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Our inclusive culture

At Clifford Chance, we know that global reach is about so much more than where we are. It’s the way we work beyond borders. It’s our ability to collaborate, share ideas, knowledge, and expertise. It’s the opportunity to explore new ways of working. We each bring different perspectives and new capabilities, but we all share the same values and vision: to be the global law firm of choice for the world’s leading businesses of today and tomorrow.


We understand that diversity and inclusion is important to the success and wellbeing of our staff, their families, our firm and our clients, and society. Inclusion is an intrinsic value of our firm. It’s a matter of justice and a core part of our identity. We don’t just acknowledge our differences, we celebrate them – because the best asset we have as a firm is our people, and the many different perspectives and experiences they bring with them.


As part of our commitment to inclusion in the workplace, we never stop looking for new opportunities to keep our workplace a safe and welcoming hub of ideas, thoughts, and ambitions. This comes to life in our collegiate and collaborative approach to work. We also have a variety of flourishing employee networks which help to engage our colleagues in diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing initiatives globally.   These networks are a place for you to share your experiences and advocate for change wherever you see an opportunity for improvement.


We know that being the global law firm of choice means we need to deliver equality of opportunity and equality of experience to all our colleagues, regardless of who they are or the journey they’ve taken to get here. That’s why we’re always looking for new ways to innovate how we work. To continue building a culture where everyone feels empowered to chase their goals and do work that aligns with their values.  To ensure we stay curious, open minded, and respectful in everything we do. 

Our employee networks

We have a number of flourishing employee networks and a mental health advocate initiative championed by senior leaders, which help to engage our colleagues in diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing.

Accelerate>>>

Our global gender parity group, Accelerate>>>, is committed to taking bold actions to accelerate the pace of change towards gender parity and drive forward an inclusive and diverse culture. It's about all of us contributing to a culture where everybody has the opportunity to succeed.

REACH

The REACH Network is the firm’s network for advancing race equality and celebrating heritage. In doing so, we aim to increase understanding of the value of our cultural differences and achieve equality of opportunity for all so that at all levels, the firm will reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity of its employees.

Arcus

Arcus is Clifford Chance's global LGBT network open to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans+, Intersex, Queer and diverse people and their Allies. Arcus aims to encourage an inclusive and integrated culture within Clifford Chance that gives colleagues the choice to be open and out, with a strong belief that it is such a culture that allows everyone to develop to their maximum potential.

Enable

Supporting colleagues living with a disability or a neurodiverse condition. We raise awareness, provide guidance and highlight the support available within Clifford Chance, as well as provide a safe space to engage and network. We work with our Inclusion team to identify barriers and to drive change within the firm to ensure our colleagues can work and thrive at Clifford Chance.

In addition to our four Global Affinity Networks, we also have a number of interest groups including RISE (our social inclusion action group), the Armed Forces Network, and the faith groups (CC Islamic Community, CC Christian Fellowship, CC Jewish Society, and CC Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist Society.)

Our commitments

Halo code


Clifford Chance is proud to be signatory to the Halo Code in the UK to protect Black colleagues who come to work with natural and protective Afro hairstyles.

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Race Fairness Commitment and
Mansfield Rule Certification

We are committed to building a working environment that is equitable and values people of all ethnic backgrounds. There is zero tolerance of racism.


In line with our commitments to race equity, Clifford Chance is one of the five founding member law firms of the Recruitment Agency Race Fairness Commitment (RFC). As part of our commitment to the RFC, our recruitment team works with external agencies to maximise opportunities for Black and Ethnic Minority candidates at all career stages through a range of measures such as: creating ethnically diverse candidate pools, exploring contextual backgrounds and experiences of Black and Ethnic Minority candidates, and providing factual feedback.


Clifford Chance is also one of the inaugural participants of the Mansfield Rule Certification Process (both in the UK & North America). The Mansfield Rule is a 12-month certification process that measures whether law firms have considered at least 30% women, racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ lawyers, and lawyers with disabilities for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, formal client pitch opportunities, and senior lateral positions. The Mansfield Rule is helping to provide focus and clear measurement data on our approaches to improving the diversity of associate talent, partner promotions and lateral hiring.

Disability Confident Employer


Clifford Chance is committed to driving disability inclusion and providing reasonable adjustments and support to enable individuals within our firm to thrive. We are delighted to be certified as a Disability Confident Employer, Level 1 of the UK Government National Scheme. We continue to focus on how we can effectively recruit, attract and retain talent within our organisation, and we aim to challenge attitudes and increase understanding of disability in the legal sector and beyond.

Disability Inclusion Commitment


Clifford Chance has signed up to the Mansfield Rule Disability Commitments in the UK and the US outlined in the Disability Inclusion Commitments to continue fostering an inclusive culture for disabled colleagues in collaboration with Diversity Lab. 


By expanding the pool of talent and considering a wide range of candidates for leadership roles and career advancement opportunities, including historically underrepresented groups like women lawyers, lawyers from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds, lawyers who identify as LGBTQ+, and lawyers with disabilities, Mansfield hopes to increase inclusivity and diversity in the legal profession.

Sunflower Scheme in the UK


Clifford Chance is a member of the Sunflower Scheme in the UK for Non-Apparent Disabilities. With 80% of disabilities, conditions or chronic illnesses not visibly apparent, colleagues and visitors to our Clifford Chance UK offices can voluntarily wear the Sunflower logo (via a lanyard or pin) to discreetly signify that they might do things differently, need extra support, or just more time.

Stonewall


At Clifford Chance we welcome applications from people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, and we have developed a global program of initiatives designed to help deliver greater equality for LGBTQ+ people in our firm. Our goal is to be the global law firm of choice for LGBT+ people and for LGBT+ causes. Clifford Chance was ranked 3rd in the 2022 UK Stonewall Workplace Equality Index and achieved Gold status in the Global Workplace Equality Index. The firm has also introduced a LGBT global partner level target of 3% by 2025.

The Armed Forces Covenant


We welcome applications from former members of the Armed Forces, regular and reserve, and their families.

In 2017, Clifford Chance was the first Magic Circle law firm to sign the Armed Forces Covenant and, in 2021, received the Gold award in the Ministry of Defence's Employer Recognition Scheme. Our Armed Forces Network in London supports ex-military, reservists and those with friends and family with military connections. We collaborate with other organisations that support veterans and we are working with law firms across London to create a legal industry network to share ideas and to attract talent to the sector. If you are a reservist, or thinking about becoming a reservist, we will support you.

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