"The preparedness of the legal profession and the Australian business community to adopt the policy signals a significant cultural shift in our support for equality," said Ms McLeod.

The Australian Bar Association, various bars and law societies of Australia, and numerous individual lawyers and barristers have signed up to the policy already.

Telstra general counsel for dispute resolution Sue Laver said that women "remain under-represented in senior levels within the industry and at the bar".

"The profession, and society as a whole, benefits from giving men and women equal opportunities," she said.

"Telstra has been actively leading equitable briefing for many years now and has a strong record in this space."

Ms McLeod said she was confident the signatories would deliver the momentum needed to bring about long-term change. The policy intends to support the retention of women at the bar, and boost representation and pay levels. But Ms McLeod rejected any suggestion that it required hiring women just to meet a particular target.

Baker & McKenzie national managing partner of Australia Chris Freeland said the policy was a "terrific step" for the bar.

Among other law firms signing up are Allens, Henry Davis York, Ashurst, Herbert Smith Freehills, King & Wood Mallesons, Clayton Utz, Minter Ellison, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Norton Rose Fulbright and DLA Piper.


"The most important thing is what's in the best interests of our clients. They too are concerned about the lack of representation of women, particularly in the senior ranks of the bar," said Mr Freeland.

'Sometimes overlooked'

"Sometimes women are overlooked not because they're not as talented or as able to do the work but just because they're not on the radar. The reality is women in so many ways have not been given equal opportunities [and] that's not good for the profession."

Mr Freeland heralded the actions of the law firms, as part of the managing partner diversity forum, in acting in a "non-competitive way" to bring about dramatic cultural change in the profession. He said that "tangible" actions would follow.

"Data will be collected, we'll know how we're doing, the data will be monitored. And importantly the partners within our firm will now at least turn their mind to the prospect."

The number of female law graduates have outnumbered men for 30 years, but the legal profession is still dominated by men at senior levels on the bench, at the bar, and within firms.

Data collated by prominent NSW barrister Kate Eastman, SC, showed that of 402 counsel appearing before the High Court between July 2014 and October 2015, just 18 per cent were women. Only 3.7 per cent were women who were senior counsel. At a national level across other courts, the figures are similar.

Statistics have also revealed that women are given less speaking time in court and paid relatively less.

Next year the Law Council of Australia will host an event for corporate counsel to promote the policy in the hope of encouraging more to sign up and adopt the policy. Signatories must report by September 30 each year on measures taken to implement the targets. A review will be held in 2018.

Mr Freeland credited Ashurst partner Jennie Mansfield with driving the efforts of the law firms combined.