A partner at Mayer Brown’s London office has rejected his inclusion in a Chambers and Partners 2020 ranking, calling on other male lawyers included in the list to follow suit until a greater number of female lawyers are recognized.

Chris Arnold, equity partner in the firm’s banking and finance team, took to LinkedIn to post an open letter to Chambers and Partners’ editors requesting that they remove him from the rankings “until women represent at least 25% of the list”.

“I won’t be celebrating my inclusion in Chambers this year,” Arnold wrote, inviting other male lawyers on the list to join him in calling for greater gender diversity.

“For those outstanding lawyers in other sectors and regions that are ranked in any of the legal directories, please take a moment to consider whether those rankings fully reflect the diversity of talented lawyers in your field. If they do not, take action! If there are not enough senior women and diverse lawyers in your sector, promote your junior talent. Create role models!” Arnold wrote.

Diversity and inclusion has become a burning issue for law firms in recent years. Recently Hays released its 2019/2020 report on D&I in Asia, finding that while businesses were becoming more aware, this had only resulted in “marginal progression” so far. In February this year, Hong Tran of Mayer Brown’s Hong Kong office told ALB: “If you look at D&I, no one is where they want to be, and everyone is playing catch up.”

Arnold’s post gained traction as lawyers across the globe, liked or shared Arnold’s status and multiple outlets approached Arnold for comment. Close to two thousand people have interacted with his post so far, including Chambers & Partners’ D&I head who requested a meeting with Arnold to address his concerns.

Chambers & Partners is global legal rankings platform headquartered in the UK. It also publishes materials for law students and practice guides.

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