Diversity

Judicial statistics show a steady rise in the number of female judges and Asian and mixed ethnicity judges in the past ten years—however, progress in terms of representation has stalled for both Black lawyers and for solicitors

Government plans to curb jury trials have received only qualified support from Parliament’s Justice Committee, which has raised serious concerns about the Courts and Tribunals Bill

Michael Zander KC on the Justice Committee’s report on the Bill to cut jury trials

The Lord Chancellor, David Lammy, and Lady Chief Justice, Baroness Carr, last week chaired the inaugural meeting of a Judicial and Legal Diversity Board, which aims to identify and remove barriers holding back talented ethnic minority and other diverse candidates

Family law chambers 4PB has announced the return of the Alan Inglis Memorial Essay Prize for a third consecutive year, honouring the life and legacy of LGBTQ+ advocate and barrister Alan Inglis (pictured)

The Court of Appeal’s decision in Mazur may have settled questions around litigation supervision, but the profession should not simply ‘move on’, argues Jennifer Coupland, CEO of CILEX, in this week's NLJ

Necessary progress or an erosion of professional formality? Thomas Boyce examines two small words that have prompted a big debate

The legal profession’s claim to be a ‘guardian of fairness’ is under scrutiny after stark findings on gender imbalance and opaque progression. Writing in NLJ this week, Joshua Purser of No5 Barristers’ Chambers and Govindi Deerasinghe of Global 50/50 warn that leadership remains dominated by a narrow elite, with men holding 71% of top court roles

A fair & equitable profession? Joshua Purser & Govindi Deerasinghe explore some troubling research

Draft Legal Services Board (LSB) proposals on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) could make life tougher for many Black, Asian or minority ethnic solicitors, the Law Society has warned