Diversity & Inclusion

In September 2022 we announced the launch of a social mobility scholarship in partnership with Gray’s Inn, to be awarded through the Gray’s Inn Scholarship Programme. The scholarship, funded by Keating Chambers, is designed to support Bar Course students from backgrounds under-represented at the Bar. In awarding £15,000 to the winning candidate, the Keating Chambers Scholarship will support a Bar Student from a background under-represented at the Bar, who may not have otherwise been able to embark on this journey. We also offer the successful applicant an unassessed mini-pupillage at Keating Chambers and mentoring. The mini-pupillage is a 1-day in person placement which aims to provide a varied and stimulating introduction to life in Chambers. To date, we have awarded two Keating scholarships through this scheme. 

We were one of the first five sets of chambers to sign up to the 10,000 Black Interns programme, an initiative to transform the horizons and prospects of young Black people in the United Kingdom by offering paid work experience across a wide range of industries. The aim is to provide training and development opportunities and to create a sustainable cycle of mentorship and sponsorship for the Black community. The Bar scheme was launched in March 2022, and we have supported interns each year since. Each successful intern is allocated to a group of up to five sets of Chambers/Bar organisations, providing them with exposure to a broad and varied experience of work at the Bar during their six-week internship.  

We are working with 22 other sets on a mentoring scheme for underrepresented groups at the Bar run by COMBAR. The purpose of the scheme is to support and encourage individuals from groups which are underrepresented at the Bar of England and Wales (and in particular the commercial bar) to pursue careers as barristers.  Those underrepresented groups include women; people from minority ethnic backgrounds; people with disabilities; LGBTQ+ people; people who spent time in care; and people from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. The scheme runs annually and further information can be found on COMBAR’s website.

We are proud to be Founder Members of Bridging the Bar (BTB);  an organisation dedicated to increasing diversity at the Bar by achieving three objectives (1) access to equal opportunity, (2) mentorship and (3) transparency. We are involved with BTB through two routes. The first is by taking part in their structured mini-pupillage programme in which students from all corners of our society can gain exposure and insight into life at the Bar, and what career options are possible for them. The second is by providing mentorship to a diverse pool of students to make the Bar a more accessible and better understood profession for those from underrepresented groups.

Since December 2017 we have been running an annual “Women at the Commercial Bar” student event in Chambers. This is an informal event which features short talks from female barristers of various levels of seniority at Keating Chambers, a keynote speech from a female judge, and the chance to network with male and female barristers from Keating. The presentations have covered the types of cases you are involved in at Keating, the work/life balance for a woman at the Commercial Bar, and mentoring and support within Chambers. The event has been free to attend and open to students of all genders at any stage of legal study who are interested in a career at the Commercial Bar.

Bringing [Dis]ability to the Bar (BDABar) is a group run by and for disabled aspiring barristers, which works to dismantle some of the barriers to a career at the Bar and to improve access. Keating Chambers has partnered with BDABar since 2022, through involvement in their mini-pupillage scheme. 

Since 2022 Keating Chambers has been co-hosting an annual Summer School with Lamb Building. The collaboration with Lamb Building (a common law set with family and criminal law specialisms) has enabled Keating to reach a wide range of students who might not have otherwise considered coming to the Commercial Bar. The school is open to LLB, GDL and Bar Course students, and those who have completed the Bar Course, who have an interest in Commercial, Criminal, or Civil Law. The event is run virtually to ensure maximum accessibility and involves tenants and pupils from both sets. As well as learning what it is like to practice in these areas, sessions also cover pupillage applications, interview skills, advocacy and life as a pupil. 

Keating has been a corporate signatory of The Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge (the “ERA Pledge”) since its launch in May 2016. In addition, a number of barristers and staff have signed the pledge in an individual capacity since the launch.

The ERA Pledge has two objectives. First, it aims to improve the profile and representation of women in international arbitration. Second, it seeks the appointment of women as arbitrators on an equal opportunity basis. The pledge recognises that, while there are many well-qualified women arbitrator candidates, they often lack visibility, with arbitrators frequently appointed from a relatively small pool of mostly male arbitrators. Further information can be found here.

Keating uses the RARE Contextual Recruitment System in it’s pupillage recruitment. This is a way of identifying candidates who have over-achieved in the light of their wider personal circumstances, or whose achievements should be seen in the light of specific challenges they have faced. 

We launched the use of this system in 2019.  Our former Head of Chambers, John Marrin KC, and Krista Lee KC wrote a joint article celebrating its launch, which you can find this here. Further information on how we use the RARE system can be found on our application form guidance page.