Life, Lemons and the Law
A Clarke Willmott podcast
Welcome back to our podcast – ‘Life, Lemons and the Law’. We were delighted with the reception of Series 1 and look forward to sharing more stories and shining a light on our chosen topic for this season. In this series, we will be discussing a subject close to our hearts – Social Mobility – sharing how our firm is looking to improve within this area and highlight the challenges and opportunities posed by social mobility and how we can help.
In 2023, we announced our new community strategy focusing on improving social mobility for those entering the world of work. Part of our wider commitment as a firm to our ESG plans. The Social Mobility Foundation (SMF) was chosen as our national partner because it aims to level the playing field for students with the ability and ambition to flourish academically and in the world of work, but lack the opportunities and networks to get there. The SMF’s Aspiring Professionals Programme opens up 11 different professional sectors to young people. Each January, 2,000 Year 12s join the programme from across the UK and are supported for five years, giving them the skills to achieve their aspirations.
The intention behind this series of Life, Lemons and the Law is to bring experiences and connections to the forefront. We want to start conversations, offer you an opportunity to get to know some of our people and bring new perspectives from those we work with.
You can follow our podcast on the following platforms: Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify.
Life, Lemons and the Law: Social Mobility
#1: Positive Partnerships
‘Positive Partnerships’, features Karen Higgins, Head of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) at Clarke Willmott; Peter Swinburn, CEO of Clarke Willmott; and our special guest, Sarah Atkinson, CEO of the Social Mobility Foundation. They offer an insight into the key partnerships which have benefitted them throughout their careers.
You can also listen to this episode on:
Amazon, Apple, Google, and Spotify.
#2: Invisible Barriers
As our podcast focuses on Social Mobility, we invited former guests Clare Gregory and Mamunul Wahid onto the pod again. In many ways, Clare and Mamun’s experience encapsulates the problem of social mobility and reasons for Clarke Wilmott partnering with the Social Mobility Foundation.
Neither Clare or Mamun come from what we might perceive as a typical background for becoming a lawyer. In this episode they discuss how their ambitions were stifled by the challenges of expectations, a lack of role-models and, by self-doubt.
You can also listen to this episode on: Amazon, Apple, Google, and Spotify.
#3: Mentoring Matters
In this chapter, we hear the stories of Charlotte Murray and Karl Brown. They discuss the challenges they faced in attempting to enter and advance in the legal sector, from a lack of role models, to the ill-considered advice of careers advisors, to landing that elusive training contract. Both emphasise the importance of mentoring and providing support to individuals from less privileged backgrounds.
They discuss our partnership with the Social Mobility Foundation and address the issues that need to be tackled to create an inclusive & accessible legal sector.
You can also listen to this episode on: Amazon, Apple, Google, and Spotify.