Leading Midlands law firm Flint Bishop has reaffirmed its commitment to diversity within the practice by signing up to a new Diversity and Inclusion Charter launched by the Law Society.

The firm, which has offices in Derby and Ashbourne, is one of the first in the East Midlands to make a public commitment to the Charter, which has been initiated by the Law Society and the Society for Asian Lawyers (SAL), in partnership with telecoms giant BT.

The new Charter aims to promote equality by encouraging FTSE 250 companies only to take legal services from compliant firms that are open about their diversity policy.

These criteria include a commitment to publish the diversity profile of the firms' UK employees annually, and to adopt best practice in recruitment, retention and career progression.

Flint Bishop is one of 45 principally national law firms, in-house lawyers and purchasers of legal services to sign-up to the Charter and will now be required to work to develop the aims of the Charter with other signatories, as well as publishing a joint annual report on their progress throughout the year.

Flint Bishop has long been committed to diversity and inclusion and topped both the 2007 and 2008 Diversity Table, conducted by the Black Solicitors' Network and Commission for Racial Equality.

Speaking about becoming their decision to sign up to the Charter, Ken Dixon, managing partner at Flint Bishop, said:  

"Flint Bishop has always been openly committed to diversity and inclusion and we are pleased to become part of what we regard as an incredibly important step forward in the industry.

"Diversity and inclusion issues must remain a priority, even in these difficult economic times and we look forward to working with clients and other law firms to ensure that we continue to break down boundaries and keep the issues at the top of our agenda.'

Flint Bishop LLP is one of the largest law firms in the East Midlands, with offices in Derby and Ashbourne. It was named the UK's fastest growing law firm by the Lawyer magazine and won the PM Forum's Mould Breaking Firm of the Year Award. 

It is the first law firm in the East Midlands to have a member of its management team listed in the Lawyer's Hot 100 list and was short-listed for the Lawyer's Regional Law Firm of the Year award.