Subscribe to RSS
- RA Now
The continued domination of Magic Circle law firms by Oxford and Cambridge Universities is putting off graduates from other institutions applying, despite firms trying to break the Oxbridge recruitment bias.
A survey of 380 law graduates by online recruitment site Proceed UK found that just one in ten has applied for jobs in Britain’s top five legal companies, compared to over a third looking to regional and niche firms for their first role.
This is despite the introduction of policies such as that by Clifford Chance in which staff conducting final interviews for recruits only know a candidate’s name, and have no details of what university or school they attended.
According to Proceed UK, Clifford Chance’s scheme has been well received within the legal sector, with many calling on the remaining Magic Circle firms to adopt the same assessment method.
“It’s important to ensure that our top law firms contain not only the best but also the most diverse graduates,” said David Press, CEO of Proceed UK. “Candidates need to feel that they can apply to the top legal sector businesses no matter what background they have come from, or which university they attended.”
Print
Email
