Lee & Thompson LLP
Diversity
Inclusion & Belonging at L&T
Lee & Thompson is a truly special place to work and at the very heart of the business are our exceptional people. There is a unique culture that fosters real passion for delivering good results for clients, expression of personality, respect and genuine support for all who work at and with the firm.
We want to ensure that our people are able to become the very best that they can be and we offer the support and encouragement required to fulfil these ambitions. Above all, we want everyone to take pleasure and pride in all that they do. A significant part of our culture is fostering a sense of belonging and inclusion and we work hard to ensure that our people, and all those who we work with, are able to bring their whole selves to work. Everybody brings a unique perspective to the table, and we ensure that everyone has a voice and can contribute to the culture of our firm.
Where some companies are paring back their DEI initiatives in the current climate, we are committed to ramping ours up and have implemented an increased DEI budget for 25/26.
The Inclusion & Belonging Network, founded by Senior Equity Partner and Senior Leadership Team member Huw Morris 8 years ago, is a key part of the firm, and is made up of over 35 staff (1/4 of the firm). We focus on 7 key strands, of diversity with Strand Champions and Partner Sponsors appointed for each:
- Women's Network – supporting our women with their career progression
- The Race Network– educating and improving ourselves on race related matters
- Family & Carers – supporting the team with family, parenting and caring responsibilities
- LGBTQ+ - connecting, representing and celebrating the LGBTQ+ community
- Wellbeing & Mental Health – training, support and activity to improve staff wellbeing
- Disability & Neurodiversity – providing an inclusive and accessible workplace and support for all
- Access / Recruitment & Social Mobility– ensuring we recruit, retain and progress diverse talent
The Inclusion & Belonging Network works with a dedicated Recruitment Committee to continually assess, review and improve the firm’s recruitment activities, ensuring that our processes support people to perform at their best and access to and opportunity at L&T is open and fair.
This year we have a focus on developing our people managers as a further step forward in ensuring that inclusion and belonging is at the heart of the conversations we have with the diverse talent we have across the firm.2023 was Lee & Thompson's 40th anniversary year. To mark the occasion, we launched a three-year partnership with Creative Access, the leading social enterprise, addressing the barriers to progression faced by individuals from under-represented groups in the creative industries. Lee & Thompson is funding 10 places per year taking a hands-on role by supporting Creative Access with the development of the programme, hosting training and networking events, providing mentoring to participants and delivering legal know-how training sessions.
We are in the process of signing up up to the Women In Law Pledge, an initiative from the Law Society in conjunction with the Bar Council and CILEx. This has not been made public yet. By signing the pledge, L&T is committing to: (i) supporting the progression of women into senior roles in the profession by focusing on retention, promotion opportunities and removing any barriers to the progression of women through the firm; and (ii) setting clear plans and targets around gender equality and diversity in our organisation.
Our Summer Vacation Scheme was set up in 2019 to open our doors as widely as possible to a more diverse talent pool. Seven former participants currently hold permanent positions at the firm as paralegals and trainees and we are very proud that three Vac Scheme graduates have now qualified at the firm.
We have a dedicated area on our intranet for DEI Resources, including for LGBTQ History Month, Black History Month, International Women's Day, Pride Month and mental health and wellbeing.
We operate a Diversity & Wellbeing Book Exchange in our office, to share the books we collectively own which explore or recognise diverse heritage, cultures, issues and achievements or wellbeing themes.
We host regular DEI events at the firm, including evening film nights, external speaker events, roundtables, fireside chats and lunchtime panel sessions to mark events in the inclusion calendar, as well as our annual Pride Party (on our rooftop, weather-permitting). We love to involve our clients in our DEI activities and eventsand regularly host clients at charity dinners and industry networking events with a DEI focus.