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.