CEO DEI Statement

The Chambers DEI programme was founded over a decade ago to shine a spotlight on the best of DEI efforts across our industry. Since then, we have continued to innovate, grow and lead the market in prioritising DEI within our research.  

We recognise the need to continually drive change within the profession, and in 2019 announced that, from our 2020/21 Research Cycle, Chambers will be requesting DEI-related information and seeking to include a greater range of perspectives as part of our overall submissions process. We’ve been delighted by the reaction of the market to this decision and have continued to innovate how we engage with DEI across the market.  

Each guide releases a tailored Guide DEI Statement, highlighting progress and relevant changes to procedure. We continue to target a 50/50 gender split for private practice attorneys that participate in our research calls where practical, and actively encourage law firms to provide a more diverse set of client referees. Additionally, we work with the market to engage with specific diversity associations or groups to ensure we’re continually speaking to a more diverse set of lawyers and referees.  

The results of these efforts have been significant: over the last five years we have seen a growth in the average percentage of ranked women included across all guides from 24% to 30%. We nonetheless reaffirm our commitment to continually improving in this area, and consistently seek innovative methods to improve the gender balance of our rankings. 

We also continue to spotlight the best of DEI, Pro Bono and Sustainability work in the global legal industry through our Awards programme, which is currently run in the USA, Latin America, Brazil, Asia Pacific and the Greater China Region, Europe and the UK Bar jurisdictions. The 2022/23 Awards season saw remarkable growth in market engagement, with over 50% growth in the number of law firms and in-house teams submitting for our awards. We have also introduced Regional DEI Reports, picking out key themes from our major jurisdictions and showcasing the most innovative and forward-thinking work submitted to our Awards.    

Chambers continues to invest in DEI within our own organisation, with our dedicated DEI team implementing a comprehensive strategy. This includes our internal DEI and Responsible Business committee, INSPIRE, which has grown to involve over 10% of our employees in the last year. The employee-led network offers events, content and other initiatives to engage and upskill our colleagues with information about DEI and has grown from strength to strength over the last four years.  

We look forward to continuing to collaborate with you on this global inclusion journey.