TY - JOUR

T1 - The Fairness Project

T2 - the role of legal educators as catalysts for change. Engaging in difficult dialogues on the impact of diversity barriers to entry and progression in the legal profession

AU - McKee, Tina

AU - Nir, Rachel

AU - Alexander, Jill

AU - Griffiths, Elisabeth

AU - Dargue, Paul

AU - Hervey, Tamara

PY - 2021/9/30

Y1 - 2021/9/30

N2 - This article provides a critique of The Fairness Project, a learning and teaching project on equality and diversity in the legal profession and its impact on employability, delivered over three years across three university law schools. The Fairness Project builds on current literature on lack of equality and diversity in the legal profession, by adopting a student perspective. Barriers to entry and progression within the legal profession occur because of a range of issues including social class, gender, ethnicity, initial education, university education and gaining work experience in a law firm. We explore whether, and to what extent, we can educate law students from a range of diverse backgrounds and social identities about the “diversity barriers” entrenched in the legal profession, and thus influence their own career trajectories to access the profession. Our results show that–at least to some extent–we can. The data suggests that The Fairness Project helped prepare law students to tackle the inequalities that exist in the legal profession. The learning benefits of The Fairness Project are transferable to other law schools and could be adapted for use with law students in other jurisdictions, or for students in other disciplines where “diversity barriers” may exist.

AB - This article provides a critique of The Fairness Project, a learning and teaching project on equality and diversity in the legal profession and its impact on employability, delivered over three years across three university law schools. The Fairness Project builds on current literature on lack of equality and diversity in the legal profession, by adopting a student perspective. Barriers to entry and progression within the legal profession occur because of a range of issues including social class, gender, ethnicity, initial education, university education and gaining work experience in a law firm. We explore whether, and to what extent, we can educate law students from a range of diverse backgrounds and social identities about the “diversity barriers” entrenched in the legal profession, and thus influence their own career trajectories to access the profession. Our results show that–at least to some extent–we can. The data suggests that The Fairness Project helped prepare law students to tackle the inequalities that exist in the legal profession. The learning benefits of The Fairness Project are transferable to other law schools and could be adapted for use with law students in other jurisdictions, or for students in other disciplines where “diversity barriers” may exist.

U2 - 10.1080/03069400.2020.1796061

DO - 10.1080/03069400.2020.1796061

M3 - Journal article

VL - 55

SP - 283

EP - 313

JO - Law Teacher

JF - Law Teacher

SN - 0306-9400

IS - 3

ER -