Although the overall number of lawyers from ethnic minorities remains small, the number of groups representing their interests is proliferating.

There are currently three main ethnic minority lawyers' groups -- the Society of Black Lawyers; the African, Caribbean and Asian Lawyers Group; and the Society of Asian Lawyers -- but there is also a host of smaller groups.The Society of Black Lawyers (SBL) is the longest established and probably the best known group of them all, boasting a profile and sphere of influence -- certainly in the past -- arguably out of proportion to its size.

At 200 members, 60% of whom are students, it is far smaller than the other two groups.One observer notes that the group has been quiet for the past couple of years.

However, in the past, the SBL has shown itself to be a highly effective campaigning organisation.

It is widely seen as radical and left wing.

The SBL concerns itself not only with discrimination among lawyers, but also with discrimination in the wider black community.

The group runs as much on passion and enthusiasm as organisational structure, a trait which is both its strength and weakness.

For example, in 1992, there was real concern among black students at the Bar's Council of Legal Education (CLE) that they were failing in disproportionate numbers.

The SBL produced figures which it claimed showed that while 80% of black students were failing, the situation for white students was almost exactly reversed, with 80% passing.In the event, the discrepancy was nowhere near as dramatic as the SBL had claimed.

Although the group's error was accidental, long-time chairman Peter Herbert probably suffered few sleepless nights about giving out incorrect information: a crucial issue had been aired on a scale it otherwise would not have achieved, and the college authorities had been jolted into taking action.The African, Caribbean and Asian Lawyers Group (ACA) takes a rather more considered, pragmatic approach.

If the SBL appeals to students' hearts, the ACA appeals to their minds.

The group was set up six years ago largely to fill the perceived gap left by the SBL.

It is determinedly apolitical and has much closer links to the legal establishment than the SBL, with a presence on the Judicial Studies Board, the Bar Council and the Law Society.

The Law Society's equal opportunities officer, Jerry Garvey, is also its co-ordinator, although it receives no direct funding from the Society.

The ACA has about 1,000 members, most of whom (like the SBL) are students, and its programme of activities is tailored accordingly.Vice-chairman Oba Nsugbe reels off a shopping list of activities, the like of which the SBL could not hope to match: job workshops, open days at firms and chambers, trips to colleges and prisons, mentoring, a directory, and mini pupillages.According to Mr Nsugbe, one of its most successful initiatives are 'Bar surgeries,' which were set up in response to the lower exam pass rates among black students.'Every three or four weeks we go into Bar school to help students with any problems they may be havin g with their courses, and tips on how to get through the exams,' Mr Nsugbe says.The ACA has also just won an award for its referral scheme, where specially nominated members are guaranteed an interview for a training contract with City firms (who often complain they never receive applications from black candidates).

Yet for all this activity, Mr Nsugbe concedes that initiatives like mini pupillages only rarely lead to full pupillages.

'They do occasionally, but not as often as we'd like,' he says.Both the ACA and SBL are open to the full mix of ethnic minorities, and the ACA even has some white members.

But the Society of Asian Lawyers (SAL), which has been in existence for about eight years, has a narrower focus.

Former chairman Saliesh Mehta insists that the scale of its membership -- 800 at the last count -- shows there is a demand among Asian lawyers for a more specialist group.

'We had 300 members within a few weeks of setting up,' he says.

Its membership profile is a mirror-image of the other two, with the vast majority being practitioners.Mr Mehta adds, however, that more students are joining, as they see it as a good way of getting themselves in front of practitioners.

'One of our main functions is networking.

We make no bones about it.'Like the SBL, the SAL sees its remit as including the wider Asian community.

It runs a telephone helpline, offering initial advice, although not case work, from offices donated by law firm Sheratte Kaleb & Co in Fleet Street.

It also offers direct help to those facing discrimination within the profession -- taking up grievances with the Bar Council and the Inns of Court.

The SAL also helped an Asian student commence proceedings against the CLE after he failed his exams.

Subsequently the student was told he had in fact passed, said Mr Mehta.Of course, not every ethnic minority lawyer joins a group.

Trevor Sterling, 30, has worked his way up from outdoor clerk to partner at the leading trade union firm Rowley Ashworth.

Mr Sterling says: 'A long time ago, I went to a Society of Black Lawyers meeting but felt it was not right for me.

I have always tried to do everything in the mainstream.

I do not want to get sectioned off.' Having said that, Mr Sterling shares many of the aims of the groups and is far from complacent about the need to provide support and role models for people starting out.

In recognition of this, he helped found the Capital Mentor Scheme, which aims to encourage disadvantaged school children but, he stresses, his scheme is open to all youngsters.