Browne Jacobson welcomes cohort of students from Diversity Access Scheme

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National law firm Browne Jacobson LLP has welcomed six work experience students who are part of the Law Society’s Diversity Access Scheme (DAS), as part of the firm’s efforts to improve access and diversity within the profession.

The work experience placements will be paid and will last one week, with candidates exposed to experiences across multiple specialist legal practices across the firm’s five offices. The students will receive support from a mentee, gain insight into the legal sector culture, commercial awareness and have the chance to experience the firm’s diverse sector offering and its broad client portfolio, including NHS trusts, major insurers and blue-chip corporates.

The firm’s Fairer Access into Real Experience (FAIRE) initiative and recently launched Black lawyers mentoring programme, among other initiatives, will see the firm welcome an additional 18 work experience candidates.

The DAS scholarship was launched in 2004 by the Law Society to break down barriers within the profession, offering funding for the Legal Practice Course, mentoring support and work experience to students from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Suki Tonks, a partner at Browne Jacobson and one of the firm’s sponsors for social mobility said: “Since its launch, DAS has helped diversify the legal profession and opened it up to some really talented aspiring lawyers who, because of their less advantaged backgrounds or educational inequalities may have missed out on key career opportunities without it. So, we are delighted to be further supporting this impactful and much-needed initiative.

“We want to continue to help re-shape the legal profession and make the sector a more vibrant, accessible place to progress and valuable and meaningful work experience opportunities like this will be key to supporting that.”

Speaking about the firm’s commitment to promoting greater diversity and inclusion, Tom Lyas, the firm’s recruitment manager, said: “We are still very much on the journey to breaking down barriers in the legal profession.

“We are proud to further support the Law Society’s DAS students and offer students linked to our own talent programmes, this fantastic opportunity to experience first-hand what it is like to work in the legal profession and arm them with the support and tools they need to have a successful and meaningful start to their legal careers.”

Find out about Lynette Wieland’s journey into the profession via the DAS scheme via this LCN Says. Lynette is now a health and social care lawyer at Browne Jacobson, as well as a social mobility ambassador at the Law Society. The DAS scheme helped Lynette to secure an apprenticeship at the firm, before she later qualified as a solicitor.