“In 2025, we strengthened representation across gender, ethnicity, social mobility, disability and LGBTQ+ communities, refreshed policies and active employee networks and invested in leadership capability, family friendly support, accessible workplaces and meaningful development pathways. This reflects our commitment to creating and maintaining a high-performance culture that celebrates and rewards high performers, enabling them to develop and thrive in diverse, inclusive and collaborative teams for the benefit of our clients, our people, our communities and the planet.”
Owen Butler, Chief People Officer
Highlights…
Female representation
More than 40% of partners are female – above our 2025 target of 33%.
Leader of the Year
Black Solicitor’s Network Leader of the Year 2025 awarded to Dawn Brathwaite, former D&I Strategic Lead.
Supporting aspiring lawyers
Our Empower programme has transformed how we support future lawyers, regardless of their route to law.
Apprenticeships
We welcomed 6 apprentices to the firm, joining a wider cohort of trainees and graduate apprentices.
Internship programme
4 interns hosted from 10,000 Black Interns programme, making a total 14 since we began participating in the programme.
Inclusion
92% of staff at the firm believe we’re doing a good job of building a diverse and inclusive culture.
Inclusive leadership
91% of Partners and Business Services leaders have attended inclusive leadership workshops.
Caring about wellbeing
88% of staff that feel the firm genuinely cares about their wellbeing.
Employee Support Fund
Non-repayable grants of up to £1,000 for financial emergencies, including a year of funded financial coaching with Octopus Money.
Our progress
We're proud of our track record as a leader in people experience, underpinned by a market‑leading culture and recognised through our Investors in People Platinum accreditation, inclusion in The Times Top 50 Employers, and RollOnFriday’s Best Law Firms to Work At.
Further information
Looking ahead
This year, we set new representation, inclusion and wellbeing targets. These were developed by comparing ourselves to similar law firms based on data from Pirical, the business intelligence platform. We then matched this information with our growth targets over the next five years to build an understanding of where we can make impact through hires and the internal talent pipeline.
Representation targets
- Increase representation of staff and partners from a racially minoritised background to at least 15% firmwide, 15% of all law practitioners and 7% of partners, including regional targets of:
- 15% of staff and partners in Manchester
- 15% of law practitioners in London
- Increase representation of staff and partners from lower socioeconomic communities to 33%
- Increase the proportion of women in the partnership to 42%
- Increase representation of staff and partners from the LGBTQIA+ community to 10%
- Increase representation of staff and partners with a disability or long-term condition to 13%
Inclusion and wellbeing targets
- Achieve 90%+ psychological safety for people from marginalised groups to raise concerns about non-inclusive or discriminatory behaviours with line managers
- Achieve 85%+ agreeing that the firm is building a diverse and inclusive culture
- 90% + feel like the firm cares about their wellbeing
“Our 2030 approach sets a bold, future focused direction for the firm. By clearly signalling Mills & Reeve’s commitment to meaningful, sustained progress, we’re strengthening our culture and creating value for everyone connected to our firm. When inclusion sits at the heart of how we work, every one of us is empowered to contribute to a collaborative, high-performance culture where people can develop and thrive.”
Ainslie Wilson-Shearer, Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Through our focus on diversity, inclusion and wellbeing we are proud to contribute to the following SDGs:
