News, Announcements and Events
ENSURING FAIRNESS, CREATING OPPORTUNITIES
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.”
The full guidance can be downloaded by clicking here.
The information sent to every solicitor in Scotland can be downloaded by clicking here.
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 (click here to link to the survey) 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 (click here to link to the survey).
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:
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.
