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Diversity

Click here to find out more about Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP's involvement with Stonewall's Diversity Champion programme.

 

Field Fisher Waterhouse has a strong commitment towards encouraging a diverse workforce.  We strive to attract and retain the best people and provide an environment where each individual can develop and build a rewarding career.

The right team

We aim to recruit the right team for the job and treat all applicants and employees equally regardless of gender, marital status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief.  The firm is friendly, open and promotes inclusiveness.  Everyone in the firm is respected for the role they play, and every member of the team is highly-valued.

Excellence above tradition

The firm sets itself apart from the traditional law firm by recruiting from a wide range of educational backgrounds at every level.  Our partners are from a range of universities.  We believe that we can maintain academic excellence yet build a workforce that reflects our clients’ values and the people we work with everyday.  We feel this approach to recruitment will become essential for the successful law firms of tomorrow.

Diversity in practice

As a modern employer we are committed to offering flexible working to our employees where viable, and have a number of employees who work in this way.  In addition, we provide childcare vouchers to employees where applicable. 

In the Black Solicitors Network Diversity League table 2007 Field Fisher Waterhouse ranked 35th out of 81 law firms researched, and 18th in the ethnicity comparison for partners. Many of our competitors did not participate, whereas we fully embraced the research findings.

We monitor our diversity statistics and analyse these against comparative industry figures. 

  • 19% of our partners are female compared to a 17% average for UK firms (PeopleCount Law Survey, November 2007) 

  • 43% of our fee earners are female compared to a 43% average, (Law Society Annual Statistical Report, July 2007)

  • 5% of our partners are in an ethnic minority compared to 2% comparative industry figures, and 15% of all staff and partners are in an ethnic minority compared to 8% comparative industry figures, ranking FFW in the top 6th percentile (PeopleCount Law Survey, November 2007)

In our view, the range of our people’s backgrounds is set to increase.  Over the past two years we have seen an increase in the diversity of our fee earners:

  • 26% of trainees in June 2008 come from a non-white ethnic background, compared with 7% in April 2005

  • in June 2008, 10% of fee earners came from ethnic backgrounds, compared to only 9% in April 2005 (compared to a 9% average of all solicitors in private practice, Law Society Annual Statistical Report, July 2007)

  • there has been an increase from 10% to 14% of staff who are not UK nationals between April 2005 and June 2008

The table below shows ethnicity and gender statistics for Field Fisher Waterhouse (effective 1 June 2008).

    Partners / Assistants   Non Fee Earners   Total
Asian      5.2%      7.4%       6.5%
Black   0.7%   4.4%   2.8%
Chinese   2.2%   1.9%   2.0%
Mixed   2.2%   3.8%   3.1%
White   89.6%   82.0%   85.2%
Male   57.3%   27.4%   40.2%
Female   42.7%   72.6%   59.8%
Total   279   387   666

The Broader Context

The firm has a Corporate Social Responsibility policy and has strong links with the local community supporting charities and undertaking pro bono work.  Further details can be found on our Corporate Social Responsibility section of the website.