Browne Jacobson wins major award at the British Diversity Awards 2022

Browne Jacobson won the Social Mobility Initiative of the Year Award at this year’s British Diversity Awards for their social mobility programme to increase diversity and inclusion across the firm and the legal sector more generally.

The firm’s Recruitment Manager, Tom Lyas, was also shortlisted in the HR Champion of the Year category for his work in devising and delivering the firm’s hugely successful FAIRE programme.

Browne Jacobson has established a national reputation for its commitment to promoting greater diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.

Since 2016 the firm has implemented a series of ground-breaking initiatives including revolutionising its trainee recruitment processes by removing academic barriers, anonymising applications and focusing its outreach work on social mobility ‘cold spots’.

In 2021, the firm launched FAIRE (Fairer Access into Real Experience) – a unique programme offering work experience opportunities to candidates specifically from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Under its FAIRE initiative, it staged two of the UKs largest virtual legal careers events with over 11,000 young people taking part in total.

In recognition of its work, the firm was named the UK's leading employer in the Social Mobility Foundation’s Employer Index 2021.

Senior Partner, Caroline Green, who also leads on diversity, inclusion and well-being at the firm, said:

“We are delighted to have been recognised for our work on social mobility and opening up opportunities at such a prestigious event.

“Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is a key pillar of our strategy and influences everything we do, from helping to attract and promote a diverse talent pool to driving real change in the legal profession.

“We have seen first-hand the enormous benefits that a more diverse workplace can bring to both our business and our clients.

“We are on a journey and know that there is more still to do on diversity and inclusion, but we very much hope that our experience and success at these awards will inspire others to create a workspace and culture where everyone feels welcome, supported and can thrive.”

The British Diversity Awards are the latest in a long line of accolades the firm has received for its work in promoting diversity and inclusion in 2021-22. They include the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards 2021, UK Social Mobility Awards 2021, The Lawyer Awards 2021, British Legal Awards 2021 and National Insurance Awards 2022.