Changing the law

‘The law is the bedrock of a nation’. It’s a quote I’ve seen many times in applications from Law students over the years. It is exactly the sort of vague quotation (used to indicate an interest in law because of its vast, all incorporating nature) that we actively discourage students from using. And yet, in this case, it illustrates my point nicely, which is quite annoying really.

The law shapes our everyday lives in so many ways: the debate on the UK’s membership of the European Convention for Human Rights; the recent Hillsborough verdict; the legal argument for using drone strikes outside declared war zones; and the impact of the leaked ‘Panama Papers’ are just a few examples. And yet, the make-up of our judiciary, chambers and law firms does not represent the country it serves.

The Sutton Trust’s recent report, Leading People 2016, found that 59% of partners in London firms and 74% of top judges are privately educated, compared with 7% of the population as a whole. Similarly, recent research from Dr Louise Ashley found that professional firms “privilege candidates with the same narrow forms of cultural capital, while acknowledging that this contradicts their professed commitment to social inclusion and recruiting the best ‘talent’.”

It’s not all doom and gloom, however. In my work for the Trust, I’ve seen how the legal profession has been doing more than any other to combat the lack of diversity within its ranks, and initiatives like PRIME and the PASS scheme (run by Inner Temple) are extremely positive developments. Law firms have, alongside accountancy firms, taken the lead in piloting new recruitment techniques to try and level the playing field, including the exciting new contextual admissions database, set up by Rare Recruitment, which many firms are taking up.

The Legal Education Foundation, which aims to ‘promote the advancement of legal education and the study of law in all its branches’, is also playing its part, giving out £6.8 million to 119 different projects since 2013. Their grants have contributed to a diverse a range of causes, including developing a pro-bono digital advice unit, supporting young ex-offenders who wish to study law, and producing resources guiding new mothers through maternity rights disputes.

In addition, as announced today, thanks to generous funding from the Legal Education Foundation another 1,800 students will benefit from our Pathways to Law programme over the next four years.  For the first time, the programme will work with GCSE students in Years 10 and 11 (as well as those doing A-levels in Years 12 and 13), to improve their understanding of the legal system and support their application to a top university, which will ultimately stand them in good stead to apply for a career in law further down the line.

We know that young people often make the choices that decide their future careers and studies well before the sixth form. So, working with a younger age group presents a really exciting opportunity to expand the knowledge and ambitions of hundreds of young students across the UK, and we are delighted to continue to work with the Legal Education Foundation to increase access to the study of law. Working collaboratively, the profession stands a real chance of improving diversity over the next decade.

The only downside to a more diverse legal profession, of course, is that students will be able to use the quotation at the top of this article with even more gusto. It’s a price I’m willing to pay.