Two lucky participants will receive £20k scholarships, vac scheme places and long-term mentoring courtesy of US law firm
The London office of US law firm Ropes & Gray has launched a new social mobility work experience programme in conjunction with financial data giant Bloomberg.
The scheme, BRidge To The City, will see 12 first year university students from diverse and underserved low socioeconomic backgrounds complete two weeks paid work experience later this summer at the City outposts of both businesses.
The programme will give students an opportunity to explore legal and compliance careers through a series of panel and networking events as well as a variety of masterclasses. This, Ropes says, will provide the students with the necessary skills to successfully apply for future graduate positions.
Participants will be selected from the pool of students being assisted by the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO London), a charity delivering educational, training and mentoring support to young people from underrepresented and underserved backgrounds.
At the end of the scheme, two standout students will each receive a £20,000 scholarship, a vacation scheme at Ropes, and long-term mentoring.
Ruchit Patel, trainee recruitment partner at Ropes, said:
“We’re hugely excited to be working with our friends at Bloomberg on this innovative new programme, which will help prepare talented students from underrepresented backgrounds for career success. We recognise that many first year students have not made up their minds about which direction to take their careers. As such, we wanted to work together to give students the opportunity to explore a number of options across the City in a single placement. I look forward to welcoming our first students later this year and supporting them on their journey, wherever that may take them.”
A raft of law firms have launched similar social mobility initiatives over the past 12 months, including Freshfields, Gowling WLG, Linklaters, Norton Rose Fulbright and Osborne Clarke.
Last week Legal Cheek reported that Skadden London partner Elizabeth Robertson had taken over the reins at PRIME, a charitable alliance of over 60 law firms which aims to improve access to, and socioeconomic diversity within, the legal profession.