Clifford Chance

Inclusion is both a core value and a business imperative. In pursuit of our Vision at Clifford Chance to be the Global Law Firm of Choice, it has been a priority for me to see inclusion embedded at the heart of every aspect of our business and every decision we make.

Throughout another year of uncertainty, we have seen this demonstrated time and time again by our people in every corner of our firm. The pandemic has continued to change how we live and work with each other, our clients and our suppliers and business partners. Despite all the challenges, our people have continued to deliver great campaigns for inclusion, and the energy they have brought to those campaigns has sustained and connected us in the face of prolonged and continuing periods of physical separation for many.

As we look ahead to what we may achieve in 2022, during which I will pass the baton to our next global managing partner Charles Adams, I can’t help but reflect on my tenure in the firm’s leadership and the privilege it has been to watch and be part of the firm’s steadfast commitment to inclusion and its people.

From the perennially inspiring Arcus Pride Art to the launch of our values-led Code of Conduct; from our award-winning reverse mentoring programmes to the deep gratitude I feel personally for my exceptional reverse mentors over the years; from celebrating more and more people in our firm who have been recognised publicly for stepping up and speaking out for inclusion to the launch of our ambitious global and regional inclusion targets; and from seeing our flagship pro bono initiative Cornerstone, that I launched in 2018, making a tangible difference to the wellbeing of communities in Kigali, Rwanda, to never tiring of the stories our own people tell of their work defending human rights and the rule of law across the globe, I know first-hand that our inclusive values run deep and together we are committed to effecting change for the better.

Over these years inclusion has moved from being something we did alongside our work to something that lies at the heart of how we work and engage with each other. That shift has been transformative and is crucial to our future success.

As ever, there is more to do – at a global and regional level – to deliver our strategy to ‘change the rules, change the culture, change the lived experience’ and be the truly inclusive firm that we want to be for all our people. 

Inclusion is central to how we think about all aspects of how we develop talent and support career development in our firm, so that our people achieve their ambitions and thrive throughout their career journey. 

This is particularly important as we look forward, after the pressures of this year (and the last). We must keep our eyes and ears open to understand what matters to our colleagues and our clients, building on the learnings of their experiences of the recent past and what lies ahead, and ensuring every voice is heard and supported.

The stories captured in this report are a welcome reminder that we all have the opportunity to be ambassadors for respect and inclusion in our own spaces and for the culture we want to live in. The part we play may be big or small, personal or professional – the scope is limitless. Together, I am confident that we will continue to make a very real difference to our people and to our future generations at Clifford Chance, to our clients, and in our local communities, wherever we are in the world.