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Page 1: Law  rfo factsheet

ResearchEthnic Minorities in Law

Workplace

Page 2: Law  rfo factsheet

1 Research Sources and Assumptions

1.1 Source The data used in this factsheet is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

student record database. The data covers the academic year of 2007 – 2008. Definitions of the various subject areas used in this factsheet can be found at:

http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php/content/view/102/136/1/4

1.2 Assumptions l The data used refers to UK domiciled students only; it does not include overseas

students who are studying in the UK.

l Students falling under the ‘Unknown’ category have not been added to the White group or any of the ethnic minority groups. Instead, these have either been disregarded or represented as ‘Unknown’ in the analysis.

1.3 Definitions The ethnic minority category groupings are based on Census 2001 categories. Please note in particular that:

l White includes:

White

Irish Traveller

l Mixed includes:

Mixed – White and Black Caribbean

Mixed – White and Black African

Mixed – White and Asian

Mixed – other

l Other includes:

Other ethnic background

l Not Known includes:

Not Known

Information refused

Ethnic Minorities in Law

02 I Race for Opportunity (RfO) | Ethnic Minorities in Law

Page 3: Law  rfo factsheet

03 I Race for Opportunity (RfO) | Ethnic Minorities in Law

2 Ethnic Minorities in Law

2.1 Representation of Ethnic Minority Students in Law

Our research shows that amongst the various ethnic minority groups studying Law at UK universities during 2007–08, students of Indian and Pakistani origin had the highest representation (6.0 percent and 5.8 percent respectively), followed closely by Black African students (5.0 percent). On the other hand, students from ‘Other Black’ backgrounds and students of Chinese origin had the least representation among ethnic minority groups (see figure 1).

Figure 1: Representation of Ethnic Minority Students Studying Law (2007-08)

Source: HESA Student Record (2007-08)

The total ethnic minority representation of students studying law

in 2007-08 was 27.4% compared to 68.6% of the White student

population studying law during 2007-08.

Ethnic Minorities in Law

Black Caribbean

Black African

Black Other

Indian

Pakistani

Bangladeshi

Chinese

Other Asian

Mixed

Other

1.9%

0.5%

5%

6%

5.8%

1.6%

0.9%

1.4%

1.4%

2.9%

Page 4: Law  rfo factsheet

04 I Race for Opportunity (RfO) | Ethnic Minorities in Law

FAST FACTSEarnings and ethnic minority pay gaps for all private practitioners for 2007/08In 2007-08, median annual earnings for White solicitors were £55k and £45k for black and minority ethnic (BME) solicitors. Taking no account of other factors that might be related to earnings, the median ethnic minority pay gap in yearly earnings was 18% for 2007/08 (NB: hourly and per billed hour pay gaps were very slightly larger).

Source: The Law Society - Ethnicity and earnings in private practice; Findings from the 2008 salary survey June 2009

Ethnic Minorities in Law

We found that all ethnic minority groups had a higher representation of students studying Law, than of students studying all subjects. Pakistanis and Indians had the maximum percentage point increase (3.9 percentage points and 2.7 percentage points respectively - see figure 2)

Figure 2: Representation of Ethnic Minority Groups among Students Studying Law vis-à-vis All subjects (2007-08)

Source: HESA Student Record (2007-08)

Ethnic Minorities in Law

Black Caribbean

Black African

Black Other

Indian

Pakistani

Bangladeshi

Chinese

Other Asian

Mixed

Other

Law

All Subjects1.4%

0.9%

2.9%2.1%

1.4%1.2%

0.9%0.9%

1.6%0.6%

5.8%1.9%

6.0%3.3%

0.5%0.3%

5.0%3.2%

1.9%1.4%

68.6% 79.0%

27.4% 16.0%

Black Caribbean

Black African

Black Other

Indian

Pakistani

Bangladeshi

Chinese

Other Asian

Mixed

Other

Law

All Subjects1.4%

0.9%

2.9%2.1%

1.4%1.2%

0.9%0.9%

1.6%0.6%

5.8%1.9%

6.0%3.3%

0.5%0.3%

5.0%3.2%

1.9%1.4%

68.6% 79.0%

27.4% 16.0%

White Representation:Law – 68.6%All Subjects – 79.0%

Total Ethnic MinorityRepresentation:Law – 27.4%All Subjects – 16.0%

Page 5: Law  rfo factsheet

Sou

rce: HE

SA

Stu

den

t Reco

rd

1Th

e mo

st po

pu

lar areas of stud

y for th

is coh

ort w

ere ‘sub

jects allied to

med

icine’ (14

%) fo

llowed

by Bu

siness &

Ad

min

istrative Stu

dies (11%

) and

Ed

ucatio

n (10

%). T

he least p

op

ular su

bject w

as Veterin

ary Scien

ce (0.2

%).

Ethnic Minorities in Law

2.2 UK Universities w

ith the Highest Proportion of Ethnic Minority Students studying Law

In

200

7/200

8 th

ere were 1.9

millio

n U

K d

om

iciled stu

den

ts at UK

un

iversities of wh

ich ju

st un

der 4

percen

t (70,9

75.5

) were stu

dyin

g law

as a sub

ject1 .

Tab

le 1 sh

ows th

e top

25 u

niversities ran

ked by th

e pro

po

rtion

of stud

ents fro

m eth

nic m

ino

rity gro

ups stu

dyin

g law

(200

7-08

). Mid

dlesex U

niversity h

ad

th

e hig

hest p

rop

ortio

n (8

3.6 p

ercent) of stu

den

ts from

ethn

ic min

orities, fo

llowed

by the U

niversity of B

radfo

rd (79

.3 p

ercent) an

d U

niversity of B

edfo

rdsh

ire (76

.0 p

ercent). T

hese 25

un

iversities con

stitute 4

7.7 p

ercent of th

e total p

op

ulatio

n of eth

nic m

ino

rity stud

ents stu

dyin

g L

aw at U

K u

niversities.

Tab

le 1: U

nive

rsities Ran

ked

by P

rop

ortio

n o

f Stu

de

nts fro

m E

thn

ic Min

orities stu

dy

ing

Law

(20

07–0

8)

Ta

ble

1:

Un

ive

rsitie

s R

an

ke

d b

y th

e P

rop

ortio

n o

f Eth

nic

Min

ority

Stu

de

nts

stu

dy

ing

La

w (2

00

7–

08

)

To

p 2

5 U

niv

ers

ities

All

Min

ori

ties

Bla

ck

or

Bla

ck

Britis

h

Ca

ribb

ea

n

Bla

ck

or

Bla

ck

Britis

h

Afric

an

Oth

er

Bla

ck

Ba

ck

gro

un

d

As

ian

or

As

ian

Britis

h

Ind

ian

As

ian

or

As

ian

Britis

h

Pa

kis

tan

i

As

ian

or

As

ian

Britis

h

Ba

ng

lad

es

hi

Ch

ine

se

Oth

er

As

ian

Ba

ck

gro

u

nd

Mix

ed

Eth

nic

ity

Oth

er

% o

f To

tal

BA

ME

La

w

Stu

de

nts

W

hite

s

Mid

dle

se

x U

niv

ers

ity

83

.6%

7

.3%

2

2.9

%

0.9

%

13

.5%

1

6.8

%

6.4

%

0.4

%

5.4

%

3.5

%

6.4

%

2.7

%

13

.8%

Th

e U

niv

ers

ity o

f Bra

dfo

rd

79

.3%

0

.6%

5

.6%

0

.9%

6

.1%

5

8.6

%

2.8

%

0.3

%

1.1

%

2.6

%

0.8

%

1.8

%

19

.3%

Un

ive

rsity

of B

ed

ford

sh

ire

76

.0%

7

.4%

1

8.8

%

2.6

%

3.5

%

28

.8%

5

.2%

0

.0%

3

.1%

5

.2%

1

.3%

0

.9%

1

6.2

%

Bru

ne

l Un

ive

rsity

7

5.5

%

8.2

%

15

.2%

1

.1%

2

0.4

%

10

.7%

2

.0%

2

.2%

5

.8%

5

.3%

4

.7%

2

.5%

2

2.7

%

Bu

ckin

gh

am

sh

ire N

ew

Un

ive

rsity

7

5.0

%

1.6

%

16

.4%

0

.8%

1

1.7

%

33

.0%

3

.7%

0

.8%

3

.5%

2

.7%

0

.8%

0

.5%

2

4.2

%

Th

e U

niv

ers

ity o

f Ea

st L

on

do

n

73

.3%

7

.3%

2

9.8

%

3.4

%

5.0

%

9.3

%

7.3

%

0.5

%

2.3

%

4.6

%

3.8

%

4.0

%

19

.5%

Th

am

es V

alle

y U

niv

ers

ity

71

.7%

1

0.3

%

19

.6%

2

.5%

1

1.2

%

9.0

%

0.9

%

0.3

%

7.8

%

4.7

%

5.3

%

1.2

%

25

.9%

Lo

nd

on

So

uth

Ba

nk U

niv

ers

ity

70

.3%

9

.5%

2

5.9

%

1.7

%

7.4

%

5.6

%

6.7

%

1.0

%

4.0

%

5.0

%

3.3

%

2.4

%

20

.8%

Birm

ing

ha

m C

ity U

niv

ers

ity

68

.4%

8

.2%

4

.8%

0

.3%

1

6.0

%

25

.4%

5

.2%

1

.0%

2

.3%

4

.2%

0

.8%

3

.0%

3

0.5

%

Th

e S

ch

oo

l of O

rien

tal a

nd

Afric

an

Stu

die

s

67

.2%

3

.7%

1

0.6

%

1.0

%

11

.6%

1

0.6

%

5.4

%

3.1

%

7.7

%

8.3

%

5.2

%

0.9

%

30

.7%

Th

e U

niv

ers

ity o

f Wo

lve

rha

mp

ton

6

5.0

%

5.2

%

3.8

%

1.1

%

26

.3%

2

0.3

%

2.3

%

0.4

%

1.2

%

3.2

%

1.2

%

4.5

%

31

.4%

Kin

gsto

n U

niv

ers

ity

64

.7%

6

.8%

1

4.4

%

1.0

%

15

.4%

9

.1%

1

.8%

1

.0%

4

.8%

5

.7%

4

.8%

2

.8%

3

2.3

%

Th

e U

niv

ers

ity o

f Gre

en

wic

h

64

.2%

4

.5%

1

6.8

%

1.0

%

6.6

%

8.6

%

12

.4%

1

.9%

4

.2%

3

.9%

4

.4%

1

.4%

3

0.8

%

Th

e U

niv

ers

ity o

f We

stm

inste

r 6

2.2

%

5.3

%

12

.5%

1

.6%

1

1.9

%

9.9

%

6.4

%

1.4

%

2.7

%

4.2

%

6.4

%

5.5

%

31

.4%

St M

ary

's U

niv

ers

ity C

olle

ge

, Tw

icke

nh

am

6

0.8

%

4.8

%

16

.6%

1

.6%

8

.7%

6

.7%

2

.0%

0

.0%

3

.2%

7

.9%

9

.4%

0

.1%

3

7.2

%

Th

e U

niv

ers

ity o

f Bo

lton

6

0.5

%

2.6

%

8.1

%

0.0

%

9.0

%

31

.4%

0

.9%

1

.7%

1

.7%

5

.1%

0

.0%

0

.4%

3

7.8

%

Un

ive

rsity

of H

ertfo

rdsh

ire

59

.3%

4

.3%

1

5.0

%

0.9

%

14

.3%

8

.2%

2

.5%

1

.1%

4

.2%

4

.3%

4

.4%

3

.3%

3

9.8

%

Co

ve

ntry

Un

ive

rsity

5

8.0

%

3.7

%

13

.7%

1

.0%

1

4.5

%

15

.4%

2

.9%

0

.5%

1

.2%

3

.6%

1

.4%

1

.7%

4

0.4

%

Ro

eh

am

pto

n U

niv

ers

ity

57

.6%

0

.0%

2

1.2

%

12

.1%

6

.1%

6

.1%

0

.0%

0

.0%

6

.1%

6

.1%

0

.0%

0

.0%

4

2.4

%

Th

e U

niv

ers

ity o

f Hu

dd

ers

field

5

0.2

%

1.6

%

2.5

%

0.9

%

3.9

%

33

.1%

3

.2%

0

.7%

1

.6%

1

.8%

0

.9%

2

.0%

4

7.8

%

Un

ive

rsity

of L

on

do

n (In

stitu

tes a

nd

activ

ities)

50

.0%

1

0.0

%

10

.0%

0

.0%

2

0.0

%

0.0

%

0.0

%

0.0

%

0.0

%

0.0

%

10

.0%

0

.0%

4

0.0

%

Qu

ee

n M

ary

an

d W

estfie

ld C

olle

ge

4

9.2

%

1.9

%

9.0

%

0.3

%

11

.8%

6

.8%

4

.0%

2

.4%

3

.7%

5

.3%

4

.0%

1

.9%

3

8.5

%

LS

E

48

.2%

1

.5%

4

.7%

0

.0%

1

1.8

%

5.3

%

2.7

%

8.6

%

3.8

%

6.8

%

3.0

%

0.8

%

48

.5%

Le

ed

s T

rinity

an

d A

ll Sa

ints

4

7.1

%

5.9

%

0.0

%

0.0

%

0.0

%

29

.4%

5

.9%

0

.0%

0

.0%

5

.9%

0

.0%

0

.0%

5

2.9

%

De

Mo

ntfo

rt Un

ive

rsity

4

5.9

%

2.6

%

5.8

%

0.4

%

24

.4%

6

.2%

1

.2%

0

.4%

1

.7%

2

.0%

1

.2%

3

.5%

5

2.7

%

To

p 2

5 U

niv

ers

ities

63

.2%

5

.1%

1

2.6

%

1.2

%

14

.0%

1

4.5

%

4.1

%

1.2

%

3.1

%

4.1

%

3.3

%

47

.7%

3

2.9

%

All U

niv

ers

ities (U

K)

27

.4%

1

.9%

5

.0%

0

.5%

6

.0%

5

.8%

1

.6%

0

.9%

1

.4%

2

.9%

1

.4%

1

00

.0%

6

8.6

%

S

ou

rce

: HE

SA

Stu

de

nt R

eco

rd

All Ethnic Minorities

Black Caribbean

Black African

Black Other

Indian

Pakistani

Bangladeshi

Chinese

Other Asian

Mixed

Other

% of total BME Law Students

White

Top Universities

Page 6: Law  rfo factsheet

Sou

rce: HE

SA

Stu

den

t Reco

rd N

o d

ata on

law as a su

bject w

as available fo

r Imp

erial Co

llege of S

c., Tech. an

d M

edicin

e

Ethnic Minorities in Law

2.3 Russell Group Universities w

ith the Highest Proportion of Ethnic Minority Students studying Law

Table 2

show

s the p

ercentag

e of Law

stud

ents fro

m each

ethn

ic gro

up

at Ru

ssell Gro

up

un

iversities. Lo

nd

on

Sch

oo

l of Eco

no

mics an

d P

olitical S

cience

(LS

E) h

ad th

e hig

hest p

rop

ortio

n (4

8.2

percen

t) of stud

ents fro

m eth

nic m

ino

rities, follow

ed by th

e Un

iversity of Birm

ing

ham

(32.3

percen

t) and

Un

iversity C

olleg

e Lo

nd

on

(31.9 p

ercent). R

ussell G

rou

p u

niversities co

nstitu

te 11.7 p

ercent of th

e total eth

nic m

ino

rity stud

ents stu

dyin

g L

aw in

UK

un

iversities.

Table

2: R

usse

ll Gro

up

Un

iversities R

anke

d by

Pro

po

rtion

of S

tud

en

ts from

Eth

nic M

ino

rities stud

yin

g L

aw (2

00

7–08

)

Ta

ble

2:

Ru

ss

ell G

rou

p U

niv

ers

ities

Ra

nk

ed

by

Pro

po

rtion

of S

tud

en

ts fro

m E

thn

ic M

ino

rities

stu

dy

ing

La

w (2

00

7–

08

)

Ru

ss

ell U

niv

ers

ities

All

Min

oritie

s

Bla

ck

or

Bla

ck

Britis

h

Ca

ribb

ea

n

Bla

ck

or

Bla

ck

Britis

h

Afric

an

Oth

er

Bla

ck

Ba

ck

gro

un

d

As

ian

or

As

ian

Britis

h

Ind

ian

As

ian

or

As

ian

Britis

h

Pa

kis

tan

i

As

ian

or

As

ian

Britis

h

Ba

ng

lad

es

hi

Ch

ine

se

Oth

er

As

ian

Ba

ck

gro

u

nd

Mix

ed

Eth

nic

ity

Oth

er

% o

f To

tal

BA

ME

La

w

Stu

de

nts

W

hite

s

Lo

nd

on

Sch

oo

l of E

co

no

mic

s a

nd

Po

litica

l Scie

nce

4

8.2

%

1.5

%

4.7

%

0.0

%

11

.8%

5

.3%

2

.7%

8

.6%

3

.8%

6

.8%

3

.0%

0

.8%

4

8.5

%

Th

e U

niv

ers

ity o

f Birm

ing

ha

m

32

.3%

0

.8%

2

.8%

0

.2%

1

3.0

%

9.0

%

0.8

%

0.9

%

0.9

%

3.2

%

0.6

%

1.0

%

61

.4%

Un

ive

rsity

Co

lleg

e L

on

do

n

31

.9%

0

.9%

3

.8%

0

.4%

9

.6%

2

.6%

0

.4%

3

.2%

3

.0%

3

.8%

4

.2%

0

.9%

6

2.9

%

Kin

g's

Co

lleg

e L

on

do

n

29

.6%

1

.3%

3

.9%

0

.2%

8

.0%

3

.5%

0

.6%

2

.4%

3

.2%

5

.1%

1

.6%

1

.7%

6

5.5

%

Th

e U

niv

ers

ity o

f Wa

rwic

k

22

.1%

1

.7%

4

.0%

0

.8%

5

.7%

2

.3%

0

.6%

1

.4%

2

.1%

3

.0%

0

.5%

0

.6%

7

4.0

%

Th

e U

niv

ers

ity o

f No

tting

ha

m

20

.4%

0

.3%

2

.9%

0

.3%

5

.1%

0

.7%

0

.3%

1

.7%

1

.4%

6

.4%

1

.2%

0

.6%

7

7.2

%

Th

e U

niv

ers

ity o

f Ma

nch

este

r 2

0.1

%

0.8

%

2.5

%

0.0

%

4.8

%

4.0

%

0.4

%

1.9

%

1.2

%

3.1

%

1.3

%

0.9

%

76

.0%

Th

e U

niv

ers

ity o

f Oxfo

rd

17

.5%

0

.7%

1

.3%

0

.1%

4

.6%

1

.7%

0

.1%

2

.1%

1

.2%

5

.1%

0

.6%

0

.6%

7

7.7

%

Th

e U

niv

ers

ity o

f Sh

effie

ld

17

.1%

1

.0%

2

.2%

0

.2%

3

.2%

4

.1%

0

.4%

1

.5%

1

.2%

2

.5%

0

.8%

1

.1%

8

1.1

%

Th

e U

niv

ers

ity o

f Ca

mb

ridg

e

16

.6%

0

.5%

1

.9%

0

.0%

3

.6%

1

.4%

0

.2%

1

.9%

1

.9%

3

.9%

1

.5%

0

.5%

7

5.4

%

Th

e U

niv

ers

ity o

f Le

ed

s

16

.4%

0

.6%

1

.2%

0

.3%

3

.8%

4

.6%

0

.1%

0

.6%

0

.6%

3

.6%

0

.9%

0

.6%

8

2.3

%

Th

e U

niv

ers

ity o

f So

uth

am

pto

n

14

.3%

0

.0%

2

.6%

0

.1%

2

.5%

0

.8%

0

.6%

1

.5%

2

.1%

2

.5%

1

.5%

0

.3%

8

4.6

%

Th

e U

niv

ers

ity o

f Liv

erp

oo

l 1

3.5

%

0.5

%

1.2

%

0.1

%

2.3

%

2.5

%

1.3

%

0.7

%

0.8

%

3.5

%

0.6

%

0.4

%

85

.5%

Th

e U

niv

ers

ity o

f Bris

tol

12

.6%

0

.3%

1

.2%

0

.0%

2

.3%

0

.6%

0

.5%

1

.1%

1

.7%

4

.1%

0

.8%

0

.4%

7

7.1

%

Th

e U

niv

ers

ity o

f Ne

wca

stle

-up

on

-Tyn

e

9.1

%

0.2

%

0.0

%

0.0

%

2.4

%

1.1

%

0.2

%

1.1

%

0.7

%

2.8

%

0.5

%

0.2

%

89

.0%

Ca

rdiff U

niv

ers

ity

8.6

%

0.6

%

1.3

%

0.0

%

2.3

%

0.7

%

0.3

%

0.8

%

0.2

%

2.0

%

0.5

%

0.5

%

89

.5%

Th

e U

niv

ers

ity o

f Ed

inb

urg

h

5.5

%

0.0

%

0.5

%

0.0

%

0.9

%

0.6

%

0.3

%

0.9

%

0.3

%

1.5

%

0.4

%

0.3

%

91

.5%

Th

e U

niv

ers

ity o

f Gla

sg

ow

5

.2%

0

.0%

0

.2%

0

.0%

1

.3%

1

.1%

0

.0%

0

.7%

0

.5%

1

.2%

0

.1%

0

.2%

9

4.7

%

Th

e Q

ue

en

's U

niv

ers

ity o

f Be

lfast

1.1

%

0.1

%

0.0

%

0.0

%

0.1

%

0.0

%

0.0

%

0.1

%

0.0

%

0.4

%

0.4

%

0.1

%

94

.8%

Imp

eria

l Co

lleg

e o

f Sc., T

ech

. an

d M

ed

. -

- -

- -

- -

- -

- -

- -

Ru

sse

ll Un

ive

rsitie

s

16

.4%

0

.6%

1

.9%

0

.1%

4

.1%

2

.4%

0

.4%

1

.5%

1

.3%

3

.1%

1

.0%

1

1.7

%

80

.1%

All U

niv

ers

ities (U

K)

27

.4%

1

.9%

5

.0%

0

.5%

6

.0%

5

.8%

1

.6%

0

.9%

1

.4%

2

.9%

1

.4%

1

00

.0%

6

8.6

%

S

ou

rce

: HE

SA

Stu

de

nt R

eco

rd

No

da

ta o

n la

w a

s a

su

bje

ct w

as a

va

ilab

le fo

r Imp

eria

l Co

lleg

e o

f Sc., T

ech

. an

d M

ed

icin

e

All Ethnic Minorities

Black Caribbean

Black African

Black Other

Indian

Pakistani

Bangladeshi

Chinese

Other Asian

Mixed

Other

% of total BME Law Students

White

Top Universities

Page 7: Law  rfo factsheet

07 I Race for Opportunity (RfO) | Ethnic Minorities in Law

Russell Group Universities

Ethnic Minorities in Law

82%Barristers

81%Judges

53%Partners

In 2008, BME solicitors, on average, had less post qualification experience: the mean for White solicitors was 13.26 compared to 7.88 for BME solicitors.

l BME solicitors tended to be younger with an average age of 36.7 compared to an average of 40.5 for the White group. (Both the PQE and age differences confirm lower levels of BME participation in the market historically.)

l Tenure in their current job was also lower, on average, for BME solicitors than for White solicitors (4.51 years compared with 7.28).

l BME solicitors were much more likely to work in smaller firms with 2-5 solicitors and less likely than White solicitors to work in larger firms with 41 to 170 solicitors.

l BME solicitors were more than twice as likely to work in majority-female- owned firms.

Source: The Law Society - Ethnicity and earnings in private practice; Findings

from the 2008 salary survey June 2009

l Over one-quarter of BME solicitors (29%) worked in firms which were owned by a majority of BME partners/owners but this was the case for just 0.2% of White solicitors.

l Over one-quarter of BME solicitors worked with legally aided clients in the preceding 12 months compared to 16% of White solicitors; and of those working with legal aid clients, BME solicitors were much more likely to spend over 50% of their time on legal aid than White solicitors – 80% of BME legal aid solicitors spent more than 50% of their time on legal aid compared to 44% of ethnic legal aid solicitors (but this calculation is based on an unweighted base of just 39 BME solicitors).

l BME solicitors were less likely to undertake work in business and commercial affairs cases and more likely to work in the areas of crime, family and personal and financial management.

FAST FACTSMore ethnic minority differences in private practice

What’s Class got to do with itAn analysis of the educational background of top legal professionals by the Sutton Trust found that, in 2004, 82% of UK-educated barristers, 81% of judges and 53% of the partners in ‘magic circle’ law firms had attended Oxford or Cambridge. Two-thirds of barristers and three-quarters of judges also went to fee-paying schools, and there has been little change in this since the late 1980s!

Source: The Educational Backgrounds of the UK’s Top Solicitors, Barristers and Judges, Sutton Trust briefing note, June 2005

Page 8: Law  rfo factsheet

08 I Race for Opportunity (RfO) | Ethnic Minorities in Law

Key facts on the solicitors’ profession

Ethnic Minorities in Law

Ethnic minority participation

Solicitors of ethnic minority origin have entered the profession in larger numbers in recent years. At 31 July 2008, there were 14,892 ethnic minority solicitors on the Roll, of whom 11,249 (75.5%) held current practising certificates.

Solicitors from ethnic minority groups on the Roll as at 31 July 2008

Solicitors from ethnic minority ethnic groups with pcs as at 31 July 2008

In other words, excluding those for whom the ethnicity is unknown, solicitors from ethnic minority groups accounted for 10.7 percent of all solicitors on the Roll, 10.0 percent of all solicitors with practising certificates, and 9.5 percent of all solicitors in private practice.

Trends in the last ten years - The solicitors’ profession

Ten years ago the percentage of practising certificate holders drawn from ethnic minority groups was 4.9%, - it is now 10%.

Source: The Law Society 2008 – Fact sheet series Key Facts on the solicitors’ profession.

14,892 10.7%% of all solicitors

11,249 10.0%% of all solicitors

No.

No.

Page 9: Law  rfo factsheet

00 I Race for Opportunity (RfO) | Race to the top

For further information on the Race for Opportunity campaign.Please visit www.raceforopportunity.org.uk or telephone 020 7566 8661

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October 2008

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Race for Opportunityis part of Business in the Community

Registered Details137 Shepherdess Walk, London N1 7RQ. Telephone: 020 7566 8650Registered Charity No: 297716. Company Limited by Guarantee No: 1619253

opportunity now is part of Business in the Community

Business in the Community - mobilising business for good.We inspire, engage, support and challenge companies on responsible business, working through four areas: Marketplace, Workplace, Environment and Community. With more than 850 companies in membership, we represent 1 in 5 of the UK private sector workforce and convene a network of global partners.

[email protected]

Business in the Community137 Shepherdess WalkLondon N1 7RQT +44 (0) 20 7566 8650F +44 (0) 20 7253 1877 E [email protected]

October 2008

designed and produced by scs marketing ltd | t: 01323 471050Product code: 01OPP000435