Equality and diversity

Committed to providing equal opportunities

5 Pump Court Chambers is committed to providing equal opportunities to all and takes its responsibility of encouraging diversity at the Bar very seriously. We want our membership to reflect the communities and clients who we work with.

We work hard to provide a welcoming environment for everyone regardless of race, colour, ethnic or national origin, nationality, citizenship, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, marital/civil partnership status, age, disability, religion/belief, political persuasion, pregnancy and parenthood. We are committed to ensuring that all our members, employees and clients are treated with dignity and respect. We have comprehensive policies on Equal Opportunities and Dignity at Work, Harassment, and Flexible Working for members and staff members.

We carry out regular diversity data surveys within Chambers, and carefully monitor our recruitment processes.

Committed to widening access to a career at the Bar

We collaborate with the Sutton Trust, a charity which champions social mobility through programmes, research and policy influence. Our members volunteer with the Trust to provide A Level students from less advantaged backgrounds with work experience via the ‘Pathways to Law’ Programme. In May 2022 and May 2023, we ran in house work experience programmes for 6 students providing advocacy, negotiation and mediation exercises, a visit to the Old Bailey and a CV workshop.

In July 2022 and June 2023, we welcomed interns from 10,000 Black Interns who has an interest in pursuing a career at the independent Bar. This programme aims 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, as well as world-class training and development". We were proud to be among the first sets to sign up for this scheme and look forward to continuing to be involved in future years. 

We offer mini-pupillages through Inner Temple’s Pegasus Access scheme and Bridging the Bar as well as our own mini-pupillage scheme. In order to ensure that mini-pupillages through our own scheme are accessible to all, every candidate based outside of the M25 area is entitled to be considered for a payment from Chambers to assist with travel expenses.

Many of our members also participate in a variety of diversity initiatives and events both individually and through various organisations including the Inns of Court, including the Bar Council initiative #IAmTheBar.