For some time there has been a growing movement in the legal profession to create a more diverse workforce. This has led to a large number of diversity projects and access schemes, designed to ensure that every member of society knows that the law is a possible career. Inevitably the main focus has been on finding work experience in law firms and barristers’ chambers for school and undergraduate students. Below is a guide to several such schemes; it is by no means comprehensive. Please email info@lawcareers.net if you are involved in other schemes that could be featured here.

Careers guidance for London school pupils
Limitless London
James Wickes, a trainee with Reynolds Porter Chamberlain, and James Penn, a trainee with Charles Russell, grew up in Barking and Dagenham. Both were frustrated by the London borough’s lack of guidance for high-achieving and ambitious students who wanted to go to university and compete for top jobs in the City. Wickes and Penn thus co-founded Limitless London to meet that need. The non-profit organisation works with local teachers, pupils and sixth-formers to provide tailored careers advice for young adults through presentations, mentoring and actually getting students into firms. For more information, visit the website here.

Summer internships for ethnic minority students
SEO London
Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) finds summer internships for outstanding penultimate year undergraduates from ethnic minority groups currently under-represented in the City. Big name firms such as Ashurst, Berwin Leighton Paisner, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Eversheds, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Herbert Smith, Simmons & Simmons and Weil Gotshal & Manges sponsor the scheme which covers banks as well as law firms. The non-profit organisation has an impressive success rate: 80% of SEO interns eventually secure a full-time position with a sponsoring firm. Corporate law interns have access to senior partners at all sponsoring firms, can complete multiple placements, receive more than 60 hours of training and will be allocated a personal mentor. For more information and to apply for the scheme, visit the website here.

Work experience for pupils from low income backgrounds
Social Mobility Foundation (SMF)
An ambitiously broad, innovative charity that seeks to place high-achieving A-level students from low income backgrounds in placements with major private and public sector institutions. Geoffrey Vos QC, chairman of the group, says the SMF tries to “find ways of bridging the gap between clever students from poor background becoming interested in achieving a high-level career, and actually getting into that high-level career”. Sponsors include top law firms such as Clifford Chance and Denton Wilde Sapte, and barristers’ chambers such as 39 Essex Street. Almost half of the interns placed by the foundation manage to gain places in top 20 universities. To download an application form or for information, visit the website here.

Careers info for all school pupils and legal work experience for undergrads
Black Lawyers’ Directory (BLD)
Today’s Children, Tomorrow’s Lawyers
Legal Launch Pad
Former solicitor Debo Nwauzu founded the BLD in 2006 to promote diversity within the legal profession and provide a forum for networking. The directory has two initiatives for young people. Today’s Children, Tomorrow’s Lawyers delivers valuable careers information via vodcast (video podcasts) about the law to school pupils, primarily those from ethnic minorities, but all children can benefit from the vodcasts, available online here. Students from 20 schools across the country can also visit one of the sponsoring firms: Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Herbert Smith and Slaughter and May. Law and non-law undergraduates benefit from the Legal Launch Pad scheme, sponsored by Barclays, DLA Piper, Lovells, Olswang and Shoosmiths. The selected students are given mock interviews, training sessions and one week’s work experience at a sponsoring firm. For more information, visit the website here.