Firms lend support for new initiative: Freshfields and Hogan Lovells sign up to Aspiring Solicitors

Aspiring Solicitors, launched in November 2013 by former Norton Rose Fulbright associate, Chris White, has recently gained support from a number of high-profile law firms. 

The scheme seeks to broaden the diversity of law firms, particularly by encouraging undergraduates from underrepresented backgrounds in the profession. As reported by The Lawyer, Attwells, Clyde & Co, Dentons, Freshfields, Hogan Lovells, Norton Rose Fulbright and Wragge & Co have all signed up. Each firm will structure its own assistance programme and candidates will also benefit from CV feedback and mentoring from professional ambassadors. The scheme is similar to the programme run by PRIME, but seeks to address the gap between students at school and those in the process of applying for training contracts.

White reflected on his own route to the profession: "As a first-generation law student and having come from a ‘normal’ family - my father was a bricklayer and my mother works in Marks and Spencer - I discovered how difficult it was for me to get experience in the legal profession, let alone access it. All I had control over was my academic grades and my own motivation and determination to succeed."

For more on diversity access schemes, see our dedicated section in More Law.