A fresh data set from the Sutton Trust has provided a sobering dose of reality for anyone who may have been feeling overly optimistic about social mobility in the legal profession. According to data collected from 1,200 top professionals across nine professions, 74 per cent of top judges in the UK attended private schools, together with 71 per cent of QCs and 51 per cent of top solicitors. In the City, 41 per cent of firm partners attended private schools, with the number rising to 48 per cent among the Magic Circle. The dominance of private education among the legal sector’s top tier stands in stark contrast to the broader UK population, where only 7 per cent of people were educated at private institutions.
Oxbridge continues to dominate
While only 1 per cent of the UK population can say they attended Oxford or Cambridge, a staggering 78 per cent of QCs have one of the two prestigious institutions on their CV. Additionally, 74 per cent of top judges and 55 per cent of top solicitors said that they had obtained a degree from either Oxford or Cambridge. The clout of Oxbridge alumni appears to have given very little leeway over the last three decades; in 1989, the proportions of Oxbridge grads was 88 per cent for judges and 89 per cent for barristers (not then restricted to QCs).
A complex issue
Stephenson Harwood partner Andrew Edge has argued that the dominance of private school educations in firms is less a question of favouritism and more the consequence of the knock-on benefits of a private education. ‘It’s not as though the people responsible for recruitment in law firms would see a CV and think, “They went to a comprehensive school, we couldn’t possibly employ them.” That doesn’t happen at all. It’s a bigger social issue that private and selective state schools—rightly or wrongly—tend to produce better A-level results,’ he said.
Sources: Sutton Trust; Legal Cheek; Legal Business
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