Pinsent Masons are a global commercial law firm, which responds to the pressures and opportunities facing global businesses with innovative solutions.
With 24 offices globally, they have the footprint and expertise to support commercial demands. They advise clients with global operations and recognise that giving a first class legal service goes beyond purely legal guidance. A solid understanding of local cultural and commercial issues and an innovative approach underpins all of their advice. They understand the key political, economic, commercial and regulatory issues, helping to minimise risk and maximise opportunities.
Pinsent Masons have particular expertise in four key market sectors: Advanced Manufacturing & Technology, Energy, Financial Services and Infrastructure. They provide a strong local presence with an excellent understanding of the local market, backed up by their innovative technologies and worldwide pool of resource.
Why is the firm supporting the Lawscot Foundation?
Pinsent Masons is proud to work in partnership with the Lawscot Foundation who help support the next generation of solicitors in Scotland. Our involvement provides financial assistance through an annual bursary together with work placements and mentoring support and is available to talented students from less advantaged backgrounds in Scotland studying a law degree and planning to complete the Diploma in Legal Practice at an accredited University in Scotland.
Why is diversity in the profession important to the firm?
Without the support and commitment of our people we wouldn't be the successful, growing business that we are today. That's why we work hard to sustain an inclusive culture for our people and attain a diverse workforce that is fully representative of all of the communities in which we live and work.
We are committed to avoiding discrimination and promoting equality and diversity through all our employment practices. Our responsible business programme seeks to challenge us, and express our commitment to responsible and sustainable relationships with our people, clients and suppliers, and our local and global communities.
This means managing our impact on the environment, working together with our clients and suppliers to develop sustainable relationships, and creating an inclusive working environment where everyone can achieve their potential.
Dickson Minto is a leading UK law firm specialising in providing corporate and commercial legal services with offices in Edinburgh and London.
Since it was established in 1985, it has grown substantially and is now one of the top rated corporate and commercial legal practices in the UK with particular specialisms in private equity, investment funds and finance.
The firm acts for over 50 quoted companies across a wide range of industry sectors. In private equity the firm has been lead lawyer in over £100 billion of transactions and represents a number of leading private equity houses, many of whom operate internationally.
Dickson Minto recruits graduates from all of the Scots law faculties and offers in depth training together with six months guaranteed experience in London.
Why Dickson Minto supports the Lawscot Foundation
Dickson Minto is delighted to be a platinum sponsor of the Lawscot Foundation which provides much deserved support for talented students from less advantaged backgrounds who might not otherwise be able to become lawyers.
Allan Fraser, the firm's recruitment partner said "Trainee recruitment lies at the heart of our business – the overwhelming majority of our partners joined the firm as trainees. We seek out the top graduates and we aim to recruit from a diverse range of backgrounds and skill sets."
As well as the financial assistance the sponsorship provides, Dickson Minto also offers each of the foundation's students the opportunity to meet with one of its experienced solicitors to chat about the law degree and gain insight into the traineeship application process and life as a solicitor.
Why diversity in the profession is important to Dickson Minto
It is right that everyone should have equal access to the profession and Dickson Minto's commitment to the Lawscot Foundation will hopefully go some way to help reduce the barriers to entry. This is an investment in the future of our profession, which will benefit greatly from the contributions of gifted and committed individuals.
From headquarters in Edinburgh, the Royal Bank of Scotland serves over 19 million customers predominantly based in the UK and Republic of Ireland. The company currently has around 70,000 employees. Going from one of the biggest Bank’s in the world, we are now a much smaller, more focussed Bank, with a single, simple purpose – to serve customers well. We are committed to helping our employees make a difference in their communities and we have a number of programmes to support this.
Why Royal Bank of Scotland is supporting the Lawscot Foundation
The Lawscot Foundation is very much aligned with our own thoughts and our own initiatives around social inclusion - we’re really pleased to be able to support it. In addition to our corporate sponsorship, two members of the Bank’s Legal team also support the Foundation – Rachel Shaw, Legal Counsel, sits on the Fundraising committee and Jennifer Murchison, Legal Counsel, mentors one of the Foundation’s students.
Why is diversity in the profession is important to the organisation?
We know that diverse organisations understand their customers better and make better decisions, so we’re committed to creating an environment where diversity can thrive. Being inclusive goes right to the core of our culture. We’re the only organisation to have featured on the Times list of Top Employers for Women every year since it was launched, and we’re regularly in the top 30% of the Stonewall workplace equality index. 87% of our colleagues tell us we’re already doing a good job of supporting diversity, and we’re determined to do more.
Advocates and solicitors are the two branches of the legal profession in Scotland. The Faculty of Advocates is the independent body of lawyers admitted to practise as Advocates in the Scottish courts. The Faculty dates back to 1532 and, throughout its history, has existed to ensure that everyone in Scotland, regardless of wealth, background or location, has access to expert representation in court and the very best independent, objective legal advice. Advocates appear in courts and tribunals all over Scotland, as well as in the UK Supreme Court, the Court of Justice of the European Union, and the European Court of Human Rights. Our website gives more information http://www.advocates.org.uk/
Why the Faculty of Advocates supports the Lawscot Foundation
The Faculty is committed to helping anyone into the profession who is attracted by a career in the law but who fears there may be obstacles in the way. And, as becoming a solicitor is a necessary step to a career as an Advocate, the Faculty itself can only properly represent the public it serves if the solicitors’ branch of the profession is open to all in Scotland with the necessary ability and commitment, regardless of background. The Faculty is delighted to play a major role in the Lawscot Foundation through its Lord Hope of Craighead Scholarship Fund which will support one student each year through the five years of their legal studies.
Why diversity in the profession is important to the Faculty of Advocates
Members of the Faculty recognise the fundamental importance of a diverse and representative legal profession to serve society and the interests of justice in Scotland. It is also in the Faculty’s own interests to ensure that the best and brightest in Scotland can, regardless of background, aspire to reach what we believe to be the pinnacle of the Scottish legal profession: admission as an Advocate.
For those reasons, more than 95% of our members have committed to pay a fixed proportion of their fees into the Lord Hope of Craighead Scholarship Fund. This fund not only supports the Lawscot Foundation; it also provides scholarships to support “devils”, those undergoing the nine-month specialist advocacy training programme which leads to admission as an Advocate. Roddy Dunlop QC, Treasurer of Faculty and Convenor of the Faculty’s Scholarship Committee, said “Faculty is there to serve the people of Scotland. All of the people of Scotland. And in so doing, we need to be able to draw from the most talented legal minds in Scotland - whatever may be their race, religion, gender, sexuality or social background. The Lord Hope Scholarship Fund, and our support of the Lawscot Foundation, is central to that ambition."
Shepherd and Wedderburn is a leading Scottish-headquartered UK law firm and the only full-service, independent Scottish legal practice of scale with a London office.
Our lawyers are currently advising organisations active in more than 120 overseas jurisdictions and we are privileged to work with organisations and individuals in Scotland, the UK and abroad who are leaders in their industries and sectors.
Shepherd and Wedderburn is a people business that values and rewards the contribution of colleagues across the firm. We are proud of our inclusive and collaborative culture, both internally and when working with clients, and are committed to encouraging and supporting diversity and social mobility.
Why Shepherd and Wedderburn is supporting the Lawscot Foundation
We fully support the Lawscot Foundation in helping talented students from less-advantaged backgrounds in Scotland through their legal education journey. Not only does this benefit the individuals themselves, it also benefits the profession who risk losing out on this great talent.
Through sponsorship, mentoring and work shadowing, the Lawscot Foundation has already made fantastic steps in helping talented students to reach their goals and as a Firm we are fully committed to supporting the charity to continue to do this.
Why is diversity in the profession is important to Shepherd and Wedderburn
We believe clients, colleagues and businesses are best served by a diverse workforce, with the multiplicity of experiences, ideas and perspectives this brings. This is why we have taken significant steps to promote diversity in our business at all levels and will continue to do so.
UK law firm Brodies LLP is the largest law firm headquartered in Scotland measured by income, directory rankings, and lawyer numbers.
Our approach to business today is influenced by our history, which dates back nearly 300 years to the time of the Scottish Enlightenment. That approach recognises the individual knowledge and expertise of our colleagues and the Enlightened Thinking that they deliver. That thought has a reach extending to all corners of the Scottish economy, and globally.
With more than 700 people working across, Aberdeen, Brussels, Dingwall, Edinburgh and Glasgow, we work with our clients in the following core business areas: arbitration; banking and financial services; employment; energy (renewables and oil & gas); litigation; M&A, private equity and IP; real estate; pensions and benefits; personal and family and tax.
We value the skills, experience and perspective that a diverse and representative workforce offers; those differences open up our way of thinking to new ideas and insights, which form the basis for the solutions and advice we provide to clients.
The vision for Turcan Connell has always been to offer all the professional advice under one roof that an individual might need during their lifetime. This means offering a full range of legal services alongside a complete range of tax services.
We believe that this joined-up, interdisciplinary approach of combining legal and tax expertise really sets Turcan Connell apart and enables us to provide the very best advice and counsel to our clients.
Founded in 1997, today we have 24 partners and staff of around 220 lawyers and tax advisers offering a unique combination of skills and expertise covering tax; estate and succession planning; employment; dispute resolution; entrepreneurs, family and rural businesses; divorce and family; land and property; and charity law.
Turcan Connell's offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and London serve a broad range of clients who value the focus our team of solicitors can bring to their affairs.
Lockton is a specialist commercial and professional services insurance broker with 10 UK offices, including Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Lockton is the world's largest privately owned global insurance broker. From small beginnings in Kansas City in 1966 Lockton has become a leading broker worldwide. We have achieved extraordinary year on year growth as a result of our relentless focus on client service. Our flat corporate structure and private ownership mean that we can reinvest more of our income in serving our clients and focus better on client service: from the chairman of Lockton down, almost all of our Associates have direct client engagement.
Our sole shareholder will never demand a return of more than 10%. Our Partners all have equity in the business and as such are closely involved in day-to-day decision making.
As such, our focus is our clients and our people rather than external shareholders. We can make long-term decisions that benefit our clients and improve service delivery. Our 6,000 associates help over 50,000 clients in 125 countries. They place over $20 billion of insurance premiums.
For six consecutive years, Business Insurance magazine has recognised Lockton as a 'Best Place to Work in Insurance'.
Our clients value our bespoke solutions, innovative ideas and great service rather than efforts to sell more products. StrategicRISK's 2015 UK Corporate Insurance Buyers Survey (a survey of insurance buyers in FTSE 250 companies) ranked Lockton top of all brokers for 'client responsiveness'.
Our 96% client retention rate speaks for itself.
In the UK we have a particular focus on risk and insurance solutions for Professional clients. In addition, to our extensive Solicitor client-base, we run insurance schemes for Accountants, Surveyors, IFAs, and Architects across the whole of the UK.
In Scotland, Lockton are the brokers and administrators for the Law Society’s Professional Indemnity Master Policy. In this capacity we not only negotiate with the insurance market to achieve the best possible outcome for the profession, we also provide risk management support across the profession as a whole.
Becoming a sponsor of the Foundation allows us to provide a different type of support and to engage with the young talent coming through into the profession. It is a privilege to be able to help these young people gain access to the tremendous opportunities that legal training can provide.
Why Lockton is supporting the Lawscot Foundation
Lockton has a very active charity programme and undertakes numerous charity events in support of our Charity of the Year which changes annually. In becoming a sponsor of the Lawscot Foundation, we are able to bring our charitable support a little closer to home and make a contribution to the fantastic work which the Foundation does in support of young people. What appealed to us about the Foundation’s approach is that it is more than simply providing funding, it involves individuals and corporate sponsors giving time to mentor and support the students and allow them their first insight into a legal working environment. Helping less-advantaged individuals to achieve in a competitive academic and business world is to be applauded.
The Scottish Council of Law Reporting (SCLR), a “not for profit” charitable company, limited by guarantee, was established by the Scottish legal profession to manage publication of Session Cases and other materials intended to help promote the best practice of Scots law. The Council’s membership includes representatives of the Scottish judiciary, Scottish advocates and Scottish solicitors.
Why SLCR is supporting the Lawscot Foundation
One of the SCLR’s objects, as a charity, is ‘to promote the advancement of education’ and Council’s sponsorship of the LawScot Foundation fits perfectly with that object.
Why is diversity in the profession is important to SCLR?
The SCLR was established by lawyers and is managed by lawyers. The users of its materials are lawyers. The Council wishes to see the widest possible entry into the legal profession of the most able. The SCLR’s support for the Lawscot Foundation is intended to help reduce the barriers to entry for those from less-advantaged backgrounds in a small but significant way.
With more than 70 offices in over 40 countries and 4,800+ lawyers worldwide, CMS offers deep local market understanding with a global perspective.
We are focused on building strong relationships with our clients, our people, our industry sectors and wider communities.
As a Future Facing firm we take a bold, dynamic and agile approach to help clients of every size face the future with confidence. We have an immense depth of understanding of the sectors in which we operate. Our lawyers are genuine experts in their fields and are able to advise on current challenges as well as anticipate those on the horizon that are likely to shape the future.
We want to ensure that we build a culture of trust, respect and support embracing all aspects of diversity and inclusion, leading the legal sector in social impact and sustainability. Our aim is to inspire, impact and support our clients and our people, helping them to maximize their potential and thrive.
Why is CMS supporting the Lawscot Foundation?
CMS is supporting the Lawscot Foundation as our goals – ensuring that a career in law is open to all – are aligned. Since 2012, CMS has run its own CMS Law Scholarship scheme, which currently financially and professionally supports at least 3 students each year in Scotland and at least 6 students in the rest of the UK in their journey to entering the legal profession. The opportunity to support the Lawscot Foundation in addition to our own CMS Law Scholarship scheme allows us to further reduce barriers to entry to the legal profession and support the next generation of lawyers.
In addition to financial support, CMS will also support the Lawscot Foundation by offering mentoring to its students.
Why is diversity in the profession is important to CMS?
As a global top 40 law firm (with strong Scottish roots), diversity and inclusion is at the heart of everything we do. We believe that a career in law should be open to everyone with the right talents; we as a law firm, the profession, and our clients benefit when deserving individuals – no matter their background – achieve their potential. To this end, we as a firm run and participate in a variety of initiatives, including in schools across Scotland, to widen access to the profession. Our support of the Lawscot Foundation is another step that we are proud to take to further this goal.
Burness Paull is a full service commercial law firm based in Scotland, advising clients across the UK and internationally. We are fully resourced in every sector important to our clients – financial services, private equity, infrastructure, public sector, energy transition, real estate, retail, manufacturing and food & drink.
Burness Paull is the exclusive member firm in Scotland for Lex Mundi — the world’s leading network of independent law firms – and we have worked in over 60 jurisdictions in the last three years.
Respect and inclusion is at the heart of who we are. We’re committed to being a business that recognises everyone is different and values those differences, creating a culture where all our people can succeed.
Our position as a leading independent law firm enables us to take this belief in the need for diversity and equal opportunity, and be champions for a much wider talent pool across the legal sector. We believe this starts with attracting candidates at the beginning of their career, and then continuing to break down barriers as these individuals progress towards becoming the lawyers of tomorrow.
Burness Paull has been named Best Early Careers Employer and won Best Diversity & Inclusive Initiative at the s1 Recruitment Awards 2022. These latest awards follow on from Burness Paull being named winners of The Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion ‘Enhancing Wellbeing and Belonging at Work’ award 2021, UK Diversity Legal Awards ‘Diversity & Inclusion Initiative of the Year’ and Legal Advisor of the Year at the 2021 Deals and Dealmakers Awards.
Bloomsbury Professional publishes a range of print and digital content for legal and tax professionals, academics and students throughout the UK and Ireland. Scottish law and tax publishing is undertaken by their experienced team based in St Andrew Square, Edinburgh from where they publish a wide range of authoritative and highly regarded books and online services for Scottish professionals and students.
Why is Bloomsbury supporting the Lawscot Foundation?
Bloomsbury’s leading scots law textbooks are used by students throughout all Scottish academic institutions. We want to support and be involved in the communities and professions where our books play such an important role in terms of study and we are delighted to be part of such a worthwhile initiative. We will supply all new Lawscot Foundation students with a full suite of our textbooks to support them throughout their four years of study.
At Bloomsbury diversity, equity and inclusion is not an initiative, but a core part of our everyday working lives. We are dedicated to making publishing a fair industry to work in, and supporting those communities that we work with to ensure that is representative of the diverse society we live in today, and is strengthened by voices and experiences of people from different backgrounds and identities.
At Addleshaw Goddard we are more than just exceptional lawyers: we are leaders in client investment and understanding. With over 1,600 lawyers based across the globe, the firm has a deep understanding of our markets and sectors. We act for our clients regardless of requirements, and have been instructed by over 48 FTSE 100 companies in the last two years.
For Addleshaw Goddard business is about strong client relationships built on successful delivery across national and international markets. We have 16 offices worldwide, which are linked together with a network of like-minded global partners. Where the firm doesn't have offices, we work with firms well known to us, to deliver an international capability.
Equally important is strong loyalty which is proven through 75% of the firm’s clients, who have been with us for more than 10 years.
Join Addleshaw Goddard, and wherever you are based, you will work side-by-side with blue chip clients in a supportive-yet-challenging environment.
Why is Addleshaw Goddard supporting the Lawscot Foundation?
Becoming a more inclusive workforce is important to us and we are proud to represented by a diverse and inclusive workforce here at Addleshaw Goddard.
We embrace diversity which our colleagues bring, which in turn allow us to have more impact and imagination in the work that we do and the support that we give our clients. To help amplify our underrepresented colleagues we have well established employee networks, which include:
- AG Embrace (our race and ethnicity network)
- OpenAG (our LGBTQ+ network)
- The Ability Forum (our disability and carers network)
- The Vine (our gender network)
Through meaningful engagement and collaboration across our employee networks, we are able to ensure that not only is our inclusion strategy authentic to our people but that we are providing colleagues across our organisation the opportunity to participate, learn and celebrate theirs (and others') identity.
As a firm, we are also passionate about fostering a mindful workplace, where people's wellbeing is nurtured to allow them to be the best they can be. To this end, we are proud to be a founding partner of the Mindful Business Charter which aims to promote a culture where people can speak up about their concerns about mental health and wellbeing and provide a framework for more mindful working practices. To support our wellbeing strategy, in 2019 we launched our Mental Health Champions (MHC) who are colleagues across the business passionate about supporting others and volunteer to be a point of contact should someone feel they need support. Today we have over 50 MHCs who have all attended the accredited MHFA England Training.
When it comes to recruitment, we believe that no one should be prevented from fulfilling their potential because of where they are born, the school they went to or the jobs their parents do. We are very proud to partner with the Foundation and play a part in improving social mobility in the legal profession and this year have again been listed as a Top 75 Employer in the Social Mobility Index. To support inclusive recruitment, our Early Careers team have introduced Contextualised Recruitment which takes into account the circumstances in which students academics results are achieved, and in 2020, we removed our minimum A-level requirement to allow a more diverse pool of candidates to apply for Training Contracts and Graduate Schemes at Addleshaw Goddard. We also continue to promote wider access to the legal profession, taking practical action through a variety of initiatives such as our partnership with the Lawscot Foundation.
Allan McDougall Solicitors is one of Scotland’s leading litigation firms, specialising in personal injury, employment, and family law. Working with clients across the country, it is a Scottish panel law firm for two of the UK’s largest trade unions, Unite and Usdaw.
With team members accredited by the Law Society of Scotland and the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, its personal injury team handles more than a thousand cases each year, recovering millions of pounds in compensation for injured people. Many other law firms refer their personal injury clients to the firm through its Injury Compensation Alliance.
Its employment team has extensive experience across all aspects of contentious and non-contentious employment law, while its family law team covers the full spectrum of family law matters, including separation and divorce, care arrangements for children, cohabitation, and pre or post-nuptial agreements.
The firm’s rich heritage dates back to the beginning of the twentieth century, with values that have endured since then: litigation pursued to a very high standard, with a culture of supporting the underdog, and delivering outstanding client service and results.
Why is Allan McDougall Solicitors supporting the Lawscot Foundation?
Over the years Allan McDougall Solicitors has been a training ground for some of Scotland’s foremost lawyers, such as Supreme Court judges Lord Roger of Earlesferry and Lord Mackay of Drumadoon. Strongly committed to nurturing talent that delivers first class legal expertise and experience combined with a distinctive personal service, we are proud to partner with Lawscot Foundation to help promote social mobility within the legal profession.
With a history and heritage tracing back over 150 years, MacRoberts is one of Scotland’s oldest and best-known commercial law firms with offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh. As a Scottish SME law firm, our predominant focus is on Scotland - we make a significant contribution to the Scottish economy and to the development of a skilled and diverse workforce. Working closely with our clients, our award-winning teams ensure that all of our advice is consistently delivered to a first-class standard. In addition to industry awards, we hold global ISO accreditations for Quality Management (ISO 9001), Business Continuity (ISO 22301) and Information Security (ISO 27001).
Our core values underpin all that we do: Commitment, Integrity, Innovation, Excellence, Respect and Teamwork. We are proud of the collaborative and inclusive environment we have created for our staff, and are committed to ensuring that our people are well-rewarded, well-motivated and well-led. We are committed to providing the highest-quality service to our clients and recognise that our people play an essential role in our business and all that we do. Our goal is for our clients and our people to feel included, valued and nurtured within their business environment irrespective of their protected characteristics or background.
We are committed to caring for and supporting the communities in which we work, developing and maintaining credible and long-term relationships with our people and our clients and being socially responsible in our surrounding areas and beyond. We are committed to environmentally-friendly working practices and hold the ISO 14001 certification for Environmental Management.
Why is MacRoberts LLP supporting the Lawscot Foundation?
We are aware that the legal profession can be seen as elitist and out of reach and so we are committed to promoting an environment of inclusiveness and mutual respect. We want to recruit from the widest talent pools that we can and by supporting the Lawscot Foundation, we are guaranteeing that those who have the talent to become our future lawyers get the best possible start to, and support through, their legal education and career.
We are committed to ensuring that a career in law is open to talent from all economic and social backgrounds and want to raise the aspirations, skills and employability of socially excluded groups and individuals. By encouraging and supporting individuals from less privileged backgrounds to aim high when it comes to their career choices, we wish to help them to achieve their goals
Why is diversity in the legal profession important to the firm?
It is important that our workforce reflects the rich diversity of our wider society for many reasons. Firstly, as our clients come from many different cultures and backgrounds, they expect to see a variety of people in our firm - people that they can relate to and feel comfortable with when taking advice. We must reflect our demographic makeup. As a firm, we also believe that diversity and inclusion breeds innovation and creativity. People from different backgrounds bring different views, networks and opinions to the table which ultimately tends to lead to advancements and improvement in thought processes across our firm, making us better placed to be the firm of choice for our clients. In addition, we know that skilled individuals are attracted to firms which are inclusive and diverse – we want that talent to work with us.
Operating in the UK and Republic of Ireland, Westcor International Ltd and its subsidiary WIL Speciality Insurance Ltd provide title insurance policies that protect the value of land and the assets that sit upon it.
Following its acquisition of Titlesolv in 2020, Westcor is building on Titlesolv’s established reputation within the Scottish market. Together, the team brings almost 30 years of experience of managing risk in the real estate and renewable sectors, helping clients of all sizes to perfect their title and protect their interest.
The underwriting team in Scotland is led by its Director, Kirsty Noble, also a solicitor. The team prides itself on its understanding of Scottish property law and its ability to bring creative title indemnity solutions to the doorstep of the Scottish legal profession.
Westcor International is wholly owned by Westcor Land Title Insurance Company, America’s largest independent title insurance company with annual premium income in excess of $1bn.
