AAL Statistics: The Oxbridge and Russell Group domination

May 03, 2016

Written By Jack J Collins, Editor, AllAboutLaw.co.uk

Latest research has revealed that there is still a significant amount of change to be made before the stranglehold of Oxbridge and Russell Group Universities on the legal profession can be consigned to history.

Laurence Simmons, the specialist legal recruiter, found that 44% of partners at Magic and Silver Circle law firms within the UK had studied at either Oxford of Cambridge, when surveying over 1,000 people.

A further 34% attended different Russell Group Universities, with Durham, Bristol, Kings College London and Nottingham amongst other institutions who were best represented at a partnership level.

This means that only 22% attended the rest of the UK’s 95 universities.

When considered in proportion, that over two-fifths of partners went to Oxbridge, when under 2% of the UK student population attends the Universities, the extend to which their domination of the leading firms is fully revealed.

Andrew Wintle, Principal Consultant at Laurence Simons, commented: “The tremendous quality of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge is rightly a source of national pride in the UK, but they are still criticised for failing to select their students from a diverse talent pool and, with many partners at Magic and Silver Circle firms educated at these institutions, the concern is that the top levels of leadership may fail to reflect the diversity of the UK population.”

The prowess of the Russell Group is also highlighted, but even that is inherently skewed towards a select few institutions. 44% of Russell-educated partners went to one of Bristol, Durham, KCL or Nottingham, whilst Newcastle, Liverpool, Cardiff and Queen’s Belfast could only boast 1% of Russell educated partners each.

Wintle went on to state that: “The elite Russell Group universities represent over a third of UK partners and the same problem stands here as with Oxbridge, that very bright children from a disadvantaged background can have their chances of a good education, and therefore a successful career, reduced at an early stage.”

He concluded with a positive remark about the new apprenticeship schemes being introduced in the sector, claiming: People with top grades from the best universities do not always make the best lawyers and they must be equipped with a range of soft-skills in order to practice at the highest levels. The new apprenticeship route will allow A-grade talent to shine, when it might not otherwise have done so.”

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