Diversity and Inclusion

Matheson is committed to promoting social mobility and access to the legal profession.

• The Matheson Diversity in Law Newman Fellowship in partnership with University College Dublin aims to promote greater diversity within the legal profession.
• University Access Programmes – We work with a number of third level access programmes to support people from geographic locations that are linked with low progression rates to reach their full potential in pursing higher education. These include the Trinity Access Programme and the DCU Access Programme.
• The Cara Scholarship is awarded annually and is open to second-year undergraduate students in TCD, including students on the Higher Education Access Route or the Disability Access Route to Education schemes, mature students and students who face barriers in third level education.
• Our Career First Programme is a fully social mobility-focused initiative exclusively open to first and second-year undergraduate students on the Higher Education Access Route (HEAR) and on the Disability Access Route to Education (DARE). It is designed to promote diversity and address the under-representation of students from less socially mobile backgrounds in the legal profession – the first of its kind to be offered by an Irish law firm.
• Matheson’s Transition Year Programme provides students with a practical insight into corporate life through a series of workshops, presentations, and challenges, with a particular focus on developing their skillsets. We always try to ensure at least 20% of our intake are from schools participating in the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme.

Achieving greater representation of women in the partnership and better gender balance in leadership roles across the firm is a strategic priority. Matheson is committed to setting targets for increased female representation to achieve better gender balance and a more inclusive working environment.

In 2024, Matheson entered into a partnership with the Irish chapter of the 30% Club, the global campaign that the firm has supported since 2015, aiming to achieve greater gender balance at leadership levels for better business outcomes.

The Families and Working Parents Committee works to create an environment of understanding, and to continuously progress supports for working parents.

We are proud to support families in a multitude of ways, including Matheson Agile (our flexible working programme), hybrid working, and our coaching and buddy programmes for new parents.

Today, more generations than ever before are working side by side in the workplace. With this in mind, Matheson established an ‘Intergenerational’ committee to enhance generational awareness across the business and to challenge generational stereotypes. A key aspect of our Intergenerational committee is to build on our culture of mentoring, with a focus on cross generational mentoring programmes.

We provide an open work environment where we encourage a sense of belonging for all of our colleagues. Each year our LGBTQ+ network, Matheson Together, organises a series of events to celebrate Pride Month.

Matheson is a founding member of the OUTLaw Network and we are proud to march under the OUTLaw banner in the Dublin Pride Parade, with people from all across the legal sector.

The Accessibility Committee works to foster awareness and understanding of various disabilities and accessibility requirements in the workplace.

Matheson is a founding member of the disAbility Legal Network, which seeks to promote equal opportunities for people with disabilities within the legal sector.