RECRUITMENT: six major names jump on board as firms called on to promote applications



The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) has launched a five-point plan to encourage more solicitors to apply for judicial office.



The plan calls on law firms to promote applications for office from within their practices, and to publicise the benefits to individuals and firms of such appointments.



Firms will also be urged to promote judicial shadowing as part of continuing professional development, publish the diversity of their firm, and work with the DCA and the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) to address barriers to appointment.



Speaking at the launch event, judicial diversity minister Harriet Harman said: 'Increasing the number of solicitors applying for judicial appointment will help contribute to a more diverse judiciary... The firms that have signed up to our action plan recognise and value the experience a fee-paid judge will bring back to their business. We hope others will, too.'



Major firms that have committed to the plan include Simmons & Simmons, Clifford Chance, Herbert Smith, Lovells, Morgan Cole, and Wragge & Co.



Ian Emery, business development manager at Oxford-based Morgan Cole, said: 'We have long recognised the value of promoting judicial service. One of our solicitors, Richard Lumb, is a deputy district judge. He mentors staff who are interested in applying for a judicial post and advises line managers how to assist them.



'We intend to introduce the processes around judicial appointment into our trainee programmes. We're also going to encourage judicial shadowing as a way of gaining fresh insight into how judges think and what influences them, which will be an advantage both to ourselves and to our clients.'



The plan has received the backing of the Law Society and the JAC, which took responsibility for appointing judges from the DCA in April 2006.



Law Society President Fiona Woolf said: 'It is important that the judiciary, at all levels, is reflective of society in all its diversity. The talent within the solicitors profession should be exploited to ensure the widest range of skills are available.



'The Law Society is keen to work alongside the DCA on this initiative and we hope that solicitors will take advantage of the opportunities available to them.'



David Dickinson, senior partner at City-based Simmons & Simmons, which hosted the launch event, said: 'As a firm, we strongly believe in the importance of increasing diversity, recognising that both we and our clients will benefit from employees with a broader base of experiences and backgrounds.'



Jonathan Rayner