Clyde & Co launches LIFT: Legal Insight for Future Talent
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Press Releases 06 February 2024 06 February 2024
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UK & Europe
We have today announced the launch of the outreach initiative LIFT (Legal Insight for Future Talent), designed to provide fair access to insight into the legal sector, with a focus on advancing social mobility and underrepresented groups.
Accessing insight into the legal sector plays a huge part in inspiring people to pursue a career in the law and invest in their continued development. But it’s an opportunity that is not always open to everyone equally. Taking part in development opportunities or valuable insight sessions can often be difficult for those who may feel shut out due to factors such as their socio-economic background, location, age or other extenuating circumstances.
We believe that everyone should have an equitable chance to succeed, which is why we’ve launched LIFT – Legal Insight for Future Talent – to provide accessible insight and development opportunities to those who have traditionally faced challenges in joining the legal industry.
LIFT Insight Weeks
Core to this will be our LIFT Insight Weeks, which will allow participants to gain hands on insight into a career in the law. Fully paid above the living wage, we’ll also be covering all expenses to reduce any economic or geographic barriers to taking part.
LIFT Insight Weeks have been created with accessibility at the forefront of the design. These paid 5-day insight and development programmes will broaden participants’ understanding of the legal and commercial sector with a focus on personal development, mentoring and career planning. Participants will be invited to 3 days of virtual workshops, panel sessions and work shadowing, alongside 2 days in-person in a Clyde & Co office close to them.
We’ve chosen to focus on a high-quality virtual offering to make it easier for applicants in more remote locations or who may have additional personal responsibilities to take part. By introducing a simple application process, broad age eligibility and no grade requirements, we’ll be placing a strong focus on individual strengths, enthusiasm and an interest in the legal sector. The week will provide exposure to opportunities on offer across Clyde & Co, from our fee earning lawyers to our Business Services departments.
Stuart Maleno, Partner and Social Mobility Champion on the UK D&I Steering Committee, comments: ‘We recognise how challenging it can be to access legal work experience and gain that invaluable insight into what a career in law could look like. We are thrilled to be launching the LIFT initiative, to fill that gap and provide an opportunity for more diverse talent to get their foot in the door. With targeted development opportunities, mentoring and career planning, we expect LIFT Insight Weeks to instil people with the confidence they need to pursue their career in the commercial sector.’
Increasing representation across the firm
LIFT complements existing programmes and initiatives designed to address under-representation in the legal sector. This includes our partnerships with non-Russell Group universities, ring-fenced programmes such as Bright Futures, and the use of contextualised recruitment across all Early Careers applications.
LIFT follows hot on the heels of the successful roll out of our ‘Paralegal Academy’, the firm’s new talent development programme. Differing from the traditional training contract route, the Paralegal Academy includes a range of initiatives and programmes designed to provide individuals with the technical and core skills needed to become a confident paralegal.
These initiatives form part of our commitment to providing more routes into the industry for talent from a range of backgrounds, breaking down barriers to access and advancing social mobility and representation across the firm. Through this we aim to work towards our broader commitment to building a more inclusive industry.
Next steps
Applications for LIFT Insight Weeks are open now, closing on 24 March 2024.
Apply for LIFT Social Mobility
To learn more about the Insight weeks and application process, attend one of our ‘LIFT Insight Sessions: Insight Week Run Through’. Use the registration links below to sign up:
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