At New Square Chambers we’re committed to promoting and advancing equality, diversity and inclusion. And we recognise that social mobility remains an issue at the Bar.
Things may be improving but the Bar Standards Board’s most recent Diversity at the Bar Report (published in January 2022) records that 38.8% of barristers are female, and 14.7% of barristers are ethnic minorities. Furthermore, the Bar Standards Board’s sole measure of social mobility is attendance at independent secondary schools, and those statistics show that a disproportionate number of barristers attended an independent secondary school.
Since 2020, we have welcomed 36 prospective pupillage candidates from socially diverse backgrounds to undertake assessed work experience through our Social Mobility Mini-Pupillage programme.