Committee publication · Correspondence · 4 March 2026 · HC 1373
Written evidence from Browne Jacobson, re Social Mobility, dated 23 February 2026
Summary
Browne Jacobson, a 1,350-person law firm ranked top in the Social Mobility Foundation's Employer Index, submitted written evidence on social mobility to the Women and Equalities Committee. The firm outlines its decade-long approach to embedding socioeconomic diversity through recruitment reform (removing academic gatekeeping), structured work experience (FAIRE programme reaching 87,000 participants), apprenticeships, pay gap reporting, and bias training—particularly addressing accent stereotyping. The firm advocates for statutory socioeconomic pay gap reporting, making socioeconomic background a protected characteristic, and government incentives for regional investment.
Key findings
- Browne Jacobson removed A-level/degree requirements from legal recruitment in 2016; 60% of legal trainees now from non-Russell Group universities, with 70% achieving highest performance ratings.
- FAIRE work experience programme has cumulatively reached 87,000 participants (in-person: 90 places 3× annually, 85% from lower socioeconomic backgrounds; online: 7,000 participants, 62% from lower socioeconomic backgrounds).
- 81% of solicitor apprentices met social mobility criteria; apprenticeships now represent 25–30% of annual junior intake, rising to 95% including Graduate Solicitor Apprenticeship pathway.
- Research with University of Nottingham (2023–2025) identified accent stereotyping as a key exclusion mechanism; firm developed and rolled out accent/socioeconomic bias training to recruitment, L&D, and partnership teams.
- Firm published socioeconomic pay gap data since 2022 and supports mandatory socioeconomic pay gap reporting if accompanied by targets; identifies legal profession underrepresentation: 18% lower socioeconomic backgrounds vs. 39% national average.
Tone
SupportiveTopics
Key actors
Browne Jacobson, Victoria Howard, Tom Lyas, University of Nottingham, Social Mobility Foundation, Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Women and Equalities Committee, Nottingham City Council
Notable line
“We believe that employers often approach socioeconomic diversity as a need to address a "lack" of something in their people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. However, we recognise that a diverse workforce better understands and serves the interests of our clients and society.”
Key Quotes
“We were the first law firm to hire a dedicated social mobility team.”
“Solicitor apprentices are more likely to come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds than those entering through other qualification routes”
“We removed academic requirements from job applications in 2016. Before this, we required ABB at A Level and a 2.1 degree and 100% of our legal trainee recruitment was from Russell Group universities.”
“Accents associated with some ethnic minorities (such as Multi-Cultural London English) and post- industrial cities (such as Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham) tend to be particularly negatively evaluated with speakers stereotyped as being less intelligent, articulate and well- educated.”
“At central government level, historic issues remain entrenched. While relocating functions outside London is positive, higher levels — including Special Advisers — still seem to favour qualities associated with traditional expectations of politicians and civil servants which are more likely to be linked to higher social class norms and behaviours.”
“The biggest worry is the SRA data which suggests that prior education and academic background strongly affects SQE performance, in particular the clear data which suggests candidates who attended fee-paying schools are passing in greater numbers .”
“Mandatory reporting makes the invisible visible, builds trust, identifies systemic issues, provides an evidence base for EDI work, and creates reputational incentives to improve.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗