Member of Research Supervision Committee

Organisation Overview

At State2Bar, we believe that you can pursue and attain a successful career at the bar regardless of your educational background. State2Bar was created to reduce the stark social mobility gap in the legal industry. We, therefore, aim to increase accessibility to the bar for state-educated students through advocacy, collaborative working, financial support and community.

Our research team comprises seven members, with Clemmie Taylor-Smith leading the project. She has a background in research. Regarding supervision, we have Grace Osborne, the Social Mobility Inclusion Manager at PWC, on our committee. We're also in discussions with Hannah Wilson, a PhD student at LSE with a background as a barrister, about joining the supervisory team. Her research primarily revolves around professional outcomes at the Bar and is very well-placed to advise our research.

The Advocate research programme has two primary objectives. Firstly, we aim to upskill all seven members of our research team in both research and data analysis. This will equip them with skills that can be taken forward to improve their future employment prospects, whether at the Bar or elsewhere. Our timeline, which kicked off in September, began with defining our research topic and aims. We're currently in the phase of panel reviews and designing our research approach. Our second objective driving the programme is to produce a comprehensive report evaluating existing social mobility programmes for the bar and develop actionable policy recommendations based on our findings. We aim to have this report ready by Q3 of 2024.

The impact of our research will be measured by evaluating the upskilling of our research team and monitoring the adoption of our policy recommendations.

Role Details

Time commitment: 4 meetings over the course of a year, all 1.5 hours each so 6 hours in total.

Attendance: Remote.

Role Description

• We are seeking to expand our Research Supervision Committee with a new member who will play a pivotal role in guiding our research team. As part of the committee, you will:
• Meet periodically with the research team to review and provide feedback on their progress throughout the programme.
• Apply a practical mindset to critique our work, ensuring our research is both grounded and innovative.
• Challenge our research assumptions and contribute meaningful suggestions.
• We are specifically looking for someone with hands-on experience at the bar, whose real-world insights can enrich our supervision committee’s effectiveness.

Required Skills and Experience

We seek an individual with knowledge of the Bar and chambers to review and provide feedback on our research findings.

To apply for or express an interest in this position, please email bicenquiries@weareadvocate.org.uk