At the MAD World Leaders Summit on 9th October in London, we are again running a Legal Sector Track, testament to the efforts that the legal profession is making to better balance high performance with employee health and wellbeing.
If you haven’t already nabbed your ticket, then you can register and see the full agenda, including all the speaker biogs, for MAD World Leaders’ Summit here!
A raft of experts will be speaking about the key issues in the sector from current issues to measurement to how expectations are evolving. Chloe Muir, Director of DEI at Pinsent Masons, is one such expert who will be taking to the stage to talk about ‘The business case for Health and Wellbeing’, alongside Charles Alberts, Global Head of Wellbeing and People Experience at Clifford Chance, and Richard Martin, former lawyer and CEO of Mindful Business Charter.
We talked to Chloe to find out more ahead of her session…..
You have a degree in sociology and criminology – can you tell us what led you into the world of Wellbeing and, specifically, Talent and DEI?
My academic foundation provided me with a deep understanding of how systems shape human behaviour, opportunity, and inequality.
I have always been fascinated by people including what motivates them, how they connect, and what helps them thrive. That interest naturally drew me toward HR, where I saw the opportunity to shape environments that support people not just professionally, but personally and culturally.
Early in my career, I experienced how workplace culture can have a huge impact on people’s sense of belonging, their mental health, and ultimately their ability to thrive. I realised that if we want to unlock the full potential of talent, we must look beyond performance metrics and start with the human experience. That’s what led me into the world of DEI and talent—creating environments where people feel seen, valued, and empowered.
And can you tell us why the Talent and DEI specialisms go well in one role? (Am assuming they do!)
Wellbeing, talent and DEI aren’t separate pillars – they’re deeply interconnected. When people feel psychologically safe and supported, they perform better, innovate more, and stay longer.
My role is about embedding that understanding into strategy, leadership, and culture, so that equity and inclusion is a lived reality across the organisation.
For those not acquainted with the legal profession, can you spell out the main challenges, as they relate to employee health and wellbeing and culture, that exist?
The legal profession is centred around high performance and excellence, which provides a highly rewarding and intellectually challenging and stimulating career, but it can also come with pressure.
This can at times include long hours to meet client needs and billable targets to meet. And, while the profession is evolving, there’s still work to do in areas like inclusion, representation, and balancing caregiving responsibilities or navigating mental health challenges.
That said, I’ve seen a real shift in recent years. Many firms are recognising that sustainable performance comes from supporting the whole person, not just the professional. There’s growing momentum around wellbeing, inclusive leadership, and cultural transformation, which is incredibly encouraging.
In addition, there has been a move to organisations taking a proactive approach to supporting their people including utilisation heatmaps, work allocation and the adoption of hybrid working.
Can you tell us about the challenges you face particularly in managing a multigenerational workforce today?
Managing a multigenerational workforce means balancing diverse expectations.
For example Gen Z often seeks purpose, flexibility, and wellbeing, while older generations may value structure and stability.
The challenge is creating a culture that’s inclusive and agile enough to meet all needs.
AI is accelerating change, especially in law, where automation is reshaping entry-level roles. But, rather than eliminating graduate jobs, it’s an opportunity to redefine them—focusing on skills like judgment, empathy, and collaboration, that AI can’t replicate as easily.
Young talent is entering the workforce with high awareness of mental health and a desire for meaningful work. To support their productivity and wellbeing, organisations need to move from reactive support to proactive, embedded strategies such as mentoring, coaching, inclusive leadership, and access to a range of resources that align to how different generations like to receive information (i.e. apps/ short digestible content).
Your firm has been recognised as a Times Top Employer for Gender Equality. What have you done here that’s made the difference?
This year we’ve taken great strides against our targets, with women making up 52% of our promoted partner cohort, exceeding our target and driving gender balance in our partnership.
Our next target to break is to have women comprise 35% of our entire partnership by 2027.
Beyond the partnership, we have also improved representation at the senior leadership level, appointing a female Chief People Officer and Chief Technology officer role.
Despite the important steps we’ve taken over the last year, we still have more to do. Gender equality isn’t something you can reach and remain static, it’s a constant conversation and we continue to drive our gender balance across our senior and leadership roles for the firm.
You are particularly passionate about intersectionality. Tell us about why…
An area I am passionate about is the intersectionality between wellbeing and identity. Under-represented groups often face additional layers of pressure which can link to wellbeing whether it’s navigating microaggressions, feeling the need to overperform to be seen, or feeling a lack of belonging.
These experiences can directly impact mental health, engagement, and retention. Wellbeing strategies that don’t account for intersectionality risk not being inclusive to all. What works in practice is embedding psychological safety into every layer of the organisation, from leadership behaviours to feedback systems and ensuring that wellbeing support is accessible.
Your session at MAD World touches on using data to influence senior leaders and secure budget – any tips on this ahead of this session?
In my experience sharing data to influence senior leaders can be key to receiving support. It is important, however, to translate wellbeing and DEI initiatives into language that resonates commercially, such as the impact on retention, productivity, risk, and brand reputation.
It can be helpful to show the cost of inaction, which may be the impact on areas such as attrition rates, sick leave, engagement scores, and recruitment spend. Then showing how targeted investment can have a positive influence can help to show the commercial benefit to leaders.
Additionally, keeping it simple can be impactful. Senior leaders don’t always require the finer detail—they need a clear narrative, backed by data, that shows how investing in people drives performance.
Your MAD World session also plans to touch on embedding a culture of care that fosters both consistent psychological safety and high performance – any thoughts on what works in practice not just theory?
Embedding a culture of wellness in law firms can be complex because the environment is inherently high-pressure. What works in practice is leadership modelling including showing kindness and respect.
When senior lawyers show vulnerability, prioritise wellbeing, and still deliver excellence, it can be powerful for creating psychological safety as well as a high-performance culture.
Wider interventions can also prove impactful. For example: engagement surveys, to measure wellbeing and inclusion and allowing benchmark-able data; storytelling across the firm, to remove stigma; and structured interventions for lawyers/ business professionals that are regularly working long hours, weekends or not taking holidays, which is trackable for lawyers in particular.
Work allocation has been a valuable introduction to support stronger work management across teams and to ensure there are interventions in place to avoid pockets of lawyers being disproportionally busy versus others with capacity.
What are you most looking forward to about the MAD World Summit on 9th October?
I’m looking forward to hearing from professionals across sectors about what’s genuinely driving impact in workplace wellbeing and where we still have work to do.
I’m particularly interested in how organisations are embedding a culture of care in high-performance environments.
MAD World Summit brings together wellbeing, workplace culture, health, and commercial strategy in a way that’s both practical and progressive, and I’m excited to explore how data can be used not just to influence decisions, but to drive meaningful change.
To hear Chloe and other high profile speakers in the Health and Workplace Wellbeing world talk, register for MAD World Leaders’ Summit on 9th October in London here
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