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Why LGBTQ+ Mentors and Allies Are Key to Career Progression

Taylor Wessing’s Associate Toby Ney shares how he is promoting LGBTQ+ inclusion inside and outside the firm as co-chair of the LGBTQ+ platform EqualiTW, and why LGBTQ+ allies and mentors are key to career progression. He also provides insights into both his coming out experience and career journey. 



 

Hi Toby, thanks for chatting with us. Can you tell us a bit about your current role?

I’m an associate at the international law firm Taylor Wessing in the Private Client team. I've been at the Taylor Wessing for five years now. As a trainee solicitor, I did my four-seat rotation in various practice areas (Tax and Incentives, Disputes and Investigations and Restructuring and Corporate Recovery, Private Client and Financial Services Regulatory).  

 

Can you share your career journey with us?

I took the scenic route to become a solicitor. I left academic education after my GCSEs to attend Northern Ballet School to train to become a ballet dancer. After a few years of dancing  – and after much consideration - I made the difficult decision to stop dancing and pursue a career in law. My initial exposure to Taylor Wessing was while studying at university and attending a 'DiversCity in Law' event. In crude terms, this was a graduate recruitment event targeted towards LGBTQ+ students looking to pursue a career in law. It was great to see a law firm so publicly vocalising support for LGBTQ+ students and demonstrating its inclusive and welcoming culture. While at university, I then attended an open day at Taylor Wessing and, subsequentially, the vacation scheme before completing the Training Contract at Taylor Wessing, which actively encouraged applications from LGBTQ+ students. 

 

Can you share your coming out journey?

I was out to my parents when I was around 17 years old. It happened when I was at my parents’ house in Cheshire on the Saturday of Manchester Pride. I was kicking a football about with my dad when he asked me what I was going to do that day, hinting that the Manchester Pride was on. In that classic teenage style of someone who really didn’t want to talk about that sort of stuff, I just replied, ‘Ah right, okay,’ pretending not to know (even though I had planned to go and watch the parade with my best friend!). To distract/deflect, I probably kicked the ball a bit harder. Then he added: ‘Your mum and I used to take you and your brother to Manchester Pride when you were younger, and you used to really love it.’ 

 

My dad sweetly kicked the ball away and walked over to me. He gave me a big hug, saying: ‘You know, your mum and I love you no matter what.’ Essentially, he basically outed me, so I didn't have to come out myself. He was just super sweet and supportive about the whole thing. I appreciate it's an incredibly privileged coming out story, and I certainly don’t take my positive experience with my parents for granted. 

 

How important were LGBTQ+ allies to your career progression? 

Throughout my time at Taylor Wessing, the supervisors and mentors that I’ve had the privilege of working with have all been great allies, which has made it incredibly easy to be out and authentic at work. Having vocal and visible LGBTQ+ role models within the firm, like our Head of Talent Development Robin Panrucker, and LGBTQ+ allies, like Elaine Dobson, Head of our UK Residential Property team and Nick Moser, Head of our UK Restructuring & Insolvency team, alongside an inclusive, welcoming culture, have definitely helped. I actually had an LGBTQ+ mentor at another law firm that provided invaluable support and guidance when starting my legal career. Being able to see someone who was out and gay, just like myself being in a senior role, provided inspiration but also comfort that it is possible; it's a path that’s becoming increasingly well-trodden with time.

 

What is Taylor Wessing doing to attract and retain LGBTQ+ talent?

We are in the early stages of our work with myGwork, and we hope to build on our relationship going forward. The main elements we've been involved in across the most recent recruitment cycle:

 

  •      We had a virtual booth at the myGwork #WorkFair, where myGwork members had the opportunity to reach out directly to our firm.
  •      We profiled our trainees on the myGwork website as part of the 'Graduates' campaign. 
  •      We are also running a number of skills/development sessions with myGwork across the year. 

 

Taylor Wessing also sponsors student societies. In this recruitment cycle we have sponsored Warwick PLAN Society, a professional LGBTA+ society for students, where we worked with them to host an employability workshop for their members as well as social media promotion. We would love to do more of this type of sponsorship going forward.  We always showcase our amazing committees and inclusion initiatives in any Open Day event that we hold and make a point of referencing groups such as EqualiTW so that all students leave our events with a flavour of the inclusive nature of the firm. 

 

What goals do you want to achieve as co-chair of EqualiTW?

 

I feel we have a solid foundation internally on which can develop and grow. We are hoping to have a series of internal events and initiatives to highlight and enhance the positive and inclusive culture that we already have at Taylor Wessing. Additionally, we are looking to enhance what we do externally by supporting employees and hosting events with alumni through our Reach Network and with clients and contacts. 

 

How are you helping to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion inside and outside of Taylor Wessing?

As well as being a mentor, reverse mentor and the Co-chair of EqualiTW (the LGBT+ employee network) at Taylor Wessing, I’m also involved in external initiatives to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion and wellbeing. I’m a trustee of the LGBTQ+ mental health charity MindOut. I’ve also co-founded OpenWealth, an LGBTQ+ network in the private wealth space, recently with two contacts from UBS. The initiative snowballed very quickly after we put out feelers to gauge the demand for an LGBTQ+ network in this space, and we started to get emails from very senior people, including partners and directors in the private wealth space, asking them to join the network. I think a lot of people really see the value in it and want to support it. We are planning a  relaunch on 4 May 2022, and I'm really looking forward to seeing everybody in person. 


Having the support from Taylor Wessing to work on initiatives like this means a lot. It’s easy to approach management and say, 'Look, I have this idea that I want to run with' (like OpenWealth, the LGBTQ+ network for private wealth professionals). Being given the encouragement, autonomy and resource to run an initiative is certainly a great pull factor. It’s one of the many reasons I joined the firm, and makes me want to stay. 


You can connect with Toby Ney here.

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