A solicitor and barrister are to become the first lawyers to enter a judicial job-share, it was announced this week.

Lorna Grosse, a consultant at Westminster law firm Winckworth Sherwood, and Alison Rowley, who practises at the chambers of Richard King, 5 Paper Buildings in London, will share the post of district judge on the south-eastern circuit - each working three days a week - as the government aims to put its words about improving judicial diversity into action. Both are taking up the post part-time for childcare reasons.


The judicial appointments annual report for the year to 31 March 2005 found that 31% of appointments went to women lawyers (in exact proportion to the number of applicants) and 9% to minority ethnic lawyers. Figures for the six months to 30 September show these proportions rising to 46% and 17% respectively.


However, as usual, solicitors fared far worse than barristers. Some 17% of 1,110 barristers were successful in applying for appointments, compared to just 7% of 959 solicitors. Almost half of barristers at least made it through to interview, compared to 23% of solicitors.