Championing Diversity & Inclusion in our workplace
Chambers & Partners is delighted to announce that we have achieved the status of ‘Disability Confident Leader’, the highest possible level in the UK Government’s Disability Confident scheme.
Diversity and inclusion in the legal profession
Diversity & Inclusion is one of our core values and is reflected in our work with the worldwide legal market, where we are conscious of the instrumental role we play in advancing diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. We do this by shining a light on best practice and trailblazers in the field, and are delighted to be able to evidence our internal commitment through achieving this certification.
“Chambers is delighted to have achieved Disability Confident Leader status. We are conscious of our responsibility not only as an employer but also as the world’s leading legal ranking and insights company to be a market leader in Diversity & Inclusion, and will continue to use our position in the industry to promote and encourage disability inclusivity.”
Tim Noble, CEO at Chambers & Partners
What is the Disability Confident scheme?
The scheme is “creating movement of change, encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people”.
It was founded in 2016 and is part of the Government’s commitment to help one million more disabled people to work over a ten year period.
What does being a Disability Confident Leader mean?
Since joining the Government’s Disability Confident Scheme in 2020, we have taken the following actions to become a more inclusive and accessible organisation:
- Formalising our Hybrid Working policy
- Trained seven Mental Health First Aiders to support our employees with mental health challenge
- Ran a programme of virtual, hybrid and in person events aimed at creating an inclusive culture, including a number of events marking milestone dates surrounding Mental Health and Wellbeing
- Created a partnership with Woodlands Meed, an SEN school in Burgess Hill, to offer work experience sessions and work placements for their students and graduates. The first participant in this programme went on to accept a permanent job at Chambers
- Launched a Personal Disclosure policy for individuals who are neurodivergent, have a long term mental health condition or hidden disability. This policy supports employees through the process of informing their line manager and/or colleagues, and seeking further support
- Ran an ‘Introduction to Neurodiversity’ training session for our Executive Leadership Team, as part of our ongoing Inclusive Leadership training series.
Chambers Inspire
We created INSPIRE, our internal Diversity & Inclusion and Responsible Business network, in 2019.
Two relevant subcommittees originally existed within this network, dedicated to Age & Disability and Mental Health & Wellbeing, with a Neurodiversity strand added in 2021.
Each strand is championed by a member of our Executive Leadership Team, and is comprised of volunteer employees from across the organisation.
“We are proud to be a disability confident leader, and of the inclusive culture we foster in our organisation. Chambers is committed to creating new opportunities and maintaining its community initiatives, allowing us to benefit from the strengths and talents disabled people bring.”
James Lee, Chief Technology Officer and Executive Sponsor of Chambers Age & Disability Strand
A culture of Diversity & Inclusion
Chambers is committed to a culture of openness about all aspects of Diversity & Inclusion, including Disability and Mental Health. We look to attract and retain the best talent, no matter where it exists, and achieving Disability Confident Level Three is another step towards this aim.
We highly encourage other organisations within the legal field to research the Disability Confident Scheme, and more information can be found here.