Time4Balance » Blog Archive » Diversity in the legal profession

In the Women Lawyers Forum in 2005, (Women Lawyers Forum ) the session on flexible working emphasised the need to create flexibility in the profession as a way to support diversity. There is no point in striving for diversity in our legal system if its framework lacks flexibility.

The session, ‘Flexible working – the Individual, the Employer and You’, presented arguments on each title.

(I was asked to speak on this panel but, unfortunately, was stuck in Geneva on the morning of the conference!)

Janet Gaymer CBE, senior partner at Simmons & Simmons, presented a highly insightful approach to these differing perspectives. The employer may view flexible working as meaning increased costs, increased management load and incompatibility with international travel and health and safety risks. The concerns of the flexible worker were assessed as including missing the partnership window, lower quality of work, lost status, increased guilt and less involvement with career-advancing activities. How were these concerns addressed? Gaymer urged us to think of what worked in practice and provided pathways that could allay such concerns. Practices should keep flexible working arrangements under review – it is not enough to set up such arrangements only to leave them at bay. Gaymer stressed that the views of flexible workers as well as non-flexible workers should be taken into account and parties should be open-minded.

Dr Richard Collier, Professor of Law at the University of Newcastle, presented a fascinating insight into male lawyers and the world of flexible working. One does not automatically think of the male worker when discussing flexible working, so it was quite refreshing to be provided with recent research on this topic. He touched upon the British Academy’s final report on Male Lawyers and the Negotiation of work and Family Commitments (February 2004).

Jenny Eady of Old Square Chambers specialises in employment and discrimination law and provided useful issues surrounding the self-employed Bar. The Bar Council recommends that there should be no barriers to combining a successful career at the Bar with childcare or other domestic responsibilities. Eady maintains that there should be written policies on career breaks and working flexible hours. Further, she stated that flexible working should assist in retaining some of the disproportionately high numbers of women who leave the Bar, including those who leave after having children. Nonetheless, that the Bar allows practice whilst one holds judicial office illustrates that it is already exercising flexible policy.

I have spoken to various Barristers about the issue of flexible working at the Bar and have done a separate presentation about it. Please look at my post: "Flexible working for Barristers" where I talk in more detail about the specific issues of working flexibly at the Bar.