Creating a safe space for important conversations

Guiding equality, diversity and inclusivity progression that fits the world we live in.

It is important to us that we are a law firm in tune with the people and communities we serve. To achieve this involves addressing bias and creating widespread opportunities for all. In the past year, our mix of long-term, short-term and grassroots commitments has seen many benefits for our employees, including those returning to work after leave and candidates applying for jobs at the firm.

Women in law

With a 75%-strong female workforce, women’s initiatives have featured a lot in the past year at Anthony Collins (AC). By signing the Women in Law pledge, we have shown our commitment to creating a more equitable and inclusive legal profession. Our gender pay gap shows there is still work to do to reach female senior workforce targets, but we’re just 2% away from our target for female partner levels.

Creating a safe space to discuss menopause has been well-received across AC teams. Feedback already shows boosted awareness and wide support, and our new policy incorporates plenty of practical ideas. All this, and knowing they have the firm’s full support, have made staff more confident to raise the topic when it affects family members and co-workers.

Managing attitudes and bias

To recognise gender neutrality, we’ve taken a serious look at our tone and how we communicate both internally and externally. Staff have been guided to use a more gender-neutral voice that now extends to the formal documents we produce for our clients. Conscious changes include no longer beginning any AC correspondence with ‘Dear Sirs’ and looking at the topic of preferred pronouns.

Showing staff how to manage unconscious bias has been key for redefining recruitment objectives. Names and other personal specifics no longer feature on shortlisted CVs and advanced recruitment tools are improving socio-economic fairness among our applicants. We’ve also focused on creating clear progression routes into senior roles.

New toolkit for teams

Expanding our existing flexible and hybrid work arrangements has been a success.  These are especially beneficial for people with care commitments to nurture a good work-life balance that promotes well-being. We’ve also created new toolkits for staff returning to work from parental, paternity, maternity and adoption leave, acknowledging that both teams and their management need clear guidance. This is an ethos taken further with all staff receiving respect and dignity training.

“To reflect the people we serve, our own house must be in order. That means having those challenging conversations and being open to new ideas. We want to retain the best people, making adjustments that allow them to feel confident in their roles. We’re far from complacent, working continually to improve areas where the legal sector falls behind.”
Phil Saunders, head of HR and office services, Anthony Collins