Social Mobility and the Aspiring Lawyer

Following our successful social mobility events, Alanna Petrie, one of our Diversity+ Law Academy students, reflects on the impact social mobility and socioeconomic experiences have on the experience of aspiring lawyers and law students, and what employers and educators can do to raise awareness and remove barriers.

The legal profession is competitive, and firms have no shortage of applications from ambitious students who want to qualify as solicitors. However, if a firm is to be confident that these limited places are secured by the best talent, it must look beyond traditional intake spheres and reach out to young people who have talent but lack the referential framework to consider a career in law.

A young person who grows up around lawyers may become familiar with the profession long before they ever have to consider their own careers. They have observed the rhythms of a parent's life, perhaps visited their workplace or met colleagues.

For a young person without this pre-established network, their understanding is instead shaped by the representations available to them: passionately defending the innocent, prosecuting the guilty, or using Machiavellian methods to secure profit and status. They are served fewer opportunities to understand the range within the profession and the pathway to entering it.

Many schools work hard to expose young people to different careers and to broaden their aspirations. But this responsibility is enormous: a class of thirty pupils may all have different ideas about what they might do after leaving school. A teacher or careers adviser cannot realistically possess first-hand knowledge of every profession, and so legal careers are therefore often explained by someone who is themselves a step removed from the profession.

The forward impact of our experiences

Suppose you are a young person from a low-income family who has been inspired by what you have seen or read about the profession. You diligently seek opportunities to make your UCAS personal statement stand out and decide to participate in Model United Nations or public speaking and debate competitions. On attending, you may find further inspiration, or suddenly realise you are at a disadvantage you did not know you had.

While studying law, you may attend a networking event. For some, this may be unremarkable. For others, it may be their first experience of a professional environment. It may feel unnatural to accept the (free!) glass of wine or impolite to join a conversation already in progress, despite being assured you are welcome to do so.

That creates a potential problem for recruitment. Familiarity can be mistaken for confidence, and confidence for potential. This may affect both candidate selection and who believes themselves truly eligible to apply.

Firms do not deliberately reward people simply because they are familiar with professional environments. However, recruiters should be cautious about treating behaviours shaped by prior exposure as measures of ability to ensure they hire the candidate with the greatest potential.

Recruiters should be cautious about treating behaviours shaped by prior exposure as measures of ability

Individual experiences versus social structures

There is, however, an important distinction to make here between individual experience and broader structural patterns.

Social mobility initiatives exist because access to opportunity, professional networks, work experience and progression remains unevenly distributed, often along socioeconomic lines. Recognising that does not require us to dismiss anyone's individual experience. However, we must consider the wider patterns that shape who considers a legal career.

This is particularly important because widening access is sometimes understood as creating a disadvantage for those who have traditionally had greater access to resources and opportunities. But the purpose of social mobility work is not to disadvantage one group in favour of another. It is to remove barriers so that talent and potential are not limited by background.

Not every young person who does not pursue law represents lost potential. Some will discover that they dislike it. Others will decide that another profession suits them better. Some will discover that they do not want to compete for a traineeship.

None of those outcomes is a failure of equality, diversity or inclusion.

What then matters is whether we can distinguish between someone choosing not to pursue law because they have discovered that it is not for them, and someone never seriously considering law because they have never had a meaningful opportunity to understand it.

And, equally, whether someone enters the profession because they have genuine aptitude and motivation, or because familiarity has simply made it the most obvious choice available to them.

The first is an informed choice. The second may be untapped potential.

What firms can do

Firms could instead consider how they can engage with programmes that are already partnered with schools. Initiatives such as MCR Pathways and Career Ready provide established structures through which young people can access mentoring, employer engagement and an insight into different careers. Firms could also attend school careers fairs, particularly those where students may have less existing access to professional networks.

In terms of work experience, rather than advertising opportunities at a particular point in the year, firms could consider accepting expressions of interest throughout the year, as many are constrained by the school calendar. Alternatively, an online work experience package would allow students to gain familiarity without the additional organisational requirements.

Occasional open days offering an office tour and an informal conversation with trainees or junior solicitors would also allow students to access exposure to a profession or firm.

Firms could also make professional networks more accessible, for example, by including a list of volunteers who are willing to be contacted by young people who want direct insight.

Ultimately, firms cannot identify talent that does not present itself. However, small interventions can provide the professional familiarity that others acquire incidentally. The goal is not to ensure that every young person wishes to become a solicitor, but to ensure that those who might have access to a true picture of the profession and can be confident that they are welcome in it. 

To firms and individuals already trying to widen access, keep going. You may never know which young person will walk through the door you opened. They may be the future leader the profession would otherwise never have found.

At Diversity+, we are committed to helping organisations make diversity, equity, and inclusion a core aspect of their business, and help individuals overcome adversity at all stages, including of their legal careers.. We offer bespoke programmes for organisations across the UK, and bespoke mentoring for individuals. Reach out to us at hello@diversityplus.info for more information and a free consultation call.