Social Diversity of Chambers

Dere Street recently carried out a survey of its barrister members exploring their social background.  It produced some interesting results:

• Over 50% of barristers attended a state comprehensive secondary school;
• 45% attended a university outside of the Russell group or Oxbridge;
• 25% have come to the profession as a second career;
• Over 65% had parents neither of whom attended university themselves and less than 10% had parents who were themselves lawyers.

Dere Street is committed to increasing diversity amongst its members and staff.  Whilst the above survey suggests that Chambers is perhaps more socially diverse than the Bar as a whole is commonly perceived, regrettably BAME groups remain underrepresented within Dere Street just as they are within the wider profession.

This is something that Dere Street is committed to addressing via the current development of a number of initiatives and also by engagement with similar projects across the North Eastern Circuit and in the profession as a whole.

Chambers wants to attract applicants for pupillage, tenancy and staffing roles from as wide a cross-section of society as possible.  We hope that the publication of this social diversity survey will demonstrate to potential applicants that barristers at Dere Street come from a wide variety of backgrounds and that no one should be put off from applying to join us.