Clyde & Co has made good on its promise to increase gender diversity within its partnership after 50 per cent of those made up in this year’s 18-strong round were women.
The latest promotions round is the largest ever to be carried out by the firm and brings the firm’s total partnership to 375.
The largest intake was made across Clydes’ insurance sector group, which gained 10 new partners. Dispute resolution received four new partners while the firm’s corporate and energy sectors received two and one respectively. A number of the partners work over multiple sector groups.
Clydes’ promotions were also spread across a number of its international offices, although eight of the new partners are based in the UK. The next biggest regions in terms of partner promotions were Asia Pacific and the Middle East which each gained three partners.
All of those promoted will join the firm’s equity partnership on 1 May 2016.
In December the firm revealed it was overhauling its diversity and inclusion programme in an attempt to improve gender and social representation in its partnership. At the end of the 2014/15 financial year female partners accounted for 19.1 per cent of the firm’s partnership.
Last year Clydes promoted 13 lawyers to its equity partnership while making up 11 equity partners to senior equity partner. Of the 13 lawyers promoted five were women, the equivalent of 38 per cent of the round.
Over the last year the firm also made 34 lateral hires across its five core sectors. Insurance picked up 41 per cent (14) of the new hires, while 15 per cent were infrastructure lawyers, 9 per cent transport specialists, 6 per cent energy partners and one partner, or 3 per cent of the hires, works in trade and commodities.
Yesterday, Linklaters announced it was making up 24 lawyers to partner. Of the 24 made up only five of its lawyers were women, or 20.8 per cent. The news means that the firm is expected to fall short of the target it set in 2014 to reach a 30 per cent female diversity rate by 2018.
The promotions round in full:
Europe
- David Méheut, Paris (insurance)
Asia Pacific
- Sapna Jhangiani, Singapore (disputes)
- Avryl Lattin, Sydney (corporate)
- Janette McLennan, Sydney (insurance)
Middle East
- Naji Hawayek, Dubai (corporate)
- Heather Nevin, Abu Dhabi (infrastructure)
- Alfred Thornton, Abu Dhabi (disputes, insurance)
US
- Kathryn Ashton, San Francisco (insurance)
UK
- Emma Ager, London (insurance)
- Toni Ashby, Edinburgh (insurance)
- Nicholas Bathurst, Guildford (insurance)
- Bruce Goodbrand, Edinburgh (insurance)
- Bryn Hodges, London (insurance)
- Ricardo Lewandowski, London (disputes)
- Paul Lowrie, London (energy, insurance)
- Helen Rowlands, London (disputes)