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Social Mobility
Social Mobility Action Plan
Our Social Mobility Action Plan captures the work we have accomplished in this area to date, as well as looks ahead to how we will build on this. This commitment to increasing social mobility and addressing barriers which people face in accessing the profession and achieving their full potential has also been recognised through the Social Mobility Employers Index, which ranked us as a Top 75 Employer for Social Mobility in 2023.
Social Mobility Network
Our Social Mobility Network seeks to promote social mobility in the Firm through awareness raising and education, and actively supports initiatives and programmes, such as our Career Start programme.
These activities seek to broaden access to the legal profession and support the retention and progression of those from all socio-economic backgrounds. The Network meets regularly and is made up of members from across the Firm and at all levels and from all socio-economic backgrounds.
Other initiatives
- We use Rare’s contextual recruitment tool in our Early Talent recruitment, which allows us to see the best talent by understanding the context of their achievements – for example, if someone attended an underperforming school
- Our partnership with Aspiring Solicitors supports us to attract and recruit from underrepresented groups, including those from lower socio-economic backgrounds
- Our Career Start Programme provides mentoring, work experience and development opportunities to students from less advantaged backgrounds. We also host a number of Insight Days aimed at increasing understanding of careers within the legal profession
- Marking Social Mobility Awareness Day – in 2024, Sarah Atkinson (CEO, Social Mobility Foundation) joined us for a session which explored what social mobility is, its impact, and the role we all play in creating an inclusive and equitable environment. We also ran an internal campaign which shared colleagues’ responses to the question ‘why is social mobility important to you?’
- Reverse mentoring programme to help our Firm to foster an inclusive culture by creating opportunities for people to share different perspectives, lived experiences and knowledge.