Lovells has set up a new scheme to encourage young people from a wider socio-economic background to enter the legal profession.

The initiative, dubbed Ladder to Law, has been launched in response to last year's report compiled by former cabinet minister Alan Milburn, which singled out the legal profession as being too socially exclusive.

Lovells has teamed up with not-for-profit organisation The Brokerage CityLink and is working with four London schools in Forest Hill, Rotherhithe, Paddington and Islington.

The programme will focus on students in years 10, 11 and 12 of secondary school, with the firm offering different activities for each year group and providing access to the firm itself.

Clare Harris, associate director of legal resourcing at Lovells, commented: "We believe that access to the legal profession for people from non-traditional backgrounds is an issue that must be addressed early on. Therefore, we have developed this programme in order to get students thinking about a career from year 10."

The launch comes in the same week as the Government publishes its response to Milburn's report with the creation of a Social Mobility Commission aimed at providing advice on trends and policy.

The Government has also expanded the Gateways to the Professions Collaborative Forum, which is made up of senior representatives from 60 key professions, including Legal Services Board chief executive Chris Kenny.

Kenny has appointed chair of a subgroup of the forum, with a specific remit to look at how the regulatory regime can aid social mobility.