Trowers & Hamlins

Our track record in diversity was evidenced by our 13th place positioning in the recent league table of diversity conducted by the Law Society on behalf of the Black Solicitors' Network and the Commission for Racial Equality.

Diversity needs to start at a grass roots level, and it is for this reason that we use a variety of recruitment sources for both legal and non-legal staff. We recruit our potential Trainee Solicitors from a wide range of universities and do not simply focus on the “red brick” establishments only. As a result the Firm exceeds the Law Society requirements in terms of the ethnicity of its Trainee Solicitor intake. All our vacancies are advertised on our intranet and internet, with recruitment agencies and, more recently, on the Black Lawyers' Directory website.

Not only are we fair and equitable in how we source our candidates, we also adopt a consistent approach in our selection process. All posts have a job description and person specification and candidates are selected for interview purely on the basis of their skills and expertise matching our requirements.

We have strong links with the local community which provides opportunities for our staff to work with and help those in the locality. In particular, we run work placement schemes through East Potential (more information can be found on the Working with the Community page) which has resulted in the recruitment of 17 permanent members of staff and has enhanced the ethnicity of our workforce.

We run a Trainee Legal Secretarial Programme in conjunction with East Potential. This provides work opportunities to both young and mature people based in the Tower Hamlets area wanting to get back to work.

Where possible, we monitor the ethnicity of our workforce although as a Firm we are conscious of the importance of respecting an employee's right to privacy and therefore participation in monitoring is invited but not compulsory. We have formal policies on Equality & Diversity, Training Strategy and Resourcing, as well as Grievance and Harassment policies.

Equal Opportunities and diversity is brought to everyone's attention through a combination of induction training, being made aware of the Firm's policy and training sessions incorporated into the structured training programmes.

In order to encourage and retain a diverse workforce we offer all staff a number of different flexible working options. For those with 2 years' service or more, there is the opportunity to take a career break. All staff and, particularly those with young children, can apply to work part time and/or job share with colleagues. There are facilities for staff to regularly work from home not only to meet business needs but also to fit in around personal and home-life commitments. Furthermore, parents are encouraged and supported through generous maternity and paternity leave, pay and bonus arrangements.

We provide facilities for Partners and employees to comply with religious practices which might occur while they are at work. In addition, our policies acknowledge and make provision for staff to observe religious festivals specific to their faith.

A diverse workforce comes with a diverse set of skills, which need honing and encouraging. It is for this reason that we have a Training Manager who is responsible for ensuring that our staff are suitably equipped and developed.

Trowers & Hamlins is a very open and supportive environment - one that encourages a diverse workforce through not only the mix of staff but also through our public sector client base. We regularly win tenders for public sector work and have to go through fairly rigorous compliance procedures in order to do so. In short we must be doing something right!

In simplistic terms, we are a firm that attracts a very wide range of people and from all walks of life.