Campaigning is not a word commonly associated with the legal profession or legal journalism. And why would it be? Long-hour culture aside, well-paid graduates working in well-appointed offices don't tend to attract too much public sympathy or have much change to fight for. Except when it comes to diversity, where there is so much room for improvement – be it gender, race or social mobility – and where campaigning is exactly what the industry needs.

The growing number of firms setting targets for female representation within the partnership and at management level shows this at least is a concern at the forefront of their strategies, even though they face a decidedly uphill battle given the work-life balance issues that are now part and parcel of the job.

But on the other two metrics – despite the wholesale take-up of the PRIME work experience initiative intended to encourage those from disadvantaged backgrounds into the profession – there is still an awful lot more to do.

Which is why the industry as a whole – including private practice and in-house teams – needs to fully support the government-backed Trailblazer Apprenticeships in Law scheme. A workable apprenticeship programme that allows talented school leavers unable, or unwilling, to take on high levels of debt at university to qualify as solicitors (as well as paralegals or legal executives) could revolutionise the profession, but it will only happen with the right backing.

Inevitable minimum requirements at A-level mean it is unlikely to solve the white, privately educated stereotype of commercial lawyers entirely, but it could certainly make a significant difference.

With some 18 firms as well as in-house departments at the likes of Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland currently involved in the consultation, it looks to be moving in the right direction. But for something of this scale to come off it needs more than consultations and good intentions. In addition to workable standards and training that will put apprentice lawyers on a par with graduate lawyers, the scheme needs full commitment from firms to fundamentally shift their recruitment processes and take on apprentices.

For the initiative to transform entry to the profession in the way accountancy apprenticeships have done, it will also need a shift in mindset among even the stuffiest of partners, so that what is created is an industry with multiple routes to qualification, not just a two-tier system.