Tackling the social mobility crisis in the legal industry

This September, the UK's Social Mobility Commission released its annual State of the Nation 2023 report, providing a comprehensive overview of social mobility across the life course of people around the UK.

The report’s findings offer a stark warning that the UK’s younger generation is now in danger of being worse off than its predecessors and urges that more must be done in order to improve mobility prospects for the next generation.

The legal sector

When it comes to the legal sector, professionals often hold powerful positions of leadership and influence in wider society, for example judges, lawmakers and advisors to businesses, making it hugely important that our sector reflects the communities in which we serve.

According to a report by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), however, as little as 18 per cent of the legal workforce are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, while only 5 per cent are disabled, compared to 14 per cent of the overall UK workforce. Furthermore, 22 per cent of all lawyers attended a fee-paying school, while 58 per cent came from a professional socio-economic background, much higher than the respective national figures, at 7.5 per cent and 37 per cent.

Improving upward mobility is a challenge every sector should strive to overcome if we’re serious about tackling the findings of the Social Mobility Commission’s report head on. But it’s clearly an even bigger challenge for the legal sector when we take the SRA figures into account.

It’s therefore important that the sector sends a clear message that success in the legal industry is attainable for everyone, regardless of their socio-economic background. This can change the trajectory for future generations, creating a better reflection of society within the industry, in turn producing a fairer and more representative legal system.

So, what can the legal industry do to play its part in tackling the social mobility crisis?

Improving accessibility through apprenticeships

One of the most significant ways we can improve diversity in the legal sector is by removing the stereotypes tied to it. One way to do this is by increasing representation, but in order to do so, we must first provide accessible pathways to qualification for people from all backgrounds.