Clifford Chance (CC) has created a new head of inclusion position for its UK offices and hired the BBC’s former creative diversity lead to take on the role. 

Nina Goswami joins the firm as its inaugural inclusion chief after three years as the BBC’s creative diversity lead. She took on the role after working at BBC for nearly a decade in various editorial capacities, most recently as a senior producer and output editor for the network’s nightly news programmes. 

In her new role, Goswami will be tasked with leading the firm’s diversity initiatives in the UK. She will work alongside Tiernan Brady, who leads CC’s firmwide diversity and inclusion initiatives as global director of inclusion, to support both lawyers and clients by implementing global diversity and inclusion strategies with a goal of creating an inclusive culture within the firm. 

Goswami’s experience leading diversity at the BBC includes her leadership role in the network’s 50:50 Equality Project, which was created in 2017 to improve the representation of women across BBC content. 

In a Linkedin post on her new role, she wrote: “Like many sectors, law does not reflect the society it serves – whether that’s within the firms, chambers or the courts. However, I know there are many brilliant people trying to address this. With more diversity of thought across the legal sector we will be able to change the societal construct we all live in to serve us all.” 

Goswami also emphasised the importance of cross-industry and cross-sector collaboration in relation to driving change within the firm and the wider legal sector in the UK. 

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Champion is a category in the inaugural Women & Diversity in Law Awards. Click here to make a nomination

Goswami's appointment is the latest in a string of firsts for the firm as it continues to work towards improving diversity at different levels. 

Brady, who previously led the organisation that designed and campaigned for the successful 2017 vote in favour of marriage equality in Australia, joined Clifford Chance’s London office in 2019 as its first global inclusion head. 

Under Brady’s leadership, the firm unveiled a new set of diversity targets the following summer, including a goal of at least 40% female and 40% male global partners for the firm by 2030. The new targets also included the firm’s first-ever LGBT global partner level target of 3% by 2025. 

Clifford Chance made progress towards those goals in its latest partner promotions round, which saw 15 women (41%) move up the ranks. According to the firm, the rolling average of promoted female partners over five years (37%) is also the highest it's ever been, putting it on track to meet its target of at least 40% female partners in the firm by 2030. 

It also made strides when it appointed two women – Emma Matebalavu and Sarah Jones – as global head of financial markets and global head of corporate respectively in July. 

And earlier this year, the firm hired consultant Charles Alberts from Aon as its first-ever head of wellbeing and employee experience, a non-executive position tasked with creating a wellbeing strategy covering all points of interaction at every stage between employees and the firm, including recruitment, training and promotions. 

Grant Elred, the firm’s chief people officer, said the creation of Alberts’ role was in response to the changing responsibilities associated with being an employer, a shift that has been observed by many law firms particularly during the pandemic.