When ACS became an accredited Living Wage employer two years ago, I was personally shocked by how few law firms had clearly turned their minds to this issue and become Living Wage employers.  It is still disappointing to see how few are prepared to become accredited Living Wage employers and it ignores how employers can and should be a force for good and social equality in society.   

Unilever's enlightened decision today to become a Living Wage employer should be applauded but it is a timely wake-up call to the professional services sector about how they risk being left behind if they ignore changing attitudes within society.  It is these sorts of issues that we are finding both employees and clients are using to decide where they work and spend their money.  In our personal lives, we are all increasingly making these decisions to spend our money with companies that are supporting the sort of society we want to build.  Deciding who we want to work for and which lawyers we want to represent us are key decisions where we see people asking: "how does this reflect on me and what sort of society I want to live in?".

As a leading social purpose law firm looking to improve society, it is not only the work we do for our clients that helps us do this but every decision we make as an employer and commercial business.  I personally look forward to more Unilevers coming forward.