Allen & Overy

Diversity and inclusion

Our commitment to the people that work at Allen & Overy and those who potentially could work with us is a central part of our corporate responsibility policy.

Diversity and inclusion at Allen & Overy is a business imperative in order for us to be a successful practice in today's competitive global market.  Our objective is to attract and retain the most talented people, and to benefit from the varied talents of a diverse workforce.  To do this, we aim to provide rewarding careers and a supportive working environment, allowing all our people to maximise their potential and fulfil their ambitions.

Our approach to diversity means we recognise ways in which we all differ - visible differences such as age, gender, ethnicity, disability and physical appearance, as well as underlying differences such as religion, nationality and education.

In our approach we have three objectives to achieve our vision.  To:

• broaden access to the firm and the legal profession as a whole;
• create a culture of inclusion and respect; and
• monitor our progress.

We work continuously to broaden access to Allen & Overy and to the legal profession as a whole.  Our aims are to:

• widen the talent pool from which we select the brightest and best graduates;
• give talented individuals the opportunity and aspiration for a career in law; and
• have a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities in which we operate.

To achieve these aims:

• in the recruitment year 2006/2007 we accepted applications from 274 different universities worldwide.  Of these, 133 (49%) were from UK and Irish universities;
• our current total trainee population attended 56 different universities between them;
• our current trainee intake gender split is: 59% female and 41% male;
• 24% of our current trainee intake are from an ethnic minority background;
• in the recruitment year 2007/2008 we will be visiting and working with 40 UK and Irish universities;
• we participate in TARGET Chances and Pure Potential: events which aim to encourage students from ethnic minorities and socially disadvantaged communities to apply to university and consider a career in law; and
• we are a founder sponsor of the Sutton Trust Pathways to Law programme, a charity which aims to increase the educational opportunities which can lead to a career in law for young people from non-privileged backgrounds.  In February 2008 we hosted a week's work experience programme for 15 Pathway students currently in Year 12.

On a firm-wide basis, we have also been involved with and set up the following initiatives:

• In March 2007 we ran our first Diversity Week at A&O in London, to encourage people to think about what diversity and inclusion means at A&O and to raise awareness in an informative and entertaining way.  Hundreds of our staff (and some of our clients) attended the events run by experts on a wide range of topics.
• In April 2007 we were the only law firm to participate in the first London LGBT job fair, sponsored by the Independent.  We attended the fair again in 2008.
• We have an active LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) forum group for our staff, which formed in early 2007.  This group is consulted on a variety of issues and has had several meetings and social events, some with LGBT networks from client organisations.

Allen & Overy in London are members or sponsors of the following organisations to ensure that we are up-to-date with and support Diversity and Inclusion best practice: Aurora (gender), Blind in Business, Black Lawyers Directory, EmployAbility (disability), Employers' Forum on Age, Employers' Forum on Disability, Opportunity Now (gender), Stonewall (gay, lesbian and bisexual), and Working Families (flexible working and family friendly).

By monitoring our diversity statistics we are able to track our progress and determine where we are having an impact.  Follow this link for information on our UK specific diversity metrics.