The Law Society’s Diversity Champion Stephen Ward welcomed the results of Stonewalls Top 100 Employers list showcasing Britain’s best employers for lesbian, gay and bisexual staff.

This year, as in 2009, the list includes four major law firms.

The Director of Communications, Inclusion & Corporate Responsibility at the Law Society says: 
It is great news that four firms are in the Stonewall Top 100 again this year as we know there was huge competition from other sectors.

We have seen a dramatic change in the environment in law firms for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) employees in the past couple of years. The Interlaw Forum for LGBT Networks particularly has made a huge impact and the Law Society is proud to be working closely with Daniel Winterfeldt (corporate partner at Simmons & Simmons and founder of InterLaw) and colleagues to promote diversity across the profession.

Agenda for action

We start the new decade knowing there is still a lot to do as the soon-to-be published report on a joint Law Society and Interlaw survey of LGB lawyers will reveal. That report will help us set an agenda for action,” he said.

The Law Society’s Diversity and Inclusion Charter provides a clear framework for progress on diversity and inclusion across the legal sector. More and more practices are signing up and taking advantage of the support available from the Law Society. In March we will be launching an associated toolkit that is structured to help practices of every type and size achieve their diversity goals

Further evidence of our commitment to inclusion is the Law Society’s Diversity Access Scheme, supported by the Law Society Charity and designed to support promising entrants to the solicitors’ profession who also face exceptional social, educational, financial or personal obstacles to qualification.

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