Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Key components of our culture are shaped by our Hallmarks, which guide how our people behave and work every day. 

We embrace diversity in all its forms, and recognise that a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and experiences fuel innovation, drive creativity and enhance our ability to serve our clients. 

We offer a workplace environment in which both individuals and groups feel welcome, respected and valued. This supports and empowers our people to bring their whole selves to work and to achieve their greatest potential.

Central to our inclusive culture is the leadership commitment championed by our Board, partners and diversity interest network groups. These include the Gender Equality Network, Accessibility & Inclusion, Cultural Inclusion, Pride and Ally Network, Parents and Carers and First Nations peoples. 

We are committed to equitable opportunities for all our people. Seventy per cent of our employees are women.

We create ways to connect, share and engage widely – with industry peers, our people and our clients – to cultivate a diverse and inclusive network with mutual support and collective success.

Our focus on gender equity is about actively addressing barriers to gender equality. We are committed to supporting the progression of women into partnership and senior management roles, ensuring representation at board level, and eliminating unconscious bias in all recruitment. 

We advocate for gender equality within the legal profession and for women in the law. Some of the ways we contribute include:

• maintaining the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) Employer of Choice for Gender Equality Citation.
• endorsing the Law Council of Australia’s Gender Equitable Briefing Policy.
• being a signatory of both the Law Society of NSW’s and the Law Institute of Victoria’s Charter for the Advancement of Women in the Legal Profession.
• supporting the progression of women into partnership and senior management roles, ensuring representation at board level.
• tracking our Gender Pay Gap (GPG) and acting to continually improve the GPG. 
• supporting memberships across Australian Women Lawyers.

Members of the LGBTQIA+ community and allies are supported at all levels within our firm. We foster a supportive and inclusive culture where our people can bring their whole self to work, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

We have been the primary legal advisor to the Victorian Pride Centre and the pro bono legal advisors to QTopia Sydney, both offering welcoming and inclusive spaces devoted to the education and celebration of the unique histories and lived experiences of the LGBTQIA+ community.

We have an employee-led Hall & Wilcox Pride Network and we are members of Pride in Diversity. 

We are silver sponsors of The Pinnacle Foundation, Australia’s largest LGBTQIA+ education charity. 

We participate in Midsumma Pride March, Mardi Gras and other celebrations to show support to the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies.

We support and encourage the employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We invest in dedicated First Nations recruitment and onboarding.

We have a First Nations Pathway Program, a paid program that provides Australian First Nations university law students with an immersive experience into life at our firm. 

We participate in ABCN’s First Nations GOALS program, which connects our people with First Nations high school students in mentoring sessions.

We have a relationship with Baabayn Aboriginal Corporation, which was founded by five Aboriginal elders from Western Sydney. We attend Baabayn every few months to provide a drop-in clinic for anyone who might have legal problems they need assistance with. 

Some other ways we support workplace career pathways and inclusion is by participating in:

• Yalari, a charity that supports young indigenous kids from regional and remote areas around Australia to be offered secondary education scholarships at leading boarding schools
• being members of Supply Nation, an organisation working to connect verified Indigenous businesses to create a more inclusive economy.

We’re committed to offering an accessible workplace and implementing work practices that allow for successful and sustainable employment for people with disability. 

Our workplace and working culture is inclusive and accessible for our people with disability. We provide accessible legal and consulting services to our clients with disability. We build strong relationships with key community stakeholders to raise awareness and support people with a disability. We focus on:

• our membership with the Australian Disability Network (ADN).
• partnering with JobSupport, a specialist not-for-profit Disability Employment Service that works exclusively with people with intellectual disability to find employment.
• supporting disability accessibility programs, initiatives and organisations, including Australian Centre for Disability Law, Leadership Plus, Wheeleasy, Sussex Street Community Law Services and the Friendship Bakery.
• acknowledging and celebrating key days of significance.  

Our Cultural Inclusion employee-led network connects culturally and linguistically diverse colleagues and equips everyone with the tools, awareness, and information on how to meaningfully engage and connect. 

This includes Gold sponsorship of the Asian Australian Lawyers Association.

Parents and carers make a rich contribution to our firm, and we offer a range of support measures including leave, flexible work arrangements and coaching to help them balance their work and caring roles.

We are proud to offer a parental leave policy of up to 26 weeks, which gives all employees the time and flexibility they need to create strong family connections. 

We have firmwide policies to support our diversity and inclusion activities, which provide an inclusive culture and make our workplaces as supportive as possible. 

We partner with Grace Papers, an enterprise solution that empowers parents/carers, people leaders, and workplace culture.

We are also a recognised Carer-Inclusive Workplace, an initiative led by the Federal Government, which aims to create more inclusive and supportive workplaces for individuals who provide unpaid care in the community.