Chambers Europe 2022 D&I Highlights

The 2022 edition of Chambers Europe is our most comprehensive guide yet. As we continuously enhance our research process in line with the latest technology, sector developments and client needs, we are delighted to now include more in-depth coverage of ranked firms and individuals than ever before.

An important issue we have been addressing is the diversity of our rankings. Throughout our research we have sought to interview a more diverse list of lawyers, as well as encourage firms to provide more diverse reference lists for our researchers to engage with.

We have also updated our submission template to more accurately capture diversity data. This year for the first time we have allocated space to provide information on special circumstances that may have impacted an individual's activity, such as maternity or paternity leave, acting as a primary carer, and so on. Furthermore, we understand that in some jurisdictions it is not possible to provide any information relating to sexual orientation or ethnicity and do not expect firms to provide this who are unable to do so. We are grateful for the information that can and has been provided to us and are using this to better inform our rankings and our overall approach to research.

This has been carried out in conjunction with all research teams receiving D&I training and addressing the impact of gendered language in editorial. This is part of an ongoing initiative to enhance our research processes and ensure they are free from unconscious bias.

Of the 13,725 individuals ranked in the Europe guide this year, 23% of individuals ranked identify as female.

Bosnia and Herzegovina saw the largest increase this year with 50%. Spain and Denmark are among the jurisdictions with the highest increase in women ranked this year, with an increase of 18%, bringing the total number to 219 in Spain and 55 in Denmark.

France stands out in terms of total number of women ranked with 247, an increase of 8% from the previous year. Ireland, the Netherlands and Italy are also key jurisdictions to highlight with 187, 159 and 145 women ranked respectively.

Collaborating to collect and track D&I data is essential to making progress in this respect, and particularly for our rankings to reflect the breadth of talent in the legal profession across the globe. By working together on this vital movement, together we can achieve this goal.