BCLP sponsors report that finds a 50% underrepresentation of South Asians at partner level in the UK legal industry

International law firm BCLP partnered with strategic networking organisation Diverse Talent Networks (DTN) to release a report looking at the lived experiences of South Asian partners in City law firms. The ‘Stopping the Talent Leak’ report records a 50% underrepresentation of South Asian heritage partners in the legal profession.

Many partners in law of South Asian heritage believe that ethnicity is a barrier to success and this reality is having a profound impact on the industry’s diversity attraction and retention rates. The report finds that:

• South Asian partners are underrepresented by 50% in the legal industry.
• Two-thirds of South Asian legal professionals said they had experienced racial discrimination at work.
• Nearly half of those surveyed (46%) see ethnicity as a key barrier to promotion including to partner level and 38% see it as a barrier to work allocation.

Full report findings and the methodology can be found in the ‘Stopping the Talent Leak: how to prevent the 50% drop-off of South Asian lawyers on the path to big law partnership’ report.

Jinal Shah, UK Managing Partner at BCLP, commented, “BCLP is proud to work alongside Diverse Talent Networks in their research into the lived experiences of South Asian partners in City law firms. Standing on the shoulders of the ‘1% Study’, it is vital we continue to examine the underrepresentation of ethnically diverse communities within our industry. As highlighted by the research, South Asian partners comprise roughly 3.3% of Big Law partners in the UK, which is a 50% underrepresentation. This report is a call to action for the legal industry to better support our talented people to ensure a more representative partnership. I am committed to embedding the recommendations at BCLP and continuing to shift the needle on inclusion and diversity.”

Sunita Chawla, Partner and Co-Chair of Global Inclusion and Diversity Action Board at BCLP, said, “By collating data on South Asian partners across the legal profession, we can better understand career experiences and identify what practical measures the profession should take to be more inclusive and supportive of South Asian talent. The report findings provide a stark realisation that exclusion and discrimination still exist in the profession and that positive change is both essential to and necessary to ensure leadership at law firms reflect our diverse society.”