We want to be an integral part of the communities we work in, and make a lasting positive impact on them through charitable donations and pro-bono work.
We want to lessen our impact on the planet in any way we can too. That’s why we put it at the centre of everything we do.
We also pride ourselves on the unique perspectives and positive experiences we bring to our clients. This can only happen though supporting and encouraging a diverse team of the best talent.
And every Mills & Reeve client, supplier or partner should feel valued, and feel treated with dignity and respect.
As diverse and inclusive as the communities and clients we serve
One of the ways we’re building a varied workforce is by closely monitoring the levels of diversity at the firm. We also regularly update our diversity and inclusion policies – covering everything from recruitment to parental leave and flexible working.
Our Reach network is working to increase the proportion of minority ethnic people in our workforce. We want to go from 10.8% to at least 12%, which is the Law Society’s recommended level. That means increasing accountability across the firm, as well as changing the way we work, promote and recruit, and giving our people more support.
We encourage anyone we work with to let us know about any extra needs or accessibility issues so we can get help in place as quickly as possible.
Our disability network, Ability, works closely with the Business Disability Forum and the Interlaw Diversity Forum on disabilities to make sure we’re doing everything we can in this area.
Taking pride in our LGBTQ+ people
We’re a Stonewall Diversity Champion and a member of the Interlaw Diversity Forum. We also have our own LGBTQ+ network, Spectrum, which supports and encourages anyone at Mills & Reeve who identifies as a member of a minority sexual orientation or gender identity.
Closing the gender pay gap
We're working hard to narrow our gender pay gap. The government requires us to publish our pay gap report online, which we’re happy to do – but we want to go beyond just what’s required. So we also include our partner pay gap, our ethnicity pay gap and disability pay gap.
Having more women in senior roles is an essential part of closing the gender pay gap. And we’re one of only a handful of top UK law firms with a female managing partner.
We also run workshops, panel sessions, one-on-one catch-ups, and coaching and mentoring to raise the profile of female partners, and increase transparency around promotion.
Getting ready for the future
We’ve set ourselves some bold challenges for the next few years. Through our 2025 diversity, inclusion and wellbeing strategy we want to:
- Increase diversity at all levels of our firm, especially in under-represented areas
- Make sure everybody who works here has the same access to opportunities for development and leadership, and feels that their perspectives are heard and valued
- Help you – our clients – improve diversity, inclusion and wellbeing in your own organisations
How do we know we’re getting it right? We’ve been in Best Companies’ 100 best companies to work for in the UK for 20 years running. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Making a positive impact in the communities we work in
We want to become an integral part of our local neighbourhoods. So we’ve set up a charitable trust that contributes to local communities and national charities. And we encourage all our staff to volunteer through our Give-a-Day initiative.
We have charity weeks and an annual charity challenge for our people – involving everything from swimming and running to origami cranes.
With the support of clients, colleagues, family, and friends, in 2022 the charity challengers raised more than £6000. This was matched by the Mills & Reeve Charitable Trust, meaning we have been able to donate nearly £20,000 to our chosen charities – half to Young Minds and half to the DEC Ukraine Appeal. Read more about the day in our Alumni Network Magazine.
Our offices also do their bit for the local community by giving back to a chosen regional charity:
Putting the planet at the heart of the way we do business
We’ve committed to get to net zero by 2050, with at least a 35% reduction in the carbon we produce by 2031. One of the ways we’ll do this is by encouraging sustainability in everything we do. So where there’s an option, we’ll always try to make an environmentally responsible choice.
Over the past few years we’ve cut our emissions by nearly half, removing single-use plastics from our catering, using eco-friendly cleaning products, and stopping sending waste to landfill.
We’re bringing in sustainability champions in every office to help us stay on track, and making sustainability a standing agenda item at every board (or other decision-making) meeting.
We’re also working with our clients to help us achieve sustainability targets together, for example by using Mills & Reeve software and apps to cut down on the amount of paper we both use.
And finally, we’re a member of the Legal Sustainability Alliance, a not-for-profit sustainability network helping the legal sector move to net-zero working, and Business in the Community, a membership organisation dedicated to responsible business.
See our full sustainability report for more information.
Feeling inspired?
If you think we sound like the type of law firm you’d like working for you, please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.