D&I
In all that we do
There is no single version of a Bird & Bird person, everyone is unique and adds something different to our firm. We want to make sure we celebrate that fact and make it possible for a wide range of people to be successful here, across all our offices, and all our teams. Inclusion should be embedded into all that we do - the decisions we make, the way we run our teams, and how we manage our business. Creating and maintaining a diverse and inclusive environment doesn’t happen by chance – so we launched our global D&I strategy ‘In all that we do’, which brings together our respectful culture with intentional action. Turning this strategy into a reality is a collective responsibility – the scale of these efforts, and leadership involved, reflects our commitment, and the belief that inclusive behaviour runs deep in the DNA of our firm.
Christian Bartsch, CEO & Graeme Maguire, Chair of the Board
Find out how the diversity of our people empowers their day-to-day life working here
Find out more about our employee-led networks below
Embrace
Our award- winning, multicultural employee-led network supports and celebrates the multicultural experience within the firm, raising awareness of cultural and historical moments of importance (such as Black History month) and giving back to multicultural communities through community engagement and assisting with diverse and inclusive recruitment to the firm...
Our global initiatives
We have achieved Mansfield Certification in the UK following our successful participation in the UK pilot programme.
What is the Mansfield Certification?
The Mansfield Certification aims to boost diversity in law firms by broadening the pool of candidates considered for recruitment, promotion, or participation in a number of key roles.
Having run in the US and Canada for several years, the certification was introduced as a pilot in the UK last year, and we were one of only fourteen law firms to take part. To achieve our Mansfield certification, we needed to show that at least 30% of the candidates we considered for several key roles were defined as under-represented. Mansfield defines this as lawyers who are women, lawyers from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, lawyers living with disabilities, and lawyers who identify as LGBTQ+.
What did we do to achieve certification?
Throughout the year we attended briefing sessions with Mansfield, and knowledge sharing sessions with the other firms involved, so that we could learn from each other.
We reviewed our processes to mitigate unconscious bias in recruitment and open up employment opportunities to as wide a pool as possible.