Linklaters has become one of the first major UK law firms to publish comprehensive diversity data on its website, just days after the Legal Services Board (LSB) announced that it will make such reporting compulsory as of December 2012.

The figures appear to confirm a trend recently highlighted by Allen & Overy senior partner David Morley that social mobility in the UK has fallen over the last 30 years, with 53% of UK partners stating that they were part of the first generation in their immediate family to go to university, compared to 30% for the firm's current crop of associates and just 22% of trainees.

The statistics also show that 38% of UK partners were privately educated – a proportion broadly replicated across the firm's associate and trainee ranks – while a further 39% of partners went to a state or grammar school. The remainder were internationally educated, with 7% opting not to disclose.

With regards to sexual orientation, 4% of both partners and associates and 6% of trainees identified themselves as either gay, lesbian or bisexual, with less than 10% of each group declining to disclose.

Meanwhile, the data covering faith and beliefs highlights greater diversity at associate and trainee level, with just 8% of the UK partnership identifying themselves as of a religion other than Christianity, with this proportion rising to 13% for associates and 18% for trainees.

Linklaters HR head Jill King said: "We have been working on improving diversity within the firm for some time but this is the first time we have surveyed social mobility data.

"It coincides with the announcement by the LSB, but we are doing it because transparency around these issues fits in with our wider firm strategy. We are very supportive of the LSB's decision to encourage all firms to follow our lead."

"With regards to the statistics, it is not surprising that a large share of lawyers has a private education, but we believe highlighting these issues makes us more of aware of how we need to improve access to the profession in future."

The announcement comes after the LSB announced plans on Tuesday (26 July) to enforce publication of firm's diversity and social mobility make-up on their websites from next year onwards. However, following consultations the decision was taken to exempt the publication of religious and sexual orientation in an effort to avoid inadvertently divulging sensitive personal information.

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