Figures show ethnic minorities lose out

Law Society figures show that ethnic minority law students have a much lower chance of getting articles than white students. Barrister Sailesh Mehta, chair of the Society of Asian Lawyers, says: "Something like 12 to 15 per cent of law students come from an ethnic background and only 7 per cent are successful in getting articles in contrast to 47 per cent of whites." The SAL held a student law fair for ethnic students, where, Mehta says, he was "repeatedly asked the same question by the students as to whether the statistics published by the society are true, and my answer was yes". The society is launching an initiative to change the methods City law firms use to select their candidates. Special summer placement schemes are being set up through the SAL to give them more exposure to City firms.