Law firms can streamline SRA D&A reporting with Access Legal survey tool

To help legal professionals effectively manage their diversity and inclusion data, Access Legal, a leading provider of software and services to the UK legal market, has launched a fresh update to its diversity survey tool ahead of the SRA’s deadline for law firms to submit their diversity information.

As part of the SRA’s approach to equality, diversity and inclusion, all firms must report and publish data regarding the diversity of their workforce every two years. With questions covering age, religion, socio-economic background, disability and care responsibilities, the regulator’s questionnaire aims to provide a holistic view of diversity in today’s law firms.

Collecting this information manually across firms and compiling it into a submission-ready format can be complicated. Therefore, to simplify the process, Access Legal offers a secure survey platform, which has been updated in line with the SRA’s new diversity questions for 2025.

The survey platform generates a unique questionnaire link that can be easily shared with legal professionals, removing the need for printed surveys and collection boxes to save firms time. While it is not mandatory for each employee to complete the survey, it’s vital that all are given the opportunity to do so in order to provide the most accurate picture of diversity within a law firm, and the legal sector as a whole.

Andrew Stevens, general manager at Access Legal comments: “Boosting diversity and inclusion is a crucial element in creating truly inclusive workplaces. Our survey tool, now updated to meet the latest requirements, aims to streamline the process for law firms to collect this data – helping firms stay SRA-compliant while providing vital, actionable insights into the diversity of their workforce and helping shape the future of the legal sector.”

The SRA’s last survey was carried out in summer 2023, and found the number of female lawyers had increased by one percentage point in two years, making up 53% of the workforce. However, gender differences became more apparent at senior levels, with females making up 47% of salaried partners and 32% of full-equity partners.

Firms have a month to complete the diversity survey and must report their data to the SRA between 9 June and 4 July 2025. To find out more about Access Legal’s diversity survey tool and how to use it, please visit the website here.