The law and other professions remain closed shops to many from socially disadvantaged backgrounds (see my story this week on the Cabinet Office report in which this was revealed).

The Cabinet Office’s research on fair access to the professions showed more than half of professional occupations like law and finance are dominated by people from independent schools – schools which are attended by just 7% of the population. And reports from the Sutton Trust show the ability of people to climb up the social ladder has remained more or less unchanged since the 1970s.

So what is the key to social mobility? Obviously one part of it is education, which is up to the government to address. But the report also showed low aspirations, a lack of contacts or advice on information about the professions, and difficulties in accessing work experience or internships were also factors.

In the law especially, the research showed the majority of work experience opportunities were in London, which prohibited many students from poorer backgrounds taking them up.

Though the Law Society and the Bar Council may not be able to do anything to improve the state education system or the fiscal prospects of poorer families, they can address some of the other factors – by exposing schoolchildren to information about the law and providing role models, ensuring school and college careers officers have adequate information, encouraging firms and chambers to offer work experience not just to their friends’ children, but to kids from the local comp.

Solicitors and the bar have made strides to tackle the issues of sex and racial discrimination when it comes to entry into the professions – is it now time to tackle class discrimination? And how might that be addressed?