In September 2019, Media Defence was announced as the charity partner of the Chambers and Partners Diversity and Inclusion Awards. The Chambers Diversity and Inclusion Awards aim to recognize and celebrate law firms’ pro-bono achievements and contributions to diversity within the legal profession. The partnership provides opportunities for fundraising and expansion of our pro bono network. We recently got the chance to have a quick catch–up with Tim Noble, CEO, and Dee Sekar, D&I Director and Chair of the Chambers D&I Global Advisory Board.
What is Chambers Diversity & Inclusion all about?
Chambers Diversity & Inclusion is an initiative at Chambers and Partners which furthers the advancement of inclusion and pro bono in the legal profession. It was launched in 2012 and since then, we have worked across jurisdictions such as Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the USA mainly through engagement with the legal profession via training, thought leadership, content and events.
What do you want to achieve in the next 12 months?
Currently, we are focusing on D&I in our research and rankings by ensuring our methodology is as inclusive as possible and that our research teams are empowered to speak to lawyers about the importance of D&I, pro bono and corporate social responsibility. This involves internal training, regular company-wide discussions and also communicating the changes in our research process to the external legal market. We are also focusing on our internal D&I programme called INSPIRE which is an employee engagement network that offers regular seminars, focus groups and an external speakers programme for all of our colleagues.
What motivated Chambers Diversity & Inclusion to partner with Media Defence? Why is freedom of expression important to you?
In the work that we do, we believe it is hugely important to protect freedom of speech and expression. We heard about the work of Media Defence and this aligned with our ethos from a legal perspective and wider societal perspective. We are also focusing on researching pro bono work and by partnering with Media Defence, we hope this can open up potential pro bono partnership opportunities too.
What do you think are some of the most important legal issues facing media freedom around the world?
Unfortunately, this issue remains vast and persistent. Recent examples that come to mind are the early reporting barriers a number of journalists faced when COVID-19 initially broke out as a number were silenced in reporting this important information on both a national and international level. Media freedom is constantly under threat particularly in these challenging times and therefore the work of Media Defence remains of paramount importance. We are proud to be working with and supporting Media Defence.
Thanks so much for speaking to us!
To find out more about Chambers Diversity & Inclusion, follow them on Twitter @ChamDiversity and check out their website: diversity.chambers.com
