Global HR director Pauline Caldwell is currently reviewing the firm’s schemes and plans to present a new programme to the board in January. The plan is to have core, achievable objectives that will be applied globally rather than taking a different approach in different jurisdictions. In the UK, the firm recently extended its apprenticeship scheme to its London, Oxford and Guildford offices, having launched it in Manchester in May last year. The scheme gives a career pathway for school leavers into its personal injury practice and according to Ms Caldwell it is ‘more focused on recruiting people from different backgrounds rather than gender diversity.’

Senior leadership programme

She added that gender diversity was not an issue at recruitment stage but did become problematic as fee-earners moved up the ranks to become partners. In response to this, the firm has recently piloted a senior leadership programme in the UK, with seven people participating – three of whom are women. Source: The Lawyer