Firm among top 40 UK employers for social mobility

Norton Rose Fulbright has been named one of the top 40 UK employers for social mobility in the Social Mobility Employer Index 2022.

The annual Top 75 Index, published by the Social Mobility Foundation, ranks employers from across all industries based on the actions they take to be open to talent from all backgrounds and to build inclusive workplaces.

Norton Rose Fulbright has spearheaded a number of initiatives to improve social mobility across the industry. It was one of the first large City law firms to introduce an apprenticeship programme, which includes solicitor and paralegal apprenticeships. In October, the firm announced the launch of an Apprenticeship Pledge to ensure that all routes to legal qualification are treated equally. The pledge, which was initiated by Norton Rose Fulbright, has been signed by 16 other law firms across the UK to date with more in the process of signing up.

Earlier this year, the firm also launched the Scholars bursary programme, which aims to widen access to the profession. It provides students facing socio-economic barriers with a bursary and learning opportunities, including mentoring and support with applications.

Peter Scott, managing partner, Norton Rose Fulbright, Europe, Middle East and Asia, was a member of the City of London’s first taskforce on socio-economic mobility, which published its final report on 30 November 2022 setting out a pathway to improve socio-economic diversity in the financial and professional services sector. Peter said: “This ranking demonstrates our continued commitment to improving social mobility in our business and supporting the progression of talented people from all backgrounds.”

The ranking coincides with the firm’s launch of a virtual work experience programme for school leavers. The programme aims to engage students from across the UK at an early stage in their career decision-making process. 

Notes to editors

• Norton Rose Fulbright announced the launch of a pledge in October 2022 to recognise UK legal apprenticeships as an equal pathway into a legal career, joining forces with a group of leading law firms to make the public commitment. The pledge has been formed to highlight the firms’ commitment to apprenticeships and to publicise, for the benefit of current and future apprentices, the recognition of alternative paths to qualification as equivalent to more traditional routes, such as training contracts.
• The pledge follows the launch of the firm’s own legal apprenticeship programme in the UK in 2021, which aims to enable high-performing school leavers from socio-economically diverse backgrounds access legal careers. Over the course of the apprenticeship, 20% of working time is ringfenced for studying, with the tuition fees funded by the apprenticeship levy.
• In 2021, Peter Scott, managing partner, Europe, Middle East and Asia, Norton Rose Fulbright and Clementine Hogarth, corporate and early careers recruitment partner, were appointed to support the City of London’s first taskforce on socio-economic mobility, which focused on supporting socio-economic diversity and career progression at senior levels.
• Norton Rose Fulbright has committed to a number of social mobility projects, including working with Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), Rare Recruitment, the Sutton Trust Pathways to Law initiative and Aspiring Solicitors. The firm is also a signatory to the Social Mobility Pledge and a founding member of PRIME, an alliance of law firms in the UK committed to improving access to the legal profession. In 2020, the firm launched its Advance network whose aims include helping the firm widen access to more socio-economically diverse talent in the UK.