8 New Square Intellectual Property is committed to the active promotion of equal opportunities and to ensuring, at all relevant times, an absence of direct or indirect discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, ethnic or national origin, nationality, citizenship, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, religion or political persuasion.
In 2023, after consultation with members of chambers and staff, Chambers published its first anti-racist statement as part of its response to the Bar Standards Board’s anti-racist guidance. The statement can be found here.
Chambers and members of chambers engage in a variety of initiatives that promote the advancement of a diverse Bar. These include membership of the Bar Council and ChBA Wellbeing Committee, IP inclusive, Bridging the Bar and sponsorship of academic scholarships that promote social mobility to name but a few.
In 2022, Chambers hosted an intern on a shared basis with other contributing Chambers and Government Departments as part of the Bar’s collective participation in the #10,000BlackInterns Programme and will be participating again in 2023. The 10,000 Black Interns Programme aims to transform the horizons and prospects of young Black people in the UK by offering paid work experience across a wide range of industries, as well as world-class training and development. More information and how to apply can be found here.
We are proud to be a sponsor and partner of Bridging the Bar, a charity committed to the promotion of diversity and equal opportunities at the Bar. Bridging the Bar is committed to increasing the equality of access to opportunities in the legal profession across all underrepresented groups.
Its three main objectives are:
- equal access to opportunity – through its Mini-Pupillage scheme;
- mentorship – aiming to make the Bar a more accessible and better understood profession by connecting a diverse pool of students with dedicated mentors; and
- transparency – using its directories to highlight the chambers and organisations that are leading the way towards equal access to opportunity.
To find out more about Bridging the Bar and its Mini-Pupillage scheme, please click here.
Chambers Diversity Data Officer is Harri Gibson. In accordance with the Bar Standards Board requirements, we conduct surveys in order to collect and publish equality and diversity data in respect of our workforce (barristers and non-barristers). Such surveys assist chambers in monitoring the success of their equality and diversity policies. Chambers are also required to publish summaries of the data collected, to help provide transparency in recruitment and encourage diversity in the profession. Our most recent survey was conducted in October 2022 and can be found here.