Booth attacks the way the legal profession recruits

LAW STUDENTS: positive discrimination on trial at forum

The legal profession should not be put off by 'taunts of positive discrimination' which can be used as a smokescreen against doing anything to improve the position of women and ethnic minority lawyers, Cherie Booth QC told ABA and UK delegates last week.However, Ms Booth added that whilst she was not in favour of positive discrimination, discrimination based on male cultural norms being imposed on women and minorities should cease.

The profession should find 'suitable tests' to identify people who would be good at the job and get away from the idea that you can not be a real lawyer 'unless you are a white middle-class man in a suit', she said.Ms Booth also expressed concern that there was 'increasing danger' that access to the law would only be available to the privileged few and that working-class students would be denied access to a legal education.

While many speakers expressed their concern over the fate of young, female and ethnic minority lawyers trying to enter the profession, Judith Mayhew - special adviser to the chairman of Clifford Chance, and city and business adviser to the mayor of London - warned that it did not make commercial sense to ignore half the profession's graduate intake.She said flexible working reduced stress and conflict and enhanced recruitment and retention which got good people to join, kept costs down, reduced absenteeism and improved staff commitment.Mary Cranston, chairman of leading US firm Pilsbury Madison & Sutro, said improving diversity needed commitment from the top, aggressive promotion of women and minorities to positions of power, unbiased appraisal programmes and mentoring.

Sue Allen