DLA Piper has been named as a Top 50 employer in the UK’s first-ever Social Mobility Employer Index.

The Index is a joint initiative between the Social Mobility Foundation and the Social Mobility Commission, in partnership with the City of London Corporation. It ranks the UK’s employers for the first time on the actions they are taking to ensure they are open to accessing and progressing talent from all backgrounds and it showcases progress towards improving social mobility in the workplace.

The aim of the Index is to encourage firms to share their initiatives and progress in becoming more inclusive employers and to reveal which sectors and companies are taking the issue of social mobility most seriously.

DLA Piper has been ranked 46 in the Index for the commendable work it has taken to tackle this and to enable those from lower socio-economic backgrounds to succeed. Measures taken by the firm include our involvement with the PRIME and Pathways to Law programmes, and our own global Break Into Law programme.

Sandra Wallace, UK Managing Partner, said: “We are pleased to have made progress in this area, and look forward to building further on this achievement in years to come. In the 21st century workplace we should be attracting the broadest range of talent to the legal profession, regardless of background, and addressing the barriers to careers within the legal sector for under-represented groups.”

David Johnston, chief executive of the Social Mobility Foundation, said: “All the Top 50 firms in the Social Mobility Employer Index should be applauded for the progress they are making towards ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to get in and get on – regardless of their background. They should be congratulated both for having prioritised social mobility and for being prepared to have their processes and practices independently scrutinised.”

Last week DLA Piper launched its Global Scholarships programme, which provides financial support and a series of global placements to law students from the world’s least developed countries.