Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s new senior partner Georgia Dawson has announced a series of diversity goals for the law firm.
Dawson was the first woman to run one of Magic Circle’s elite London firms when she took on the role of Senior Partner in January.
Goals for 2021-2026 include signing up to new partner cohorts of at least 40% women and 40% men in the firm, one of the largest law firms headquartered in London 1.82m in 2019-20 .
The company said all major global leadership roles should be ethnically diverse and at least 40% women and 40% men by 2023.
Freshfields said it aims to double the number of black employees in the company by 2026 and is aiming for a global LGBTQ + partnership of at least 5% by 2026.
In 2020 partner promotions, Freshfields promoted four women out of a total of 21. The company’s partnership consists of 19% women.
The company said it would have location-specific race and ethnicity targets as well.
“Creating an inclusive environment at Freshfields where diversity of thoughts is valued and people feel part of and thrive is central to making us a stronger company and delivering better results for customers,” said Dawson.
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Measures taken to meet these goals include the introduction of a new global talent program for black and ethnic minority lawyers in the firm that requires executives to make measurable individual commitments to diversity and inclusion each year Contributions to diversity and inclusion in assessments need to be more recognized at all levels of the company.
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“This has been a focus for us for a while and we are proud of the progress we have made, but we have much further to go. This includes tracking our progress against ambitious goals to accelerate the pace of change and embedding commitments across the organization so everyone understands the role they play, ”added Dawson.
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