees will gain valuable insight into:
- The drivers of turnover and retention
- Tackling employee turnover
- Practical suggestions to reduce turnover
- Evaluating and measuring success of turnover interventions
- Employment expectations – what Scottish solicitors and paralegals saying
DATES AND VENUES
The lunchtime workshops will run from 12:00 – 14:00 on the following dates and venues (a free lunch will also be provided):
Wed 9th April 2008 - Edinburgh - Law Society of Scotland
Tue 6th May 2008 - Glasgow - Abode Hotel Glasgow
Wed 4th June 2008 - Dundee - Hilton Hotel Dundee
Mon 23rd June - Aberdeen - Copthorne Hotel Aberdeen
PLACES WILL BE LIMITED, SO PLEASE BOOK EARLY.
To reserve your place, click here.
In partnership with:
. 
ALL FOR ONE & ONE FOR ALL – HR Diversity & Inclusion Conference (4-5 June 2008, Prague)
Diversity & Inclusion is already a necessary core competency for successful leaders and organisations. We are entering a world where long term organisational survival requires us to bring all of our diverse strengths and assets to the corporate table in order to keep and build our competitive advantage.
Keeping pace with the world will require an inclusive mindset and accompanying behaviours. Some companies are already moving to meet the increasing demands for higher performance and greater innovation by making sure that voices are heard, people feel valued and communities of talent are developed.
Inclusion is now an integral part of business operations:
- Playing a critical role in attracting, developing and retaining talent
- Becoming a partner in innovative product development
- Understanding the unique needs of consumers and customers
- Recognising diversity variables and their impact on performance management
Success will come from working with partners across generation, gender, race, belief, disability or sexual orientation. Put simply: there will be too many changes, too many problems to solve, too many new products, new services and too much new technology to master to not maximize diversity and leverage the potential of all stakeholders from supplier to customer.
Getting good ideas isn't enough; it's putting them into practice that counts. Join us and leaders from Volvo Cars, Lehman Brothers, Siemens, Proctor & Gamble and others for an unbiased, educational event and expert insight from the industry's leaders to ensure the success of your diversity initiatives and your own inclusive organization!
For more information, event agendas and list of expert contributors please visit our Conference Calendar or 'click' on the brochure below. Law Society members are entited to a 10% discount, please use the form in the brochure.
THE SOCIETY AND THE EQUALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - SCHOOLS OUTREACH
The Commission for Equality and Human Rights is the Society's partner in the 2007-2008 tournament of our highly successful schools debating competition. Motions will cover equality, diversity, and human rights issues. Further information will follow as the tournament develops. Meantime, click on the image below to be taken to the Commission's website:
PARN RECOGNISES SOCIETY'S EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY WORK
The Society is delighted that PARN (the Professional Associations Research Network) has selected areas of the Society’s work in this field as ‘best practice’ case studies, which will be shared with its 147 members across the UK, Ireland, Canada and Australia and at a major conference in London later this year. Such recognition is helping change the perceptions often held about the legal profession, and promote a modern, client focussed and inclusive profession.
Find out more about the upcoming PARN conference on diversity by clicking here or downloading the conference brochure from the list at the right of this screen.
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:
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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.”
Click here to download a copy of the full report.
To access previous news stories and details of past events please open the file ‘Past News & Events’ in the list to the right of this screen. Topics covered include:
Gender Equality Scheme
Equality and Diversity Annual Report
Disability Equality Scheme
Education Consultation – Possible barriers to becoming a solicitor explored
Service Accessibility Review
Profiling the Profession - Over 3000 returns
Profiling the Profession - Launch
Diversity in Law Firms - London event
The Society - Doing the Duty
Annual Report – Equality and Diversity Update
Semi Finalists Debate: This House Would Educate Disabled Children in Special Schools
150 Schools Teams to Debate Incitement of Religious Hatred Laws
The launch of the results from our research into ‘Women In The Legal Profession’
Equality and Diversity theme to November's Journal
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. The report can be downloaded by clicking here, or from the menu to the right of this screen.
