As our clients and colleagues all know, James Legal prides itself on taking a fresh approach to legal services, and this extends to the company embracing the principles of inclusivity and diversity.
To further demonstrate this ethos, we’re thrilled to say we’ve signed up to the TransFriendly Directory pledge and are now listed on this important directory of global business services.
James Legal Managing Director Simon Young said: “We respect all our colleagues and clients as individuals and are proud to welcome clients of all genders. We completely share the ethos of the TransFriendly Directory and are very happy to take its’ pledge.”
Every business that’s listed on TransFriendly signs up to follow the TransFriendly Pledge – a series of binding commitments that demonstrates a business’s eagerness to welcome and embrace the transgender and non-binary community.
The eight pledge principles
- We will treat transgender and non-binary clients with dignity and respect – always using their preferred name and pronouns and apologising if we ever get this wrong. This means offering pronoun options that span beyond Mr and Mrs and considering transgender and non-binary clients when requesting gender details.
- Where we offer gendered spaces or gendered services (such as toilets, changing rooms or other facilities) we will always defer to the client’s sense of gender
identity when providing access to these services, unless we are otherwise prohibited by law. We will also never ask for ID or documentation to allow transgender and non-binary people to access these spaces, unless we are obliged to by law. - We will provide training and development to our colleagues to make sure they are equipped and ready to serve transgender and non-binary people. We’re not perfect, but if something does go wrong we will always listen to our transgender and non-binary clients and work to resolve the issue for them as best we can. We will not tolerate transphobic behaviour by our staff.
- We will make it as easy as legally possible for customers to change their name and gender. We will not add unnecessary barriers or obstructions, and where possible we will work towards ensuring clients are able to change name and gender records online or through self-service, rather than requiring a letter, a phone call, or a visit to one of our locations.
- We will stand up for our transgender and non-binary clients and our commitment to the TransFriendly pledge. If another client complains or comments about the presence of a transgender or non-binary person, we will outline our commitment to the TransFriendly pledge and work to educate our clients. We will never discriminate against a transgender client because someone asks us to.
- We recognise the unique challenges that transgender and non-binary customers may face in accessing our services and will work with our transgender and non-binary clients to make accessing our services as easy as possible. For example, we might help a transgender customer to schedule an appointment at a quieter time, if this is what they desire.
- We welcome job applications from transgender and non-binary people and will always allow them to freely express their gender identity at work.
- At James Legal, we echo the objective of the directory, and we hope our commitment to this pledge demonstrates this. Follow the link below to learn more about the directory here
