This strand focuses on widening access both to legal education and to the legal professions, with a particular emphasis on diversity, inclusion, and social mobility. It explores the barriers faced by underrepresented and disadvantaged groups in entering and progressing through law school and into legal practice, and considers how both universities and the profession can create fairer, more transparent, and more supportive pathways.
Research examines initiatives designed to promote equality of opportunity, such as widening participation programmes, mentoring and sponsorship schemes, targeted support within law schools, and diversity initiatives within the profession. It also investigates how structural inequalities linked to socio-economic status, race, gender, sexuality, disability, and other factors shape not only access to legal education but also recruitment, progression, and retention within legal careers.
By combining perspectives from education and practice, this strand contributes to debates about how to build a more inclusive and representative profession. It seeks to understand how students move from education into employment, how diversity and inclusion are experienced within the workplace, and what kinds of institutional and cultural change are needed to ensure the profession reflects the society it serves.
For more information, please contact Seema Kandelia at [email protected], Marloes Spreeuw at [email protected], Avis Whyte at [email protected], Marc Mason at [email protected], Anna Steiner [email protected] or Cristina Corallini [email protected].