Which way now?

In June, the Black Solicitors Network published an open letter calling on law firms, other legal services providers and in-house legal departments to “walk the talk” in terms of redressing racial inequalities and creating a level playing field. Key points include a comprehensive race and ethnicity action plan, with data-driven targets for both recruitment and talent progression; initiatives to ensure equality of assignments and other workplace opportunities to build the pipeline of talent for promotion; and in-house teams using their purchasing power to demand racially diverse representation. But significantly, it also placed individual leaders and managers “at the centre”, arguing that they should be held to account for change, through objectives, appraisals and ultimately reward.

PROCESSING CHANGE

Investment in legal process improvement work was paying off for law firms before Covid-19, but doing things differently is certainly now having its day, hears Richard Brent

MANAGE TO DISRUPT

CEO Mark St John Qualter tells Richard Brent about the continuous-improvement mission of DWF Managed Services

BPI ON THE AGILE PRIZE

James Gilding, managing director, business services, at Mitie Document Management, says make it part of your strategy to review business process and manage incremental change to identify the positive opportunities in an even more agile work environment