As one of the largest law firms in the world, with roots going back to 1949, Baker McKenzie has many notable “firsts” to its name. It was the first major international law firm to appoint a woman, Christine Lagarde, as Chair of its Global Executive Committee in 1999. And in 2019, Baker McKenzie became the first global law firm to adopt Gender-Aspirational Targets (GATs), to achieve 40/40/20 gender diversity representation (40% women, 40% men, and 20% flexible—women, men, or nonbinary) among partners, senior business professionals, committee leadership, and senior level candidate pools by July 2025. This also makes Baker McKenzie the first global law firm to recognize nonbinary employees in gender diversity targets.

These efforts were set in motion by late Global Chair and highly regarded champion of diversity, Paul Rawlinson, and have been steadfastly pursued by Baker McKenzie’s current Global Chair, Milton Cheng, as well as senior leaders throughout the firm. Says Cheng:

Closing the gender gap in our senior leadership is all of our responsibility. I am committed to ensuring that all of our people are given fair opportunity to advance and thrive at Baker McKenzie. Gender equality benefits us all.

Critically, Baker McKenzie’s leaders also understood that a change of this magnitude—impacting some 4,800 attorneys (and 13,250 employees altogether) in 74 offices across 45 locations worldwide—would require more than a quick fix. They needed to spur systemic change on a global scale, which they kickstarted by setting bold but achievable goals (GATs) on a deadline. But to turn those goals into sustainable action, they needed to embed GATs into the heart of the organization and hold themselves accountable by measuring their progress along the way.

As a first step on this journey, Baker McKenzie convened a GAT project team which met with groups across the firm to determine the most efficient path forward. The team concluded that building GAT and diversity imperatives into two key areas—partner promotions and recruitment—would have the greatest impact at the senior-most levels in the shortest amount of time. Later, GAT considerations would be woven into other processes, like succession planning and mentorship and sponsorship programs.

The new requirements were firm but simple: all external candidate pools for recruitment of partners or senior business professionals should meet the 40/40/20 targets. And beginning in July 2020, at least one out of every four partner promotions in offices that did not have at least 25% women partners should be a woman. Other regions were tasked with inclusion goals that went beyond the GATs. In the US, for example, leadership is working to increase representation at the senior levels among marginalized racial and ethnic groups—to 15% of principals, 20% of national partners, and 15% of leadership—by 2025.

Baker McKenzie’s culture was already conducive to adapting in the name of inclusivity—and embedding GAT considerations into existing processes also helped maximize buy-in—but none of this made instituting such large-scale change efforts seamless. However, because the teams most instrumental in driving change, such as recruiting, felt empowered to have the difficult conversations necessary—whether with external recruiters or colleagues—this new method of operating soon became the norm. By working together across teams, with steady support and communication from the executive committee, many of the hesitations that often accompany process changes have largely been overcome.

The progress made toward the GATs since 2019 has been substantial. Perhaps most notably, the firm has met its goal of women comprising 40% of all standing global committees, including the executive committee, as of October 2022. In addition, 30 of Baker McKenzie’s offices have increased their percentage of women principals, with a 6% increase globally, to 25%. There has been a 2% global increase in women local partners (LPs) up to 35%, which is close to meeting the GAT goal of 40%.

But GATs are not just being met through system-wide approaches. The firm has a number of smaller-scale programs that have successfully contributed to gender parity for years and continue to do so today. One of these is Leaders Investing For Tomorrow (LIFT), a personalized, highly focused, 12-month global sponsorship and leadership development program designed to support the progression of high-potential women into senior leadership roles. Since its inception in 2017, LIFT has greatly benefited the careers of almost 150 alumnae, of which 80+% have moved into leadership roles.

Anahita Thoms, Global Sustainability Lead Partner and Head of International Trade, Germany, is one of those LIFT alumnae. Thoms, who was a participant in the 2018 LIFT cohort, says that while the sponsorship and professional development aspects of LIFT were extremely valuable to her career, it was the connections she made with fellow participants that made a lasting impact:

What I really liked was meeting these women from all over the world, who were at a similar level in their careers, and were having some of the same experiences as I was, but whom I likely wouldn’t have met were it not for LIFT. Because we were brought together from different regions, we were able to build a network and develop trust. So, we could openly discuss opportunities and challenges, business and personal. It’s so valuable to have an internal support network of people who can relate to your experience.

This sentiment reflects the need for the kind of wholehearted representation and inclusion for which Baker McKenzie is striving. The firm wants employees to see themselves reflected in their colleagues and leaders, and feel free to be themselves among their peers. It’s something, Thoms says, that the next generation is championing:

Everyone at the firm is well aware of the 40/40/20 GATs. Leaders, of course, but I would actually say that our junior associates are perhaps most aware of them, because they care so much about the topic. In every career recruitment call I participate in, there are always questions like, ‘How do you support women?’ ‘What are you doing to support a diverse workforce?’ These things are a real priority for them.

But it’s not just young lawyers and new hires who are actively lobbying for more diversity. Clients are also seeking increased diversity from their outside counsel. Many regularly request firms’ diversity statistics and often require diverse teams for projects. To Thoms, and Baker McKenzie as a whole, this is just good business. Says Thoms:

I really believe that diversity of thought leads to higher profitability. Having people from different socio-economic backgrounds, different regions, or of different ethnicities… The best people with all of these different experiences means that as a team or as an organization, you really do think differently, and that’s an advantage.

For Thoms, who recently assumed the role of Head of the German I&D Committee, it’s important that, “Every time you get, you give back twice.” This is why she also mentors in the firm’s Rise program—a mentoring program designed to advance the visibility and career development of mid- to senior-level women associates—and will act as a sponsor in next year’s LIFT program in addition to having multiple external and informal mentees. She explains:

I’m happy to be able to help younger people go after their dreams, irrespective of gender, irrespective of race, or their social background, and I really see how my mentees thrive within and outside of Baker McKenzie. I want to empower younger colleagues to support each other both to maintain our diversity of thought but also to help grow a healthy, profitable business.

The notion that a diverse and inclusive culture contributes substantially to the well-being of a business seems to be at the heart of Baker McKenzie’s many efforts. And while there is still work to be done on the journey to achieving equity, the firm’s leaders are proud of their successes and are committed to continuing to make progress year over year. The firm was first among its peers to declare its aspirations around gender equity and continues to demonstrate its dedication to diversity and inclusion both internally and in the world at large.

Humana, BMO and Baker McKenzie Are Aligning Actions to Values These are three of the most recent Spotlight Stories of the 70+ Catalyst CEO Champions For Cange organizations committed to advancing more women into leadership. Learn how all of these Champion CEOs accelerated change and measurably outpaced their industry peers by reading our latest report on their progress.

Baker McKenzie: Transforming goals into action through gender-aspirational targets

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