A chance to succeed

Janet Paraskeva sets out her stall on how the profession can widen its scope of entrants

The increasingly talked about concept of diversity has a particular relevance for the legal profession.

Solicitors' clients reflect every stratum of society - every class, creed and minority group.

It seems self-evident that the service offered to clients will be considerably enhanced when the rich diversity of society is fully reflected within the solicitors' profession itself.

And this is starting to happen.

The Law Society recognises this and, as part of an overall equality and diversity strategy, is drawing up plans to establish a scheme to enable more talented, but disadvantaged, young people to gain access to the profession.

The centrepiece of the scheme would be a diversity access fund, which would award a certain number of scholarships annually.

Finance is only part of the story, but the lack of it is one of the biggest deterrents to access to the profession.

When the financial implications of studying to become a solicitor or barrister were spelled out to 180 pupils who attended an open day in February hosted by the Society - in conjunction with the Bar Council and the Institute of Legal Executives - the effect was almost to cancel out the enormous enthusiasm generated by the lively debates earlier.

Some, really excited by what they had heard about the profession, and by the solicitors and barristers they met on the day, could not understand why it was all so expensive.

As a result, the Bar Council and the Law Society undertook to see what they could do to try to improve access possibilities.

The Society already has a bursary fund which it has been running for some years.

It is made up of monies raised from the income from a small number of bequests and is topped up when possible by any surplus from the legal practice course budget.

Income obviously varies depending on returns on investments made, but awards from 2,000 to 7,500 have been made to as many as 20 students a year.

Awards have been made by a sub-group of the training committee and the availability of the bursaries has been advertised through the Gazette, on the Web site, through the Trainee Solicitors Group and through universities and colleges offering law degrees, the CPE, the LPC and other post-graduate law courses.

Successful applicants have come from a wide range of backgrounds and have included ethnic minority students, single parents and disabled students.

What the Society now wants to do is to build on this success and establish a more significant scheme of which an expanded fund would be part.

The scheme envisaged by the Society would involve as many law firms as possible prepared to make a financial contribution and offer summer job placements to students offered annual scholarships.

Although several firms are already active in reaching out to disadvantaged young people, the Society believes that a great many more firms would wish to become involved if there were a scholarship fund in place.

Individual solicitors will also be recruited to offer their services as a school, college or youth project link.

Young people interested in a career in the law often have no contacts in the legal profession to talk things through.

We will be establishing a register of those interested and matching solicitors with schools, colleges or projects in their areas.

Another important aspect of the proposed diversity access scheme would be mentoring and coaching for the scholarship winners themselves.

Access to the profession can often hinge as much on getting applications for trainee contracts in on time and securing job placements as on the quality of degree and the institution awarding it.

The mentoring scheme would aim to equip students with this essential practical information and advice on recruitment fairs, useful Web sites and the variety of law firms in different regions.

The establishment of the diversity access scheme, including the scholarship fund will take a little time.

Meanwhile, the Society is considering supporting an existing mentoring scheme for a cohort of young students going through their law degrees.

Also, in conjunction with the bar, it is planning another open day in London in the autumn, building on the success of the February event.

Arising from that day, the Society is currently arranging 21 summer placements for students who attended, and such considerable enthusiasm has been shown by all involved that we also need now to plan how to take the open day and the scheme outside London using the Society's regional offices and working with local law societies.

Solicitors whose firms are interested in working with us in any way should let the Society know.

I will be writing to firms about the scheme and the fund, but meanwhile, let us build a network of those who want to support the scheme.

The profession deserves the best.

We have a duty to ensure they have a chance to succeed.

Janet Paraskeva is the chief executive of the Law Society