"Denton Wilde Sapte is committed to equality and diversity in all our employment practices, across all of our international offices.

We endeavour to provide a flexible workplace environment, and engender a sense of respect for the individual, understanding of differences and the benefit this richness of diversity brings to the firm. We do this through our recruitment processes, induction and training and by dedicating two Partners to be responsible for Diversity within the firm. We have created a Working Group headed by these two partners, which aims to ensure that our employees are well represented in decisions made on Diversity issues and encourages new initiatives to raise awareness of differing backgrounds.''

Howard Morris
Chief Executive

Denton Wilde Sapte believes that everybody should be treated on his or her merits regardless of sex, colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, civil partnership status, pregnancy, age, disability, religion or belief.

The aim of this policy is to ensure every effort is made to conduct the firm's activities so that job applicants and employees have an equal opportunity of being recruited and promoted.

A Diversity Committee was established in 2007 to advise the firm's management on diversity issues and to increase awareness of diversity across the firm. The Committee carried out an internal survey in 2008 to assess which subjects are most important to staff. The survey's findings have resulted in further consideration of flexible working arrangements.

We are involved in a number of diversity events and initiatives:

Pure Potential

Pure Potential is an organisation that helps thousands of bright students from the state sector - from year 12s to graduates - with their journey through UCAS forms, university life, student finance and career choices through their events and website.

We take part in these events and are involved in running workshops with the students at selected universities across the country.

Social Mobility Foundation

The Social Mobility Foundation is a registered charity, which works to secure placements for bright A level students from low-income families, immediately before they apply for entry to university. Those awarded a placement spend a week working in several departments across the firm, which provides them with information about a career in law as well as certain skills required by many leading employers.

Birkbeck, University of London

Birkbeck is a world-class research and teaching institution, a vibrant centre of academic excellence and London’s only specialist provider of evening higher education. Their new project, Birkbeck East, based at Stratford, is aimed at increasing access to those who would not otherwise engage in higher education.

In August 2008 we received regulatory clearance to use £50,000 of dormant client funds to create a bursary for Birkbeck students. We were able to take advantage of the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s new matched funding scheme to boost the bursary by a third and to offer a total grant of £75,000.

We support the Birkbeck hardship fund and the Denton Wilde Sapte Charitable Trust has committed to funding the education of a Birkbeck student over four years from September 2007.

Mosaic

One of Mosaic's key functions is to encourage links between successful Muslim professionals and disadvantaged young Muslims, in order to raise aspirations and increase access to opportunities for education and employment. The project involves mentoring students at John Kelly Boys School in Neasden. Seven DWS volunteers attend the school once a month to mentor groups of 5 or 10 students and in July 2009 we hosted an event for number of them.