EQUALITY: Lord Ouseley calls for action to bring change

Law firms seeking public sector contracts should have to prove that they operate and recruit staff in accordance with diversity and equality policies, a conference fringe meeting heard.

Lord Ouseley, former chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, suggested the condition in a speech exhorting law firms to champion equal rights.

He said: 'We need to demonstrate to firms what they are missing out on by not being more diverse.

We need to show that equality and diversity best practice can benefit firms and enable them to perform better than under an elitist and exclusive system.'

He added that government contracts should be awarded only to those firms that can demonstrate that they have a diverse staff, recruit on a fair basis and operate policies and strategies according to diversity and equality guidelines.

Makbool Javaid, the head of equality and diversity at City firm DLA, endorsed Lord Ouseley's comments.

He said equality and diversity policies would help UK solicitors rise to the challenge of a globalised market and make them better able to serve clients.

Meanwhile, Railtrack's head of legal Alison Parkinson, who represents the Association of Women Solicitors on the Law Society Council, called for compulsory equality and diversity education within the Law Society's continuing professional development (CPD) standards.

Law Society President Peter Williamson told the meeting that there are many areas where people want compulsory CPD.

He said: 'It may be the way forward for equality and diversity, but consideration needs to be given to all those other areas also seeking to be a part of CPD.'

Jeremy Fleming