Dismantling barriers

Those of us who have spent many years in the IP profession have often noted how privileged we are to be part of such a tight-knit network which forms the sound basis for an interesting and continually challenging profession.

However, I am not sure many of us have ever actually challenged that sense of privilege: does it present a challenge to all of us to be part of making our profession as diverse and inclusive as possible?

Not only is that absolutely the right thing to do, but a real collective effort on all our parts to accelerate each of our firm’s socioeconomic diversity will undoubtedly present an even broader platform for diversity of innovation, thought and the inevitable business positives that will follow.

One might argue that we already have a diverse profession particularly when it comes to the balance of opportunities around gender but it is worth looking a little deeper, beyond the published glossy annual people and diversity reports.

There remains one particular barrier that continues to mean accessing a career in the IP profession (like many others) can feel attainable only to a limited few, and not the talented many. This aspect of diversity can be found lurking in the shadows, continually dismissed as a non-priority or (in some cases) a complete ‘myth’—socioeconomic diversity.

While many firms have made great strides in driving increased levels of socioeconomic diversity and representation across various legal disciplines, our profession still faces significant challenges in achieving ‘real’ socioeconomic diversity.

This article explores the importance of socioeconomic diversity in our profession and considers why addressing this issue is crucial for our future. It hopefully offers some ideas and initiatives that we have found are beginning to make a real difference at Browne Jacobson.

The underlying issue

Socioeconomic diversity refers to the representation of individuals from various economic backgrounds within a particular profession or field. In the context of the IP profession, it encompasses the inclusion of attorneys, lawyers and other professionals from diverse economic and social backgrounds.

Historically, our profession has typically (but not exclusively) attracted applications from individuals from ‘professional’ socioeconomic backgrounds (with Oxbridge or Russell Group University degrees) due in part to the high costs associated with education and training and the bias of many firms towards hiring from a limited pool of particular universities. For example, in 2022 the top 100 UK law firms hired 84% of their trainees from Russell Group Universities.

There are clearly institutional barriers which are negatively impacting socioeconomic diversity in the broader profession and of course, the key long-term solution is to significantly increase the number of working-class STEM and law students. But that is a change that will take time and significant resources, and will need to be an ongoing effort for a number of years. There are other steps that we can all consider if we are to accelerate the pace of change.

”If a student has a parent or guardian who is a lawyer, they are 17 times more likely to become a lawyer themselves.”

Socioeconomic diversity in the IP landscape is not just a matter of fairness and opportunity for all, it has to be a strategic imperative for several reasons:

To be truly innovative and progressive we need diverse perspectives. Our profession plays a pivotal role in protecting innovation and creativity. A diverse group of professionals brings these varying perspectives to any business and will not only enhance the quality of solutions of legal counsel, but will provide a sound platform for innovation itself.

Client representation

Clients come from a multitude of backgrounds and industries. To provide effective authentic counsel and communication, we should take time to understand the socioeconomic backgrounds of all our clients and take a serious and deeper look at the barriers that they may have faced and have overcome. It seems like an obvious step to best achieve this by working with a diverse socioeconomic team from within, as nothing beats having common ground to refer back to.

Access to justice

Socioeconomic diversity in the profession can improve access to legal services, making IP protection more attainable for individuals and startups with limited resources.

Diversity of thought leads to greater and higher quality innovation. Diverse employees have access to more diverse networks, their lived experience can provide an invaluable perspective to any new situation or opportunity. Despite these obvious benefits, the IP professions continue to track some way behind, not only in terms of socioeconomic diversity, but also on gender and, in particular, racial diversity.

Barriers to entry

Several factors are contributing to the limited socioeconomic diversity within our professions. The high cost of legal education can deter (and ultimately prevent) individuals from lower-income backgrounds from pursuing a career in law. Make no mistake, these individuals have the talent and the dedication required to be highly successful, it’s simply unattainable and unrealistic based on the financial resources available to them. That’s talent the profession has lost.

Many IP opportunities, such as internships, are unpaid or, at best, low-paid, making them financially inaccessible to those who cannot afford to work without adequate financial compensation. When it comes to advancing social mobility, offering unpaid work experience opportunities actually widens the socioeconomic gap more than if you don’t offer work experience at all.