Empowering companies to #EmbraceEquity among their outside counsel

Aviva Will, Co-Chief Operating Officer, Burford Capital

 IWD 2023

At Burford Capital, we believe that economic incentives can and do work to promote diversity in the legal profession.

Money drives change and companies can use their legal buying power to incentivize their law firms to #EmbraceEquity and diversity.

The legal profession in particular has a well-known diversity problem, particularly at the most senior levels and among the largest law firms.

To provide an economic incentive for change, Burford launched The Equity Project in 2018 and has cumulatively earmarked $150 million in legal finance capital to back commercial litigation and arbitration led by female and racially diverse attorneys.

The Equity Project gives corporate legal departments a tool for incentivizing their law firms to appoint diverse lawyers to leadership positions on the teams that represent them and facilitates important conversations around representation and origination credit.

The Equity Project is something that we feel passionately about at Burford. It speaks to our values, and it demonstrates how we collaborate with our clients to address their financial needs while driving important change.