Law firms lead the way in latest social mobility index

The legal profession has once again made a strong impact in the latest social mobility powerlist, with over 30 of the top 75 spots claimed by law firms and chambers.

The annual index, produced by the Social Mobility Foundation, a charity that supports high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds in accessing top universities and careers, measures entrants’ performance across eight key areas of employer-led social mobility.

These assessment areas include how effectively organisations target young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and the steps they are taking to remove barriers that hinder their progression through the selection process.

The charity also examines the pay, progression, and retention of employees from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as the strategies organisations are using to create an inclusive environment for people from all socioeconomic backgrounds.

Sharing the top spot on this year’s list are Browne Jacobson and accountancy giant PwC, with Magic Circle firms Slaughter and May and Linklaters taking 5th and 6th places, respectively.

Rounding off the top 10, Lewis Silkin, Norton Rose Fulbright, and Freshfields secured 7th, 8th, and 10th places, respectively.

In the top 20, Addleshaw Goddard (11th), Macfarlanes (13th), Clifford Chance (14th), CMS (17th), and Ashurst (20th) all secured spots.

Other law firms (and one chambers) commended for their efforts to improve social mobility include: Squire Patton Boggs (21st), Shoosmiths (25th), RPC (26th), DLA Piper (27th), Stephenson Harwood (28th), Weightmans (30th), Mishcon de Reya (32nd), Pinsent Masons (33rd), Radcliffe Chambers (38th), TLT (39th), Sharpe Pritchard (40th), Shepherd and Wedderburn (45th), Hogan Lovells (46th), Farrer & Co (48th), Simmons & Simmons (55th), Irwin Mitchell (56th), Clyde & Co (59th), Stewarts Law (64th), Mayer Brown (67th), and Charles Russel Speechlys (71st).

To coincide with the release of the latest index, the Social Mobility Foundation is urging the government to require firms with more than 250 employees to collect and report data on the socioeconomic background of their staff.

Sarah Atkinson, CEO of the Social Mobility Foundation, argues that mandatory tracking of class data would help businesses better understand their workforce, break down barriers to entry, and boost the economy.

“Large employers are now expected to track gender pay gaps and they will need to do the same for ethnicity and disability very soon,” she said. “There’s no good reason why they can’t report on class differences within their organisations. The Social Mobility Commission has shown how to measure this data. Our Employer Index shows it’s the norm for dozens of great companies to do this. It’s business as usual.”

Atkinson continued: “This new Labour government is committed to enacting the socioeconomic duty in the Equality Act, meaning that public sector bodies have to reduce inequalities resulting from socioeconomic background. The next step is to extend that to the private sector.”