Laid-off minority lawyers toil for no pay
Some black and minority ethnic (BME) lawyers are working for free because they failed to land paid training contracts or work after they were made redundant.
The shocking statistic is revealed in research carried out by the Law Society and published exclusively by The Lawyer in its inaugural report on diversity, out today.
The Law Society said: “Some BME solicitors [are] working for no pay. In today’s society, with wrangles over the minimum wage, it seems incredible that individuals are still prepared to work without remuneration to fulfil their passion to break into the legal profession.”
The Lawyer Diversity Report 2010 suggests that minorities have been affected disproportionately in redundancy programmes, that women and minorities are pushed towards lower-paid areas and that a fifth of LGBT lawyers have experienced discrimination at work.
These factors are leading talent from non-traditional groups to leave private practice in droves, resulting in a loss of £125,000 per associate and a surge in Employment Tribunal claims.
The report explains the issues behind these trends and carries out the first audit of the diversity profiles of the UK’s largest 30 firms.
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Readers' comments (33)
Anonymous | 25-Oct-2010 11:36 am
'The Law Society said: “Some BME solicitors [are] working for no pay"'
Hmm not exactly news to me. Has been going on for the past 10 years at least.
So what exactly does the Law Society propose to do about it? I wonder what the Law Society does with the membership fees if not to protect expoited ethnic minorities.
I expect a little more probing by The Lawyer if it expects its "news" leads to be considered journalism.
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Anonymous | 25-Oct-2010 11:56 am
11:36 am - how DARE you expect that the Law Society actually DO anything about any issue that doesn't involve Legal Aid cuts. Have you learnt nothing about our representative body over the past few years???
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Anonymous | 25-Oct-2010 12:34 pm
There are many working for no-pay in solicitors firms, hoping they might one day win the golden ticket of a training contract, but the story is more newsworthy when it involves BMEs?
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IHateBPP | 25-Oct-2010 1:02 pm
The same comments about unpaid training contracts and work apply equally to people who aren't ethnic minorities.
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Anonymous | 25-Oct-2010 2:38 pm
I may be incorrect (but I am not) - the Law Society dictates minimum pay for training contracts - IHateBPP may be showing his age.
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Anonymous | 25-Oct-2010 2:54 pm
The SRA does dictate minimum pay, but actually ensuring it is paid is another matter.
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Anonymous | 25-Oct-2010 2:54 pm
Why do you assume that IHateBPP is male?
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sarah | 25-Oct-2010 2:57 pm
Re: Anonymous | 25-Oct-2010 12:34 pm
You're right there are many people working without pay but the problem is more acute among BMEs who don't always have the same contacts and networks as white British lawyers because they didn't go to right school or the right university and Mummy or Daddy isn't a lawyer at Smith & Smith. Race and ethnicity and questions of social capital are still very closely entwined.
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Anonymous | 25-Oct-2010 3:15 pm
Sarah: 'bla bla bla chip on my shoulder'.
FYI - ethnic minorities are overrepresented in the profession as a percentage of the population. It is easier to get a TC or junior associate position as an ethnic minority than a white person.
This is a non-story.
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FB | 25-Oct-2010 3:19 pm
Sarah is quite right, and the situation is likely to get much, much worse thanks to the Coalition's plans for higher education.
Seems like the law is going to remain largely the province of rich white people for some time to come...
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