Magic circle player latest to go public with diversity goals
Slaughter and May has gone public with two new targets to increase diversity and inclusion among its partnership.
The magic circle player says it wants a minimum of 40% of equity partner promotions globally to be women by the end of 2027. Between May 2020 and April 2025, Slaughters also hopes a minimum of 15% of equity partner promotions in London and Brussels to go to lawyers from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Legal Cheek‘s Firms Most List shows the firm’s UK partnership is currently made of 21% female and 6% black and minority lawyers.
David Wittmann, Slaughters’ practice partner, said: “We need a proportionate diversity mix and to recruit and promote from the widest possible pool of talent. This is vital to the sustained success of the firm.”
He added:
“The targets are an important signal of our intent to do better; they aim to ensure we are identifying talent and doing what we can to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to succeed at the firm. They will allow us to measure and track progress, and facilitate a dialogue within the firm about the behaviours and processes that can impact the diversity we seek.”
Slaughters said it implemented the gender diversity target internally from 2018 and has since been working on promoting a minimum of 40% women to partner level. Women partner promotions over the past four years sit at 44%, according to the firm.
A raft of City law firms have recently set new promotion targets in a bid to improve diversity across their senior ranks.
Freshfields is aiming for a global leadership team made up of at least 40% women by 2023, while Clifford Chance aims to have at least 40% female partners globally by 2030. Elsewhere, Linklaters set a firm-wide gender diversity target of 40% for its annual partner promotions and Allen & Overy is hoping to achieve a 15% ethnic minority partnership within its London office by 2025.
