Magic circle firm partners with 93% Club to launch new professional network

Reading time: two minutes

Slaughter and May is “delighted” to have partnered with the 93% Club, Boston Consulting Group, Ernst & Young and JLL to create a new professional network – 93% Professionals – designed to provide a supportive community for state-educated people and address the critical gap in the journey from education to a top career.

Founded at the University of Bristol in 2017 by Sophie Pender, the 93% Club started out as a Facebook group for students, but has since expanded with clubs on campuses at more than 40 UK universities. The goal is to break down “the structural barristers to social mobility” and build “a future that’s fairer for the next generation”.

Find out more about the 93% Club’s Impact via its 2022/23 impact report. 

The 93% Professionals group was put together to mobilise “a powerful knowledge sharing ecosystem by bringing state-educated professionals into the club to support in our mission of making old boys, old news”. The network, which will operate both online and in person, will use a pay-it-forward model so members can invest in their professional growth while providing opportunities for future state-educated talent.

Pender, founder and CEO of the 93% Club, said: "It’s time to transform what it means to be state educated in the workplace. As we continue our mission to empower state-educated people, we recognise the need to address the challenges they face once they enter their careers. 93% Professionals addresses these challenges through the power of community.”

Andrew Jolly, a partner at Slaughter and May, said the firm is “delighted to be a founding member of 93% Professionals, as we continue to drive forward our commitment to reduce inequalities in the legal sector and ensure that everyone, no matter their background, has the opportunity to achieve their full potential.”

Other law firms that are partners of the 93% Club include:

• Allen & Overy LLP;
• Bates Wells;
• Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner;
• Clifford Chance;
• CMS;
• Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP;
• Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP;
• Herbert Smith Freehills LLP;
• Latham & Watkins;
• Mishcon de Reya LLP;
• Osborne Clarke LLP;
• Pinsent Masons LLP;
• RPC; and
• Taylor Wessing.