For the second year running law firm Browne Jacobson has topped the latest Social Mobility Index ahead of big hitters Grant Thornton, PwC, KPMG and Accenture with law firms again making up the highest proportion of entrants.
Browne Jacobson, which has offices in London, Manchester Nottingham, Birmingham, Exeter and Dublin, was the first law firm in the history of the Index to top the rankings in 2021.
Herbert Smith Freehills was the next highest rated pure law firm, coming in at number seven, one place above Baker McKenzie, who were followed by Squire Patton Boggs.
The Social Mobility Foundation, which produces the Index, was again impressed by Browne Jacobson’s initiatives to open up the legal profession for young people of all backgrounds, especially those from socially disadvantaged groups and regions across the country, with the firm’s school outreach work attracting high praise.
All of the firm’s outreach was conducted at non-selective state schools and 62% of the young people who took part were eligible for free school meals. Browne Jacobson also introduced a mentoring scheme specifically for aspiring young black lawyers to address the under-representation of this group across the profession and partnered with Forage, a leading global virtual platform, to launch a “free to access” work experience programme for 16-18 year olds.
Caroline Green, senior partner at Browne Jacobson, who leads on diversity, inclusion and wellbeing at the firm, said: “As a firm we recognise that academic qualifications are not the only measure of success and the initiatives we have implemented have significantly widened the pool of talent as well as fostering a more diverse and inclusive workforce.”
The top 20 also included law firms DLA Piper, Allen & Overy, Linklaters, Lewis Silkin, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner and CMS – Simmons & Simmons, Osborne Clarke, Eversheds Sutherland, Burges Salmon, Shepherd and Wedderburn and Clifford Chance were within the top 30.
Among other law firms that did particularly well in this year’s index was Womble Bond Dickinson which ranked 41st in this year’s index, up from 110th last year, partly because of its role in pioneering legal apprenticeships. The firm employs around 40 apprentices including solicitor apprentices, paralegal apprentices and apprentices working in support teams including HR, CSR, facilities and IT.
The Social Mobility Foundation said it had received 149 entries in total, with 34 employers entering for the first time, and 115 returning organisations.
The most represented sectors were law (34% of entrants), the public sector (15%) and banking, financial services and insurance who made up 11% of entrants. However, said the Foundation: “Highly represented sectors are not always the best performers. Law firms, for example, continue to disproportionately visit and recruit from Russell Group universities. On average, returning entrants performed better as they adopted our guidance and sought to progress.”
Chair of the Foundation, Alan Milburn, said that while there were reasons for optimism some aspects of this year’s Index were disappointing. He said, talking about all entrants generally, not law firms specifically, that there was evidence that the momentum among employers to embrace the social mobility challenge was being lost. “We have seen a notable drop in the quality and quantity of submissions to the Index. It is deeply disappointing that nine employers are still offering unpaid internships during a cost-of-living crisis, meaning nearly 500 young people effectively work for free.”
Milburn added: “Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not and penalising young people who are not able to work for free is unacceptable. Similarly, the phenomenon of graduate scheme ‘exit fees’ – where young people are financially penalised for deciding against their chosen career once they gain experience of it for the first time – must be eliminated.”
You can see the full Social Mobility Index report here.
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