BT Group has re-appointed Addleshaw Goddard (AG) to its legal panel in recognition of the firm's outstanding commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

The telecommunications group announced in 2020 that the firm within its existing panel that could demonstrate an overarching commitment to DEI would automatically win a place on its renewed roster.

Addleshaw Goddard's DEI programme, which was assessed against those of 14 other panel firms, was chosen based on its comprehensiveness as well as its effectiveness across various geographies and levels of seniority. BT Group was particularly impressed by the firm's approach to measuring the impact of their DEI programmes and with the innovative approaches within their DEI programme.

In recent years, Addleshaw Goddard has made a significant contribution to its DEI programme, including the removal of A-level requirements as part of its trainee recruitment processes and introducing named partners as inclusion sponsors globally across the firm as a means to better understand the needs of local communities and taking real ownership of implementing the firm's DEI strategy.  

BT Group renewed legal panel will be announced in full next year. 

Aster Crawshaw, Senior Partner at Addleshaw Goddard, said:

"The recognition we have received by BT Group is testament to the hard work so many people have put in to creating meaningful change across our firm. We have made a huge investment in our diversity, equity and inclusion programme, ensuring greater understand where we are falling short and why, as well as setting out a long-term plan for improvement.

"We want to nurture a culture that centres around equality, inclusion and mutual respect for all colleagues. Though we have still got work to do, I am confident we are on the right path.

"It is fantastic to be re-appointed to BT Group's legal panel. The group is of course one of the world's most recognisable brands and one with an exciting pipeline of projects in the near future."