2029 🎯
City firm Simmons & Simmons has announced new targets aimed at improving diversity by socio-economic background within its UK offices.
From February 2025, the firm will aim to ensure that by 2029, at least 20% of its partners, managing associates, associates, and trainees/apprentices come from lower socio-economic backgrounds. For business services roles, the target is set even higher at 30%.
The firm faces a fair climb to reach some of its goals. As of January 2025, representation of employees from lower socio-economic backgrounds (LSEBs) at Simmons stood at 13% for partners, 17% for managing associates, 14% for associates, 12% for trainees/apprentices, and 25% for business services professionals.
Commenting on the new targets, Simmons’ senior partner Julian Taylor said:
“A career in law should not be determined by background. I’m immensely proud of the transformative social mobility programmes we have at Simmons, yet we’re acutely aware that we need to do more as a firm to ensure our workplace is more representative. The fact remains that the profession as a whole is one of the least diverse by socio-economic background.”
“Publishing these figures in a very transparent way will allow the firm to hold itself to account. These ambitious social mobility targets will ensure that we go further and faster in our efforts to widen access and opportunities,” he continued.
In recent years, several City law firms have intensified their efforts to enhance diversity within their junior ranks. Freshfields announced in September 2024 its intention to recruit at least 20% of trainees from LSEBs across the 2024-2026 recruitment cycles. Magic Circle rival Slaughter and May is similarly working towards its ambitious target to have 25% of the population of the firm from LSEBs by 2033.
Simmons has also put in place a series of targets to achieve greater ethnic and racial diversity across the firm within the next five years.
