Social mobility: will my socioeconomic background impact my chance of securing a training contract?

Dear Oracle

I didn’t go to a selective school, but have good A-levels and my ambition is to be a City lawyer – what does this mean for my chances? What are law firms doing to improve the representation of people from low socioeconomic backgrounds?

The Oracle replies

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Your social background should make no difference to your chances of becoming a solicitor and most law firms, including City firms, have revised old recruitment processes to aid equal opportunities and access to the profession.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) latest diversity stats indicate a shift in the socioeconomic makeup of lawyers. In the past, the differences between lawyers' socioeconomic background have been stark. In 2023, the SRA reported that 21% of all lawyers attended an independent/fee-paying school, compared to 7.5% nationally, which was down 1% from 2021. Findings showed that 44% of lawyers attended a non-selective state school and 20% attended a selective state school. The SRA’s report states that there’s “a decreased proportion of lawyers attending an independent/fee-paying school” and an increase in those attending a state school or school outside the UK. While these stats show some movement in the right direction, as ever, there remains work to be done.

Former Law Society President Nick Emmerson says: “Talented, intelligent, tenacious solicitors can be found in every corner of England and Wales. We all need to prioritise diversity and inclusion, including social mobility, so our profession accurately reflects the society we serve.” So, what’s the legal profession doing to remove barriers and improve social mobility, and how does that impact you?

Improving social mobility in the profession

As an increasing number of law firms commit to social mobility targets, there have also been calls for social background to be added as a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. Speaking to Legal Futures in 2023, social mobility ambassador and past president of Birmingham Law Society, Alice Kinder,  explains that adding it as a characteristic to the act could provide “a lot of clarity” for businesses and “would do a lot to shift the dial in terms of unacceptable behaviour”.

Meanwhile, there are a number of initiatives that have been developed over the past few years that are designed to level the playing field and remove the invisible obstacles that prevent state-educated students and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds from achieving their academic and professional goals.

While it's true that some firms target certain universities for law fairs, presentations and other forms of campus engagement, others have revised their approach to ensure they reach all prospective talent and others continue to meet candidates virtually in an effort to broaden the pool of talent they interact with.

The Oracle answers a similar question here: ‘I didn’t attend a Russell Group university, can I still get a training contract?’.

So, check which firms are attending your university’s law fair as well as other events, including LawCareers.Net’s virtual Bootcamp series in collaboration with The University of Law and our annual in-person careers conferences, LawCareersNetLIVE. These offer a fantastic opportunity to network with several law firms and are a great resource to kickstart your legal career.

On top of this, 46 out of 150 of the organisations listed on the 2024 Social Mobility Employer Index were law firms, making it a well-represented, inclusive sector for 2024. Browne Jacobson LLP was joint top of the list, closely followed by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, Lewis Silkin, Linklaters LLP, Norton Rose Fulbright and Slaughter and May,

Social Mobility Pledge

Initially, fifteen City of London Law Society (CLLS) member firms joined forces with Justine Greening’s Social Mobility Pledge, which saw them work closely with universities including Bradford, Staffordshire, Lincoln, York St John and Liverpool John Moores to improve access and equal opportunities into the legal profession. The project focused on schools, access and recruitment. This was the first sector-wide initiative designed to facilitate leading law firms working together to develop solutions to address the lack of social mobility in the legal profession. The Social Mobility Pledge has now transformed into a coalition of over 800 organisations globally, including over 20 law firms, and the pledge now covers eight million people.  

The 93% Club

In addition, Sophie Pender founded the 93% Club in 2016 to support those from low socioeconomic backgrounds in making valuable connections and ultimately working towards equal opportunities. Nine years on, and the 93% Club has more than 50 student societies or ‘clubs’ at 53 universities. In 2024, between them, these societies delivered 520 events!

Slaughter and May partnered with the 93% Club (and others) to create 93% Professionals – “the UK’s least exclusive members’ club”. It’s a community designed “to ensure that – once state-educated people get into the workplace – they are empowered to thrive and are set up for sustained success”.

In addition, the Social Mobility Factory and State School Roadshow were also huge successes in 2023. The Social Mobility Factory reached more than 600 people, offering the opportunity for students to practise mock interviews, have their CV reviewed and a professional headshot taken. Meanwhile, as part of the State School Roadshow, the club visited four universities (Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle), which saw more than 80 professionals attend the networking events to support students considering their post-university opportunities. More than 90% of the 259 students who attended a roadshow event said it helped them to “build and bolster effective professional networks”.

In the 2024 roadshow, the club had backing from several law firms, including: 

• Freshfields;
• Clifford Chance;
• Herbert Smith Freehills LLP;
• Latham & Watkins LLP;
• Slaughter and May; and
• Taylor Wessing. 

upReach and Slaughter and May – Springboard

Magic circle law firm Slaughter and May is the sponsor of upReach’s two-year Springboard programme of personalised career support. It’s designed to help students explore their career options, increase their employability and widen their professional network.

You can find out more about the programme’s success in 2022/23 via this LCN Says.

The Law Society’s social mobility ambassadors

Every two to three years the Law Society selects around 10 solicitor ambassadors who are willing to share their experiences of entering the profession, outlining the challenges they faced and how they overcame them to be where they are today.

The ambassadors will also offer practical advice for aspiring lawyers in similar positions – the scheme aims to “show that, regardless of social background, the profession welcomes talent, tenacity and a strong work ethic”.

Diversity

There are other schemes within the sector that aim to promote and improve social mobility within the profession.

It’s also vital to acknowledge that the work is ongoing and by no means finished. The lack of representation at various levels within the profession is a fundamental issue that weakens the whole sector by limiting the range of perspectives and experience that firms can bring to bear on behalf of their clients.

As you can see from this article, there are initiatives within the profession designed to support your career goals and so many firms have made and are continuing to make commitments to work towards a more diverse and inclusive profession.

Researching a firm is a great way for aspiring lawyers to find out about its culture and identify the initiatives it has in place to create a representative workforce.

Find out more about researching law firms via LawCareers.Net.

It’s also worth noting that there’s increasing (and welcome) adoption of contextual recruitment practices like upReach’s REALrating. This system allows employers to identify hidden talent and monitor socioeconomic data. It’s been designed to contextualise academic performance and highlight candidates’ potential to succeed. By working with the charity, law firms can identify applicants who’ve achieved against the odds.

As such, good A-levels and a similar performance at university should give you the base ingredients you need to compete. From there, it’s all about getting as much work experience as you can and making sure your communication and teamwork skills are honed.

Target your applications carefully. A glance at a firm's roster will tell you a lot about the kind of people it recruits and whether it remains a bit of an old boys' club. Firms with a broader outlook will be better to work for anyway. If you can demonstrate all the qualities and credentials for the job, there’s no way you should feel discouraged from pursuing a career in the legal profession.

For more insight into what the legal profession is doing to promote and develop diversity and inclusion, head to LawCareers.Net’s Diversity hub, sponsored by Gowling WLG (UK) LLP.