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European law firm Fieldfisher has been certified with the UK National Equality Standard (NES), the accreditation for equality, diversity and inclusion.
The NES was developed by EY alongside leading businesses and is based on a robust assessment of an organisation against defined criteria across seven standards, comprised of 49 competencies. It was developed in partnership with the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Home Office and the Confederation of British Industry.
Fieldfisher is just the third law firm to receive the NES.
Since December 2015 EY has undertaken a comprehensive review of Fieldfisher through documentary analysis, staff interviews and site visits, and assessed the firm against its seven standards.
Michael Chissick, managing partner of Fieldfisher, said: "We are fully aware that the diversity of our people makes us a better firm – both to work for and as a partner to our clients. For that reason, making Fieldfisher a more diverse and inclusive firm is a top priority for me.
"We are overjoyed to have achieved National Equality Standard certification – a lot of people put a huge amount of work into this and I couldn't be more grateful to them. We will carry the NES accreditation with pride."
Graham de Guise, HR director and leader of the project team, added: "Receiving this certification is fantastic and follows a lot of hard work. However we won't be resting on our laurels - we will continue to seek new ways to improve and become as inclusive a firm as we possibly can be."
Commenting on Fieldfisher’s certification, Arun Batra, NES CEO, said: “The NES is the accepted standard for UK business and makes a significant and lasting impact on the way equality, diversity and inclusion is integrated into everyday business. Fieldfisher’s policies and procedures, which have been thoroughly reviewed by the assessment team, show the firm’s ongoing commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive environment for its people. The NES is not an easy standard to achieve – the firm should be thoroughly pleased to have met the necessary standards.”