As a solicitor, you likely work with clients from a range of different backgrounds with a variety of life experiences.
Given the diversity of the client base assisted by many solicitors, are law firms themselves sufficiently diverse?
Recent research has continued to examine the lack of solicitors from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and we want to examine what can be done to make your firm more welcoming to solicitors with different life experiences.
Why do people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds not become solicitors?
There is little indication that people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds lack a desire to become solicitors, but rather that they struggle to access the pathways that would enable them to do so.
It might not initially seem like there is much that a law firm can do to address this, yet the research indicates that there may be more power with law firms than would initially be expected.
Degree apprenticeship pathways exist as a way to offer an alternative path to becoming a solicitor for those who have the aptitude to enter a legal career.
Set up to ensure that university would not be the only route to becoming a solicitor, degree apprenticeships provide an option for those who do not want, or cannot get, student loans.
The idea is to promote social mobility by ensuring that familial wealth is not the key to a better life.
However, the research found that “uptake of this pathway has so far been from more advantaged individuals.”
This runs counter to the original intent of the scheme but is not an inherently bad thing – degree apprenticeships should be open to any who would benefit from them, regardless of socioeconomic status.
This is where law firms can intervene to address the perception of degree apprenticeships, as many from lower socioeconomic backgrounds do not see the value in them and believe that it would be a waste of time to engage with them.
There is a perceived stigma against solicitors who have used this alternative path when compared to their university-taught counterparts.
If a law firm desires to fully engage with a range of clients, it is vital that they have solicitors who understand the life experiences of those clients.
Whether it is differences of class, gender, race, or sexuality, law firms can always benefit from having a more diverse team better able to respond to the needs of clients.
How can law firms encourage more people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds to become solicitors?
It might seem unusual to suggest that law firms look inward, but tackling barriers to opportunity can unlock untapped potential.
We found in our research that “35 per cent of firms with 10 to 50 employees reported recruitment as a significant obstacle, a rate two to four times higher than smaller firms.”
If there is a recruitment crisis where law firms are increasingly struggling to hire solicitors, the answer could be as simple as making more solicitors.
Demand is currently outpacing supply, meaning that solicitors often leave law firms during their careers, which further compounds recruitment problems.
In order to address this balance, law firms should consider engaging more actively with degree apprenticeships to keep a healthy pipeline of new solicitors coming into the legal sector.
Community outreach to highlight the benefits of degree apprenticeships could be a key way for your law firm to appear on the radar of budding solicitors and build a working relationship that could last for years.
If you are reading this and feel like it would take too much time or energy to establish, then we might be able to help with that.
Smokeball is designed to take all of the boring, tedious admin tasks off your hands so that you can focus on doing important work.
We imagined solicitors using the time saved from having automated legal documents generated or client notes summarised to engage more with clients or have a relaxing holiday, but training new solicitors sounds great too!
Smokeball is simple in its design yet powerful in what it can do, meaning it is the perfect tool to give to apprentice solicitors while they learn the ropes.
Our AI, Archie, catches errors in legal documents, while our automatic time tracking will ensure that you know how much time has been spent working on each client.
This could be useful if an apprentice is stuck on a task and too shy to speak out – you’ll be able to see what’s going on.
Smokeball is changing the way law firms operate, and can open the door to onboarding the next generation of solicitors.
The future of the legal sector is here. Book a demo today!
