We are changing our approach to how we encourage a diverse and inclusive legal profession.
Over several years, we have worked with regulators, legal professionals, researchers and others to understand the barriers to diversity within the profession and what regulation can do to help. This led to our consultation on a proposed statutory statement of policy, which we consulted on between November 2025 and March 2026.
Having carefully considered the responses to the consultation, we have decided not to proceed with the statutory statement at this time.
Building on our work together
A diverse and inclusive profession matters to the people who work in legal services and to those who use them. People from all backgrounds should have the opportunity to enter the profession, progress and thrive.
Our work has examined people’s experiences of entering and progressing in the profession, brought together diversity data through our dashboard, and supported better evaluation of diversity initiatives. We have also agreed principles with regulators and disciplinary tribunals for tackling counter-inclusive misconduct. We will continue putting these principles into practice.
Many people have helped with this work. Some have shared difficult personal experiences; others have brought research, practical ideas and constructive challenge. We thank everyone who has contributed. Their involvement has helped us understand the problems more clearly and produced learning that others can continue to use.
What we heard through the consultation
We have carefully considered the consultation responses and thank everyone who shared their views. There was strong support for encouraging a diverse legal profession, but there were different views about the extent to which regulation can best support that ambition.
Some respondents identified practical challenges about how a single policy statement would work across regulators with different statutory frameworks, operating models and existing programmes. Many respondents suggested that the resource impact of the proposals could be significant, with small firms and those with limited HR infrastructure likely to be particularly affected.
Respondents also described work taking place within their professions and the progress being made. There is experience and meaningful progress to build on, while significant barriers remain.
Having reflected on this feedback, we have decided not to pursue a statutory statement of policy at this time. We also accept that to achieve meaningful change, we need to enable regulators to develop a range of approaches which are better suited to different parts of the profession.
We will continue holding regulators to account
Encouraging an independent, strong, diverse and effective legal profession remains a statutory regulatory objective that we share with regulators.
We will continue to hold regulators accountable for how effectively they meet their responsibilities in this area. Therefore, our 2017 statutory guidance on encouraging a diverse workforce will remain in place.
It sets out the outcomes we expect regulators to meet so that their work on diversity is evidence-based and effective, while giving them flexibility to develop approaches suited to their professions. We expect them to identify barriers and work with employers, professional bodies and others to address them.
We will assess progress against the guidance through our regulatory performance framework, which sets the standards against which we assess regulators. As part of our risk-based oversight, we will examine the action regulators take and how they evaluate its effectiveness. This means looking beyond whether a policy or initiative is in place to whether the regulator can demonstrate that its approach is making a difference.
We will continue collaborating with others
We are a member of the Judicial and Legal Diversity Board, which was launched in May 2026. Jointly chaired by the Lord Chancellor and the Lady Chief Justice, it brings together government, the judiciary, the Judicial Appointments Commission and organisations representing the legal professions to address barriers to judicial careers.
Its work recognises that a more diverse judiciary depends on people from a wider range of backgrounds being able to enter and progress through the legal professions. We will contribute evidence and learning from our work to support that shared effort.
Making our work available to others
We have brought together our published EDI resources on our website, including existing research, diversity data and material to help organisations evaluate their initiatives. We have also published the consultation responses where respondents have agreed, so others can draw on the experiences and ideas they contain.
We encourage regulators, professional bodies, employers and others to use these resources, share them with colleagues and consider how the findings could inform their work.
There is much still to do, and we will continue to play our part through our oversight of regulators and our work with others across the sector.
Monisha Shah, Chair of the LSB:
“Encouraging an independent, strong, diverse and effective legal profession remains a statutory regulatory objective that we share with regulators.
“We are concentrating our resources on fewer priorities, focusing on the most pressing risks to consumers and how regulation can protect them, enable technology and innovation, and support growth. This means making choices about where we lead, and where we enable others to do so.
“We have carefully considered the consultation feedback and made the decision not to pursue a Statutory Statement of Policy at this time. However the Regulatory Objectives in the Legal Services Act continue to inform and shape our work, and we will keep our priorities under review as the landscape, the evidence and our assessment of the risk to the public and consumers continues to change and evolve.”