Unlocking Legal Talent of the Future

International law firm, Eversheds, has developed an innovative programme to help talented young people to pursue a successful career in law.  The programme, known as "Eversheds Unlocked", is aimed at young people (aged 16-17) who have the academic potential and an interest in law but who, due to their social, economic and/or cultural backgrounds, may not consider that a legal career is attainable.

 

Eversheds Unlocked was developed out of Eversheds’ involvement with “Pathways to Law”, a joint initiative between the Sutton Trust and the College of Law.  Pathways to Law provides support, guidance and encouragement to young people who may be interested in pursuing a career in the legal profession and is aimed at students from state schools who will be the first in their family to attend university and whose parents are in non-professional occupations.  Under Pathways to Law, the students are guaranteed a work experience placement and, in relation to its commitment to help deliver this, Eversheds decided to adopt a new approach.

Eversheds’ approach, which was developed and piloted in its Manchester office last year and which has subsequently been rolled-out in other offices throughout the UK, was to provide a three day programme that covers the following areas:

• exploring with the students their life dreams and the gap between where they are now and where they want to be;
• looking at the obstacles that may derail the students in pursuing their dreams;
• discussing values and exploring whether these are consistent with those of the legal profession;
• demystifying the legal profession and exploring whether a career in law may help the students to achieve their dreams;
• considering the benefits of setting goals (both short- and long-term) and helping the students to develop their own “pathway” to a career in law; and
• helping the students to develop their non-academic skills, particularly their communication skills.
  

Eversheds engages Arrival Education, a consultancy firm that specialises in the development of young people, to help deliver the programme.  Many Eversheds employees support the programme by running workshops, role plays and question and answer sessions. Eversheds also invites a barrister and one of its clients to come and talk to the students about their experiences. After the three-day programme, Eversheds stays in regular contact with the students, supporting them along their pathway.

To date, over 100 students have benefited from Eversheds Unlocked, with a total of 30 students having attend the programmes run in Manchester over the past two years.  The success of Eversheds Unlocked was recognised when the Manchester office collected the "Learning and Skills Council North West 14-19 Education and Skills Award" at this year’s Business in the Community award ceremony.

If you are interested in finding out more about Eversheds Unlocked, please contact Eversheds’ Corporate Responsibility Partner, Andrew Quayle, by email at andrewquayle@eversheds.com.