Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

We are determined to help redress the gender balance in the legal profession. We were the first law firm to publish our gender pay gap data externally, and our research has shown we have pay parity for our lawyers. We offer flexible working for all, and we mark both International Women’s Day, celebrating women’s achievements, and International Men’s Day, which aims to improve gender relations and equality. We’re actively involved in the 30% Club, which aims to boost female representation on FTSE-100 boards, and in 2013, we launched our own gender equality initiative. The Athena Project highlights women role models and leaders in our firm, our clients and the UK government.

We recognise the importance of making LGBTQ+ equality and inclusion an integral part of who we are. Our Inclusive Workplace initiative ensures that all our policies apply to same sex couples, we have a transgender policy and we offer gender-neutral toilets. Meanwhile, we’ve been the Official Pro Bono Legal Sponsor of Pride in London since 2012 and, since 2017, we’ve been sponsoring and walking in many more Prides – across the UK and beyond. We were the first law firm in Scotland to sign up to the Glass Charter, which promotes the principles of LGBTQ+ equality and diversity, and we’re a corporate member of Stonewall, which advises us on our work on LGBTQ+ equality.

We were one of the first law firms to become a signatory of the ‘Race at Work’ Charter and commit to its five principles: Appoint an Executive Sponsor for race; Capture ethnicity data and publicise progress; Commit at Board level to zero tolerance of harassment and bullying; Make clear that supporting equality in the workplace is the responsibility of all leaders and managers; Take action that supports ethnic minority career progression. We’ve featured in the Black Solicitors Network’s BAME Education & Careers Guide since 2018 and every year we host and sponsor a number of events related to promote and support ethnic minorities in the legal profession. In Scotland, we work closely with SEMLA, the Scottish Ethnic Minorities Lawyers’ Association.

We’re a Disability Confident Employer – this government scheme encourages employers to recruit and retain disabled people and those with health conditions. We also host an annual Disabled Talent Career Development Workshop, which provides a different way of thinking about disability and ill-health to help people to take more control over their lives. The workshop helps disabled employees, and their supervisors, to identify self-limiting behaviours and beliefs, and to develop the skills and confidence they need to tackle them head on so that they can advance their careers.

We want to embrace neurodiversity, recognising and celebrating the natural variations in neurological differences among individuals. We launched our Neurodiversity Strategy to support the delivery of our strategic goal to foster a neuroinclusive workplace that acknowledges, proactively supports and empowers neurodivergence at every point of the employee life cycle. We are committed to creating an environment where neurodivergent talent can thrive and contribute to the success of the firm.

We know just how important it is that people feel able to speak up about their mental health, and we have a number of initiatives in place to support our colleagues’ mental wellbeing. We’re a signatory of the Mindful Business Charter which seeks to remove unnecessary sources of stress and promote better mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. We also offer a range of mental health-related benefits, including access to 24/7 confidential counselling, UK-wide Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and monthly mindfulness sessions. We use World Mental Health Day and Mental Health Awareness Week to encourage more conversations about mental health, and several of our colleagues have opened up their mental health challenges in a dedicated ‘This is Me’ video.

We’re passionate about making our firm, and the wider law profession, accessible and inclusive, and we have a number of initiatives in place to help us deliver on that commitment. We run a Level 7 Solicitor Apprenticeship programme which helps widen access to the profession, and our CMS Scholarship scheme sees us awarding up to 10 bursaries each year across the UK. In 2018, we supported the launch of the Social Mobility Pledge, which encourages organisations to offer opportunities throughout the UK, and we’re a founding member of PRIME, an alliance of law firms across the UK all committed to improving access to the legal profession through work experience. We’ve also featured in the Social Mobility Foundation Index since its launch in 2017.

We know that many people need to balance their life at work with caring for others, whether it’s an elderly parent, a disabled child or an ill family member. We have a number of benefits in place to help people juggle their responsibilities so they can care for their loved ones and thrive at CMS. We’re members of Carers UK which gives all our staff access to a range of online practical resources, tools and e-Learning. We also use UK Carers Week to raise awareness and recognise the huge contribution carers make.

We have five faith networks – Christian, Jewish, South Asian, Sikh and Hindu, and Muslim. These networks empower our colleagues to discuss their faith and enable everybody in the business to learn more about these religions, their origins and their traditions.