Freshfields becomes first Magic Circle firm to ban ‘Dear Sirs’

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has banned “Dear Sirs” from all of its global communications and legal documents, The Lawyer reports.

It is the first Magic Circle firm to ban male-oriented salutations and move towards more inclusive language, with communications now opening “Dear Sirs and Madams”.

Capital markets associate Megan Castellano proposed the change after researching the number of law firms that begin communications with “Dear Sirs”.

She brought her research to managing partner Chris Pugh, who agreed to pursue change across the business.

The firm will now use “Dear Sirs and Madams” in the UK, “Dear Ladies and Gentlemen” in the US, and equivalents in Cantonese, Mandarin and European languages.

Mr Pugh told The Lawyer: “We now only have dual salutations across all our communications globally. We did that by contacting the COO in each of our regions. When we pointed it out to them they immediately saw it was a problem and changed it.

“It’s a relatively small change but it’s a significant point and you notice that when everyone immediately accepts the change needs to happen.

“I hope it will shed light on other things that we might inadvertently be doing that risk alienating not only people at Freshfields but clients as well.”

Ms Castellano added: “We need to take steps to eradicate the practices and behaviours that can lead to an unintended male-oriented workplace culture.”