#7 The Legal Profession This Week - Gender Pay Gap Reports

#7 The Legal Profession This Week - Gender Pay Gap Reports​

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (Freshfields), Hogan Lovells and Eversheds Sutherland (Eversheds) are the latest firms to publish their 2020 pay gap reports. Freshfields reported an overall reduction in both its partner and employee gender pay gap. This follows similar positive results from Clifford Chance who reported a decrease in its gender pay gap by two percentage points, from 65% to 63% (Law.com). This year is also the first year that mandatory ethnicity reporting has been introduced. While Clifford Chance, Freshfields and Eversheds have all seen decreases in ethnicity pay gaps, Slaughter and May and Hogan Lovells reported an increase of 4% at employee level, and 10% at partnership level respectively (Law.com). Some firms have also included voluntary statistics on disability and sexuality pay gaps.

The push for more transparency on pay gaps follows the heightened conversation surrounding diversity and inclusion since the Black Lives Matter movement. Law firms are also facing pressure from their clients to improve their diversity statistics. For example, Vodafone recently updated its roster of legal advisors. In a statement made on Linkedin, the group’s General Counsel emphasised that all firms on the panel have agreed to “collaborate on diversity and inclusion...” and will form “diverse working teams” when advising on the company’s legal matters (The Lawyer). The strong references to diversity and inclusion principles throughout the statement is indicative of the expectations clients have for law firms to reflect similar working values in their businesses.

The shift to remote working has forced law firms to rethink their office spaces. The focus is now on how firms can design spaces to encourage employees to spend more time in the office. Reed Smith has suspended construction plans for its new office, opting to build mock workspaces that will allow lawyers to trial different ways of working, before proceeding with plans for the new space (The Lawyer). This follows a similar move by Linklaters, who are preparing to implement different workspace layouts and new automation technology within its One Silk Street office in order to better understand what to carry forward into its new premises (The Lawyer). Even for law firms that aren’t slated to change offices, investment into redesigning existing office spaces might be necessary to better cater to the needs of its post-pandemic workforce.

‘Business as usual’ – the notable deals and cases which went ahead this week:

Kirkland & Ellis are advising TDR Capital on its £563 million acquisition of Arrow Global Group, a Manchester based asset management firm. Arrow Global is being advised on the all cash offer by Slaughter and May (Law.com).

Slaughter and May are also advising on the establishment of the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT), which will purchase an estimated 400m shots of the COVID vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson (Janssen). All African Union member states will have access to the vaccine through this trust. The firm is also advising on the procurement contract between Janssen, AVAT and the African Export-Import Bank (Law.com).