How to implement diversity in the legal profession

Law firms have taken some impressive strides in recent years in making the profession more inclusive. Yes, it’s still very much a work in progress and more needs to be done, especially at senior levels. But compared to where we were, the law is now far more diverse than it was a decade ago.

Yet, according to the Law Society, while over half of all solicitors are female and almost a fifth are from minority ethnic groups, either matching or outstripping their proportions in the general working population, only a third are from less privileged socio-economic backgrounds. Approximately a quarter of solicitors went to independent schools, half are children of graduates and two-thirds have parents with professional occupations – double the norm. The statistics that exist for the Bar are even less encouraging. The law may be less male and less white than it was previously, but it is still overwhelmingly middle class.

The profession isn’t unaware of the problem with many stakeholders putting in place outreach programmes to attract more entrants from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. Law firms know that it’s not only the equitable thing to do, it also makes commercial sense. Firms which recruit from a wider talent pool create teams who more closely reflect the clients and communities they represent, which helps to build and maintain long-term professional relationships. However, as the numbers above suggest, there is still some way to go.

Part of the ‘social mobility problem’ is identifying those who need support – it isn’t as easy to define class as it is gender or ethnicity. What does it mean in 2021 to be ‘working’ or ‘middle class’, ‘privileged’ or ‘disadvantaged’? Social scientists typically define class referencing occupation, income and education, but these are imprecise proxies for social and economic status and there is little consensus on the ‘right’ metrics to use. So, if the target demographic is difficult define, then the measures we need to introduce to help them are even more challenging to identify.

Added to that is a marked reluctance on the part of many students and new entrants to say they are from underprivileged backgrounds, which is mirrored by an understandable sensitivity on the part of law firms not wanting to appear patronising. Students from so-called disadvantaged backgrounds are well aware that they lack the privileges enjoyed by their better-off peers, but most are reluctant to advertise the fact. Why would they? Candidates, regardless of background, want their careers to progress on their own merits – so they demonstrate they possess the skills, attributes and competences that the profession requires. No one wants to feel like they are being hired so their employer can be seen to be ticking a ‘D & I’ box.

When we surveyed our students at BPP and asked them how confident they feel speaking to people they’ve never met or how they would rate their communication or networking skills, the vast majority rated themselves as ‘excellent’. My experience of having taught LPC students for over 13 years, is that many of them have further to go than they realise.  Whilst a minority of those students come from more privileged backgrounds, there is no doubt that a private education or middle-class upbringing informs those students of the rules of engagement and gives them opportunities to practise from an early age.

If you ask the same question in a different way, you get a different answer. Rather than asking the students to assess their own abilities, we also asked them how they believe the legal profession will perceive them. In the same survey, around four in ten prospective lawyers expressed concern that they will be judged because of the way they speak, while over eight in ten believe candidates from disadvantaged backgrounds will have a hard time fitting in.  Students still perceive that, despite its best intentions, the profession isn’t quite the level playing field it aspires to be. So, what can be done?

Part of the answer is to remind candidates that they do not have to pretend to be ‘somebody else’.  Most employers will judge candidates on their abilities and not on their backgrounds or their aptitude to feign ‘poshness’.  It still makes me cry inside when I recall instances of colleagues with a warm regional lilt temporarily adopting a more RP accent during business meetings.

On the other hand, there are rules that all successful lawyers need to learn. But as long as you express yourself clearly and eloquently, who really cares what accent you have? Nevertheless, poor grammar, over-colloquial text-speak and ‘lazy’ articulation still needs to be unlearned in order to progress careers and network effectively.

Law is a sociable profession – it depends on human interaction. Whilst the skills that oil those interactions are picked up by some early in life, they can be taught and acquired by almost anyone.

To that end, BPP University Law School is putting on a series of workshops designed to help students who feel that they may lack networking or conversational skills. We aim to help them navigate a variety of social interactions that will be integral to their legal career.

It isn’t rocket science. Elevator pitches can be crafted with practice and guidance, and appreciating that conversation is as much about listening as it is about talking requires a simple change of approach. And this will be invaluable for any aspiring lawye..  As anyone who develops a skill for networking knows, effective small talk can create big opportunities.

Jonny Hurst is Head of Outreach and Student Recruitment at BPP University Law School.

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1 Diversity Profile of the Solicitors’ Profession 2019, published November 2020 by the Law Society

2 Research was carried out online by BPP University Law School during January 2021 among a sample of 369 students currently studying for a professional legal qualification - Law Conversion Course (PGDL), or Legal Practice Course (LPC), or Barrister Training Course (BTC).