Social Mobility

At our firm we value different perspectives, we believe in the power of inclusion and positive social impact and the influence it has on our people, our clients, and the communities where we work. We are dedicated to creating an environment where everyone feels they belong and can thrive.

Advancing socioeconomic inclusion is critically important for our firm and sector. We are determined to play our part in ensuring a person’s background does not dictate what they aspire to do for work, or where they end up in life. We have a long history of partnering with charities and NGOs to understand key social issues and leverage our skills and experience to make a substantial difference. Through our community partnerships and programmes, recruitment practices and inclusion efforts, we support our internal and external communities to flourish. Read more about our work below.

Our flagship Head Start programme supports young people for up to five years, with mentoring, internships, employability, networking and financial support. Head Start UK has been running since 2018 and has supported 176 young people in that time.

See how Head Start transforms lives: Watch Maha's journey or explore the programme.

We're Gold sponsors of the 93% Club's annual Social Mobility Factory. Student attendees can walk into The Social Mobility Factory without a LinkedIn headshot, any experience of mock interviews, a polished CV, knowledge of industries, or influential connections, and they can leave with it all – at zero cost to them. At the 2024 event, over 300 state-educated students from 48 universities attended.

We also sponsor 93% Club societies at universities across the UK, supporting state-educated young people gain access to the legal profession.

Whether you’re a student or graduate, we aim to give you the tools and experience to forge a successful career in law. Our early careers recruitment approach seeks to find the best and brightest students from across EMEA and Asia Pacific, so we've made changes like removing degree entry requirements and using contextualised recruitment in the UK and Australia, to help us find our lawyers of the future.

We've widened pathways into law by introducing our solicitor apprenticeship programme in Manchester in 2021. Solicitor apprentices have joined us every year since, with an intake into Leeds in 2022, London and Birmingham in 2023, London in 2024, and Manchester in 2025. We will have 28 solicitor apprentices on programme, which means that approximately 1 in 5 early careers employees training to be a solicitor in the UK is an apprentice.

In 2025, we've launched an early careers candidate hub to support students and prospective candidates develop their employability skills. Check out our free virtual job simulations here, and learn more about our early careers programmes here.

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Our newest people network, Horizons, launched in 2023 with the aim of creating a safe space for colleagues from lower socio-economic backgrounds to feel supported and empowered to progress their career.

Read more about our people networks here.

Social Mobility Conference 2025: Unlocking Potential in the Legal Sector

We hosted our Social Mobility Conference 2025 in London, bringing together colleagues from across the firm to explore how we can better support individuals from all backgrounds to succeed in the legal profession.

Organised by Horizons, DLA Piper's social mobility People Network across the UK, in collaboration with our Responsible Business and Inclusion & Culture teams, the event focused on practical advice, career development, and understanding the cultural dynamics that influence progression in the sector.

Highlights from the Day

Leadership Perspectives: Sandra Wallace, DLA Piper Deputy Managing Partner for Employment, opened the conference by reaffirming our commitment to social mobility, setting the tone for a day focused on action and insight. Joanne Conway, DLA Piper International Head of Inclusion, followed with a presentation on her PhD research, offering a data-driven look at the barriers and opportunities within the legal industry.

Personal Journeys: A panel discussion led by Sophie Pender featured Eugene Blavo and DLA Piper International colleagues Suraj Mashru (Senior PR & Corporate Comms Manager), Lorraine Reader (Partner, Real Estate & Sponsor of Horizons), Emma Dowden-Teale (Partner, Lit & Reg), and William Naunton (Partner & Global Co-Chair, Real Estate). Each speaker shared their career experiences – highlighting the informal norms, challenges, and turning points that shaped their paths. The session offered a candid look at how individuals navigate the profession and the importance of making space for diverse perspectives.

Career Development Workshop: Sunita Harley (Inclusion consultant and coach) delivered an interactive session focused on practical strategies for career growth. Attendees explored tools for building confidence, shifting mindsets, and identifying opportunities for progression.

Networking & Connection: Throughout the day, participants had the chance to connect with colleagues, share experiences, and build relationships – reinforcing the value of community and peer support.

Closing Session: The conference concluded with a performance by stand-up comedian Toni Kent, offering a light-hearted end to a day of learning and reflection.

We're a founding funder of PRIME an alliance of law firms and in-house legal teams across the UK and Republic of Ireland improving access to, and socioeconomic inclusion within, the legal profession. We sit on The Sutton Trust's Pathways to Law Advisory Group. Partner Sandra Wallace CBE is chair of the board for Making the Leap, a social mobility charity and Vincent Keaveny CBE is chair of the board for progress together, a not-for-profit membership body focuses on promoting socio-economic diversity.

Our social mobility action plan is governed by a working group comprised of multiple teams from around the firm including our Responsible Business, HR, Inclusion and Culture, and fee-earning teams (including apprentices) and sponsored by senior Partners, to ensure we represent the voices of all our people.

Sharing stories from our people is a powerful tool for fostering inclusion. Watch colleagues from across our firm share their stories below.

We work with The Sutton Trust, PRIME, the Social Mobility Business Partnership and the Ahead Partnership to offer work experience opportunities to secondary-aged young people across the UK. We welcome over 100 young people onto our work experience programmes in our offices each year. Click on the links to find out more about programmes with The Sutton Trust, the Social Mobility Business Partnership, and Ahead Partnership.