Going Public : Diversity Disclosures by Large UK Law Firms

This paper explores a rule introduced by the parent regulator of legal services in England & Wales, the Legal Services Board, which requires the publication of diversity data from its daughter regulators and their respective regulated communities. This paper comments on the introduction of the rule, explores which law firms were already publishing diversity data prior to the introduction of the rule (via data gathered in 2010) and reviews some of the academic work on CSR disclosures, transparency and accountability. Finally, the paper looks on data gathered in 2014 to assess the effectiveness of the early years since the rule's adoption, and offers up a series of suggestions for reform to the rule