header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
02 October 2024
Issue: 8088 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Diversity , Equality
printer mail-detail

Lawyers highlight barriers to DEI initiatives

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

Both buy-in from partners and financial investment are required if diversity, equality and inclusiveness (DEI) initiatives are to make a material difference at law firms, research has shown

Obelisk Support published its third annual report last week, ‘Diversity, inclusion & law report 2024: legal leaders making meaningful change’, based on surveys of 133 leaders at law firms. It identified the two main obstacles to progression in the past 12 months: ‘lack of recognition and value’ held for non-billable work on DEI efforts and ‘lack of buy-in from senior leaders’.

Nearly half (46%) of those surveyed said only one to three people within the legal team contribute to DEI initiatives, if it is not within their remit.

More optimistically, 40% expect their organisation to increase funding for DEI in the next 12 months.

Dana Denis-Smith, CEO of Obelisk Support, said changes in law firms in the past decade showed ‘progress is possible and ongoing’.

Issue: 8088 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Diversity , Equality
printer mail-details

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

Switalskis—Grimsby

Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Surrogacy children caught in succession gap
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
NLJ this week: Online safety law at a crossroads
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
NLJ this week: Do Mandelson and Mountbatten-Windsor meet the misconduct bar?
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
NLJ this week: Supreme Court unlocks ‘lost years’ windfall for injured children
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
NLJ this week: Finality trumps freedom in arbitration showdown
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll