Cultural & Linguistic Diversity at Herbert Smith Freehills
In the wake of the tragic killing of George Floyd, the firm’s leadership began a deeper conversation with our people about improving ethnic diversity across the firm – and how it could work harder to build a supportive, respectful environment where everyone could thrive.
Despite working for some time to further diversify the make-up of the firm, those conversations made it clear that more had to be done.
As a result, the firm unveiled 10 Actions for Change – a framework and measure of accountability for every region in our global network to address meaningful change appropriate for our people's communities.
“Like others in the legal industry, we are not where we want to be, or where we should be, in our ethnic representation or our progress in dismantling systemic racism," said Herbert Smith Freehills CEO Justin D'Agostino. "The tragic killing of George Floyd in May spurred us to redouble our existing work."
"Since then, we have been consulting across the firm about how we can actively become an anti-racist organisation, committed to confronting the deep-seated inequities from which no society or business is exempt."
"The firm's leadership team and I are committed to supporting our Black, First Nations, Asian and minority ethnic colleagues and building our understanding to create a safe, supportive and respectful environment across the firm.”
Multiculturalism Network
Our Multiculturalism Network is focused on building a culture where we speak openly about race, ethnicity, cultural diversity and religion/faith. Find out more about some of our initiatives below.
- Where are you from? - A series of videos celebrating cultural diversity in Asia >
- Reflection from a Community - a publication to showcase and celebrate the thoughts, experiences and experiences of the Black community >
- 10 Actions for Change - a framework to improve representation and the experience of Black, First Nations, Asian and minority ethnic people at the firm >
“Asia is home to many different ethnicities, languages and cultures. It is an inherently diverse region. Our Asia Multicultural Network offers a platform for our people from different backgrounds in Asia to connect and share cultural experiences with each other. We are supporters of cultural diversity at work and work to promote cultural inclusiveness in our policies, which we believe makes for a more stimulating and innovative workplace for our people and our clients.”
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