Media Release: Clayton Utz named winner of Law Society of NSW's inaugural award for efforts to advance women in the profession

Sydney, 29 November 2018: Clayton Utz was named the winner of the inaugural Charter for the Advancement of Women in the Legal Profession Award at The Law Society of New South Wales' First 100 Years of Women in Law dinner in Sydney on Monday night.

The Award recognises Clayton Utz's initiatives to achieve sustainable and positive change in the retention rates and career progression of its women lawyers.

Among these initiatives are:

• bringing forward by three years the Firm's target of 35% women in the partnership (to 2022 from 2025);
• supporting women lawyers both during and on return from parental leave to maintain and grow their practices;
• actively encouraging and supporting flexible work practices;
• formal and informal mentoring programs;
• Excellence Programs for lawyers at all levels to broaden their knowledge in the areas of business, leadership and relationship skills;
• Clayton Utz's Momentum program (which incorporates the Firm's gender, cultural and disability diversity as well as LGTBI initiatives and activities).

Complementing these initiatives are policies on parental leave (since 1 July 2016 Clayton Utz has paid superannuation on both paid and unpaid parental leave to help address the gender gap in superannuation balances at retirement) and domestic violence leave (which provides for access to counselling, flexible work options and reasonable paid and unpaid leave).

Clayton Utz Chief Executive Partner Rob Cutler, who accepted the Award at the First 100 Years of Women in Law dinner, said it was important that the legal profession as a whole continued to embrace initiatives that would create change over the longer term.

"We have come a long way on gender equity and broader diversity and inclusion since we commissioned the National Report on Attrition and Re-engagement in 2013. While we still have a long way to go to address historical imbalances, I know we can get there if we continue to collaborate and we personally commit to making ours a profession which celebrates diversity and actively fosters inclusion," said Rob. 

Clayton Utz has been a signatory to the Charter for the Advancement of Women in the Legal Profession since 2016.