Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Valuing the individual

Forsters recognises and appreciates that no two people are the same, and encouraging individuality is very much part of the firm's culture. Forsters is a very welcoming firm, and we are committed to providing an environment which allows everyone to develop and grow regardless of age, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, maternity or pregnancy, race, religion or belief, and to ensuring that everyone is treated with dignity and respect.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee actively promotes diversity and inclusion across the firm, and we have seven employee networks covering Disability, Faith, Gender Equality, LGBTQ+, Race, Social Mobility, and Working Parents and Carers. These networks offer support, further raise awareness and are intended to shape the firm’s approach to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Forsters is working hard to break down barriers to entering the legal profession, which have traditionally affected specific groups. This year we have run programmes with Pathways to Law, Social Mobility Business Partnership and the Social Mobility Foundation. We use the Rare Contextualised Recruitment Tool as part of our graduate recruitment process and we have partnered with Bright Network to diversify our graduate intake.

We have an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) strategy, which sets out the firm’s diversity and inclusion commitments over the next two years. This includes training for all partners and staff, which we have undertaken with Inclusive Group, listening to staff through a firmwide ED&I survey, internal and external support programmes, and making more public diversity and inclusion commitments.

We are a founder member of the LeGalBesT network, a signatory to The Halo Code, and a member of the NOTICED inter-firm diversity network and Business Disability Forum.

Forsters' ED&I Strategy

We aim to foster an environment which focuses on the talent and potential of each one of our people. Forsters is somewhere where every person is valued and individuals from all backgrounds can flourish and achieve their ambitions in a happy, collaborative and supportive environment.

Please click here to view our most recent diversity statistics.


Equality, Diversity & Inclusion - Podcast

Former Senior Partner Smita Edwards, Graduate Recruitment Partner Emily Holdstock and Graduate Recruitment officer Emma Cooper join Miri Stickland to discuss why diversity and inclusion is so important to Forsters, the preconceptions that applicants may have about the firm and why they should look past them, our ED&I strategy and initiatives the Graduate Recruitment team are taking to promote diversity.


Halo Workplace Logo - Forsters is a member firm
Noticed Logo - Forsters is a member firm
Rare Logo - Forsters is a member firm
Bright Network Logo - Forsters is a member firm
LegalBesT Logo - Forsters is a member firm
Business Disability Forum - Forsters is a member

The Halo Code

Forsters champions the right of staff to embrace all Afro-hairstyles. We acknowledge that Afro-textured hair is an important part of our Black employees’ racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious identities, and requires specific styling for hair health and maintenance.

We celebrate Afro-textured hair worn in all styles including, but not limited to, afros, locs, twists, braids, cornrows, fades, hair straightened through the application of heat or chemicals, weaves, wigs, headscarves, and wraps.

At Forsters, we recognise and celebrate our colleagues’ identities. We are a community built on an ethos of equality and respect where hair texture and style have no bearing on an employee's ability to succeed.

Learn more about the Halo Collective.

Hao hair code logo - Forsters is a member firm

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