DEI in Asia-Pacific 2025 Guide
In this article, the Chambers Asia-Pacific research team discusses DEI in the Asia-Pacific region.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)
Our research continues to show that while clients today are more rigorous than ever in their selection of legal counsel, an ability to handle sophisticated work and the delivery of excellent client service are key drivers when choosing external counsel.
One consideration that is becoming more important to many clients is the firm’s performance on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI).
It is true that not all clients consider diversity to be core to their selection process. One interviewee noted: “Best people for the job are what is important.”
Another market commentator added: “To be honest, diversity and inclusion was not a significant factor in selecting a law firm, but I believe the HR team at the law firm is performing exceptionally well in these areas as well.”
However, for many others, interviewees consider diversity in their legal counsel to be important. In some cases, clients draw a direct link between the diversity of the team and the quality of the advice provided.
A client reported: “This alignment with our values was a significant factor in our decision-making process. In practice, we have found that their team’s diverse perspectives and inclusive approach have enriched the legal advice we receive. They are attuned to the unique challenges faced by different communities, and this sensitivity enhances the relevance and effectiveness of their counsel.”
Gender balance in the Asia-Pacific guide 2025
At Chambers, we continue to track data on DEI and seek to conduct our research in a way that allows us to identify the best legal talent.
When it comes to gender balance, in the new release, 23.5% of rankings across the guide are held by women. This percentage has been trending gradually upwards in the last few years, but there is still more work to be done.
Alongside this, we ask law firms to provide diversity data to us on a firm-wide basis each year, so we can continue to monitor the state of the market as it stands and use this to inform our own research.
It is interesting to dig into the figures a little more by breaking down our rankings by gender across different jurisdictions. As you can see when you look beyond the regional average, there is a notable difference between those markets with the highest proportion of women ranked - which include some smaller jurisdictions such as Laos and Sri Lanka, with some larger markets such as New Zealand and Malaysia also above the regional average.
