Clifford Chance (CC) has joined a scheme that will see recruiters from top employers meet undergraduates from state school backgrounds in a bid to improve access to City professions.

CC is hosting a new milk round event, the 'City Careers Conference', which will see graduate recruiters meet more than 150 undergraduates who previously studied at state schools in London's most disadvantaged boroughs.

Firms that have signed up to the scheme include banking giants HSBC and JP Morgan, and insurance businesses Marsh and Lloyd's of London. The event is being organised by the Brokerage Citylink, a non-profit organisation.

CC graduate recruitment and development manager Laura Yates said: "As a firm we are committed to recruiting the best future lawyers, and tapping into hidden pools of talent is incredibly exciting. We are working tirelessly to break down the perceived barriers to the profession[.]"

CC global head of HR and talent Laura King added: "Ensuring that we continuously seek talent from the widest possible pools is vital to the firm and better for our clients."

The news comes as magic circle peer Linklaters is making a push to ramp up the number of universities it targets for its graduate intake.

Linklaters has put together a new team, spearheaded by corporate partner Tom Shropshire, to lead its efforts to attract a more diverse mix of graduates from a variety of backgrounds. Last year its London graduate trainee intake was drawn from 30 different institutions, while this year, the firm is hoping to target 59 UK universities.

• For more, see Linklaters to target more universities in firmwide diversity drive