Our proud history in advancing reconciliation
We have long been committed to advancing a culture of partnership and reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia.
At Herbert Smith Freehills, we don’t expect our people to be or think the same. That’s why fostering an inclusive and respectful culture where our people can be themselves, contribute their idea and perform roles which are meaningful and aligned to our shared values is a core business priority.
Justin D'Agostino
CEO
Our strategy
Our ‘Leading for Inclusion’ strategy sets out our vision to be the leading global law firm for diversity and inclusion. We recognise the power of diversity and inclusion as a driver of innovation, collaboration and positive business outcomes. By creating a respectful and inclusive culture, we are Leading for Inclusion.
A community of belonging – explore our diversity networks
Our UK Black Employee Network aims to advocate for, and build community among, Black lawyers and Business Services professionals. The network supports the firm's inclusion strategy by promoting the talents, skills and views of Black colleagues.
The Christian Community provides a place for Christians and those interested in Christianity across the firm to join together, mature in their faith or find out more about the Christian faith.
In a recent global audit, 18% of our people reported having experienced a disability in the last five years and one in ten considered themselves to have a disability, injury or long-term health condition.
Our Ability Network is focused on building disability confidence throughout the firm, encouraging a better understanding of disability and influencing policies and practices in becoming an employer of choice for those with a disability.
In 2020, we signed up to the Valuable 500 in line with our commitment to championing global disability inclusion within and beyond the firm.
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Our Family Networks exists to support all those with caring responsibilities – including parents, guardians, carers and those with other caring needs.
The network organises expert-led seminars covering topics such as body image, eldercare, and parenting skills. They frequently collaborate with other networks to discuss topics such as mental health and LGBT+ families and advocate for more family-inclusive policies and ways of working.
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When I became a parent I wanted to find out about HSF's approach to supporting working parents. It seemed such a daunting prospect to be a Mum and have a successful career. Thankfully, the Family Network could answer a lot of my questions or at the very least point me in the direction of someone who could. I am now co-chair of the Family Network and I thoroughly enjoy being part of the team providing support to all those at HSF with caring responsibilities, in its widest sense - from parents, grandparents, guardians to those caring for elderly relatives or children. Our aim is to promote awareness and education surrounding some of the common challenges faced by those with caring responsibilities and to provide support and a peer network.
Joanna Elson,
Senior Associate, Finance, London
Our Gender Equity Matters Network brings together a number of groups focused on driving greater inclusion and representation at all levels.
Most recently, our Gender Equity Matters Network is Leading for Inclusion by:
- In partnership with our Family Network, hosting a conversation with our new Senior Partner, Rebecca Maslen-Stannage, reflecting on how to balance a successful career with family life.
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Led by our Women Trainee Lawyers Network, launching an internal podcast for colleagues discussing topics such as tech in the legal profession, culture and identity within the workplace and breaking barriers.
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In partnership with our Multiculturalism Network, our Women Lawyers Network hosted a recent event that welcomed clients to an evening with booker prize winner Bernardine Evaristo, author of Girl, Woman, Other
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I am passionate about making Herbert Smith Freehills a place where everyone can succeed and achieve their goals. Being involved in our Gender Equity Matters Network gives me countless opportunities to learn, participate in thought-provoking conversations and meet people across the firm, all of which support my growth and fulfilment at the firm
Mia Harrison-Kelf,
Senior Associate
The Jewish Network is an open forum for everyone, regardless of faith or background. It's a space to learn about and appreciate the Jewish religion, culture, traditions, and contributions to society. It's a platform to engage in meaningful conversations, share experiences, and foster a sense of belonging.
Our IRIS Network brings together LGBT+ people and allies from across our business to advocate for LGBT+ inclusion within and beyond the firm. As one of our longest-standing global networks, IRIS works to educate and connect our people, raise awareness, collaborate with other diversity networks and importantly to provide a safe and supported place for colleagues, wherever they are located.
Most recently, the IRIS network is Leading for Inclusion by:
- re-launching our trans and non-binary guidelines to offer enhanced 1:1 coaching;
- dedicating pro bono hours to decriminalise homosexuality and deliver LGBT+ rights across the world;
- and developing sustainable relationships with in-country LGBT+ organisations across the countries in which we operate, such as Open Doors Australia – who support LGBT+ young people dealing with homelessness, mental ill-health and addiction.
We are also signatories to the UN Standards of Conduct for LGBTI Inclusion.
Our Multiculturalism Network is focused on building a culture where we speak openly about race, ethnicity, cultural diversity and religion/faith. Find out more about some of our initiatives below.
Where are you from? - A series of videos celebrating cultural diversity in Asia >
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Asia is home to many different ethnicities, languages and cultures. It is an inherently diverse region. Our Asia Multicultural Network offers a platform for our people from different backgrounds in Asia to connect and share cultural experiences with each other. We are supporters of cultural diversity at work and work to promote cultural inclusiveness in our policies, which we believe makes for a more stimulating and innovative workplace for our people and our clients.
Weina Ye,
International Partner, Disputes
The Muslim Network aims to create a supportive community among Muslim lawyers and business services professionals and raise awareness and understanding of the Muslim faith. The network is open to everyone, including those who are not Muslim but who are interested to learn more or support colleagues and clients.
Our Australian Veterans' & UK Military Network actively encourage and facilitate the employment of veterans and reservists and support those whose family members are serving. The network works to highlight the skills, experience and diversity of thought that veterans bring to the firm and the wider professional services sector, including leadership, communication, adaptability, teamwork and problem-solving.
Launched in 2020, our Social Mobility Network exists to improve the experience of those from lower socio-economic backgrounds at the firm, including through promoting visible and diverse role models across the firm and engaging and collaborating with our clients. The network also supports the firm’s outreach and recruitment initiatives such as PRIME.
Learn more about PRIMEGender
Since we first introduced global gender targets in 2014, the proportion of women partners in our firm stands at 33%. That represents an increase of over 116%, bringing us to 175 women partners at May 2024.
We have now reaffirmed our commitment by setting out bold and ambitious new gender targets – by 1 May 2030, our goal is that, globally, women will comprise 40% of partners and partner leadership roles.
And in some parts of our firm, such as Australia, we believe we will reach parity – 50% – by 2030.
We know we need to and can do more. Our progress so far shows we’re on the right track. To support our targets and the progress we’re making on gender diversity, we:
- Analyse the talent pipeline for partnership including the leadership pipeline;
- Improve support for partners returning from parental leave;
- Focus on inclusive leadership behaviours;
- Ensure junior partners have the right support from their team as well as the broader network;
- Increase transparency about the appointment and reappointment of leadership roles;
- and Develop leadership skills for junior partners.
To create greater transparency and consistency about the steps we're taking to achieve gender equity, we have created a global framework that brings together existing and new areas of focus. Our 8 Drivers for Gender Equity will help create focus and accountability in our work to improve gender balance in our partnership and across the business.
I am passionate about making Herbert Smith Freehills a place where everyone can succeed and achieve their goals. Being involved in our Gender Equity Matters Network gives me countless opportunities to learn, participate in thought-provoking conversations and meet people across the firm, all of which support my growth and fulfilment at the firm.
Mia Harrison-Kelf
Partner, Corporate
Ethnicity and cultural background
Improving ethnic diversity within our firm has been a key focus for a number of years. Our 10 Actions for Change is a framework and measure of accountability for every region in our global network to ensure we are a place where everyone can thrive.
We aim to address barriers to recruitment, improve retention and ensure that ours is a firm where there are more conversations about race, ethnicity and cultural diversity within a respectful environment, where everyone feels valued. This is some of the most important work that we do, and we must constantly challenge ourselves to do better in pursuit of our vision to be a leader for inclusion within the legal profession.
London ethnicity targets
In 2020, we introduced the following ethnicity targets within our London office:
- We will rigorously focus on addressing the disproportionate under-representation of individuals from black backgrounds across practice groups and business services.
- By 2025, minority ethnic partners will comprise 10% of the London partnership, up from 5.6%.
- The proportion of minority ethnic trainees retained as NQs will be at least the same as the proportion of minority ethnic trainees in each intake
LGBT+
As a global firm, we’re proud advocates of LGBT+ inclusion. That’s why we’re consistently awarded Stonewall’s Top Global Employer status, as a leading global employer for LGBT+ diversity and inclusion.
We are working hard to ensure that, wherever our people are located, they feel safe, included and celebrated for who they are. Below are just some of the ways we’re advocating for change across the world:
41% of 18 to 25-year-old LGBT+ employees reported that they went back into the closet when they moved from education into full-time work, despite being out in their personal lives or at university. As a member of the firm's London IRIS Committee, I wanted to see what we could do to make the transition of our new LGBT+ employees into the firm easier.
Scott Warin
Senior Associate & IRIS Network Member
Family and caring
We want to ensure we’re building an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive. In addition to our Family Network, and approach to agile working, we offer parents and carers access to tools, resources, advice and tips from colleagues to ensure a supportive experience for those taking and returning from parental leave.
As part of this support, we continue to enhance our market-leading parental leave entitlements including:
- In Asia, our market-leading parental leave policy allows all employees to share primary childcare responsibilities with a partner.
- In Australia, 26 weeks of paid parental leave for all eligible parents, including additional paid leave for fertility treatment and surrogacy.
- In the UK, our parental leave policy offers enhanced co-parent leave of 12 weeks paid leave, adding to Herbert Smith Freehills' current parents and carers policies which entitles new mothers to full pay for the first 24 weeks of parental leave and adoption. We also provide neonatal care leave for all parents of premature and full-term babies receiving neonatal care able to take up to 12 weeks leave, at full pay, whilst their child is in hospital. The firm also offers up to 1 week of paid carers leave for those with caring responsibilities.
Flexibility
Our careers are long, and our priorities shift and adapt over time. In response, we offer our people the flexibility needed to integrate their work with their life. Our Agile 60 guidelines were developed to give people greater flexibility in their decisions about how, when and where they work – decisions which need to take into account the team, the client and, of course, the individual.
There's no one-size-fits all approach – open team communication and a flexible approach are key.
Disability
In our most recent Global Diversity Audit, 18% of people reported having experienced a disability in the last five years. One in ten considered themselves to have a disability, injury or long-term health condition.
We recognise the importance of being a disability inclusive employer, and our Ability Network provides a forum for communication, peer support and education, which is key to achieving this aim.
In 2021, we launched a new global commitment to adjustments ensuring that we recognise personalised needs of our people, including applicants, and offer tailored adjustments, whether physical or non-physical.
Earlier this year, we signed up to the Valuable 500 – a global movement of leading organisations committed to putting disability inclusion on the business agenda. As part of which we committed to:
- Improving access to and understanding of workplace adjustments
- Empowering, educating and providing support that enables all of our people to talk openly about mental health;
- Champion the recruitment and retention of those with autism; and
- Ensuring our workplace is more inclusive and accessible for people with disabilities.
We are also members of PurpleSpace and IncludeAbility - a group of leading organisations convened by the Australian Disability Discrimination Commissioner.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
In 2019, we launched our first global mental health strategy – Thrive, which focuses on culture, prevention and access to support to enable optimal mental health for all of our people.
In 2020, we expanded our global mental health champions programme. Champions play a critical role in raising awareness of mental health, championing wider initiatives across the firm and supporting a culture of inclusion and openness around mental health.
We don't require or ask our Champions to be counsellors – they are everyday people, drawn from all levels and teams, who have an interest in providing a safe and trusting space, supporting colleagues with effective signposting and championing the firm's approach to mental health. They lead by example, proactively looking after mental health and wellbeing and helping teams to spot early unsustainable ways of working.
Check out some of the additional ways we're supporting mental health and wellbeing below.
Awards and recognition
Top Global Employers for LGBT inclusion (2015 – 2020)
Stonewall
Best LGBT+ Initiative & Highly Commended Best Employer Equality & Diversity (2020)
Legal Island
Asian Diversity Initiative of the Year Award
Asia Legal Awards 2020
Legal Firm of Choice (2020)
Lawyers Weekly
Best workplace mental health initiative (2019)
Australian Minds Count Award
Top 75 UK Employer for Social Mobility (19th in 2019)
Social Mobility Employer Index (2018-2019)
Outstanding in Business Top 100 LGBT+ Executives – Justin D’Agostino (2013-2019)
Financial Times
Global LGBT+ Community Engagement Award (2019)
Stonewall
"Gold Standard" (2019)
Hong Kong LGBT+ Workplace Inclusion Index
Silver Tier employer (2018)
Pride in Diversity Australian Workplace Equality Index
Advancing Diversity & Inclusion in Asia' award
Community Business (2018)
Top 50 Employers for Women (2015 - 2017)
The Times
Employer of Choice for Gender Equality
Australia’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency (a statutory government agency) (2016 - 2017)
Asia Pacific Outside Counsel Diversity Award (2017)
Morgan Stanley
Top 100 Graduate Employer, number one Legal Sector Recruiter (2015 - 2017)
GradAustralia & The Australian
Employer of Choice Survey - number one “attraction firm” for potential employees (2015 - 2017)
Lawyers Weekly
