Where We Are Driving Change
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
At Potter Clarkson, creating an inclusive workplace means our people, and our clients, benefit from broader perspectives, more open collaboration and better solutions.
Our active commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion is threaded through everything we do. We work hard to create a supportive, stimulating and inclusive culture where everyone feels they belong.
We recognise that a diverse range of people, each respected for who they are, naturally brings diversity of thought and experience. That diversity strengthens our teams and helps us deliver innovative, effective results for our clients. And because no two people's journeys are the same, we are committed to recognising and supporting individual needs rather than taking a "one size fits all" approach.
What we're committed to achieving
We are focused on improving diversity balance across the firm and maintaining a culture where everyone can be themselves, whoever they are. This means making progress in both the short and long term: refining policies, embedding best practice and ensuring training keeps pace with new developments.
Our leadership team is directly involved in shaping and reviewing our approach, working alongside our Inclusivity Group to drive meaningful change. We will continue to share our progress openly and play an active role in building a more inclusive IP profession.
Our People
- Inclusivity Group: made up of colleagues from across the firm and backed by management, the group meets regularly to ensure Potter Clarkson continues to be an inclusive workplace. Working with consultants EW Group, it ran a firmwide anonymous survey to hear directly from our people and used the findings to set priorities and guide action across the firm.
- Training and awareness: EDI training is being embedded at every level so it informs everyday decisions and interactions across the firm. Our senior leaders have also taken part in Inclusivity Leadership Workshops and unconscious bias training.
- Keynote speaker programme: employees are encouraged to attend talks from high-profile speakers on topics such as LGBTQIA+ issues, black history and religion. Recent speakers included Laura Bates on sexism, Theo Smith on neurodiversity and Charlie Martin on transgender awareness.
Our Workplace
We're proud of the policies and initiatives we've introduced to support colleagues at different life stages and from different backgrounds:
- Recruitment policies: we advertise jobs in places that will give us a better reach, including through charities such as In2Science, The Access Project and the Aspiring Professionals Programme. Applicants are invited to complete an EDI questionnaire, and we also gather EDI feedback in staff exit interviews. This helps us understand who we are reaching and where we can improve our approach.
- Flexible public holiday policy: employees can swap certain public holidays for those that matter to them, recognising the diversity of religious and cultural observances.
- Menopause policy: raising awareness and providing practical support, with adjustments available to help colleagues manage symptoms and wellbeing at work.
- Enhanced maternity and paternity policies: with further improvements launched in 2025.
- Flexible working policy: supporting balance between professional and personal commitments.
Alongside these, our people also have access to:
- Wellbeing initiatives such as mindfulness sessions, volunteering days, and support groups for women, men, mental health, wellbeing and menopause.
- EDI book library: colleagues can borrow books on equality, diversity and inclusion from any of our offices.
- Everyday support like free fruit and free period products.
Our Communities
- Awareness days and events: we make time to mark relevant events and awareness days throughout the year. In 2024, we got together for a food tasting afternoon to mark Black History Month. We also sponsored Nottingham Pride Week.
- Charitable donations: each year we make around 18 contributions of £250 to causes suggested by Potter Clarkson employees. In 2024, these included South Asian Heritage Month, Bloody Good Period (for International Women's Day) and Ambitious About Autism (for Neurodiversity Celebration Week).
- IP Inclusive pledge: we are signed up to IP Inclusive, a collection of UK-based individuals and organisations in the intellectual property sector who have come together to make their community more inclusive, diverse, open and fair.
