Social Mobility and the Legal Profession

<p>This book will be crucial reading for students across a variety of disciplines. A broadly socio-legal text using a mixed-methods design combining grounded theory with an in-depth case study this research explores a rarely-seen facet of the legal profession. Sociologists studying the practical effect of sociological concepts from theorists such as Bourdieu and Weber; those studying the legal profession from the sociological law or psychological angles; anyone examining elite professions; management students examining the operation of professional associations and the ways in which these mobilise to take action on controversial topics; those studying the role and creation of outreach: all will find something of interest in this monograph. For those within the legal profession itself it also provides a look into an oft-hidden world: that of the English Bar. A notoriously secretiveprofession traditional elite and suspicious of research – the case study evaluatingan outreach programme sheds light on how this fascinating world operates when trying to engage in progressive steps. Through the eyes of a professional association seeking to improve socio-economic diversity in the profession through instituting an access programme focussed on work experience it examines not just how professional association action may succeed or fail but why.</p><p></p><p>With foreword by Lord Neuberger former President of the Supreme Court and Chair of the Working Party on Entry to the Bar.</p>