Raymond Sherry

The FAIRE (Fairer Access Into Real Experience) event, delivered in partnership with Young Professionals, drew over 3,000 young people from across the UK and Ireland.

Most (53 per cent) of participants were from black, Asian or minority ethnic communities, while more than three-quarters (77 per cent) were women and girls, and nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) were from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Raymond Sherry, an associate at Browne Jacobson’s Dublin office and graduate of Trinity College’s access programme, was among lawyers speaking at the event.

He discussed the barriers he faced when entering the legal profession, how he overcame these challenges, the benefits of the Trinity access programme and his experiences to date.

Tom Lyas, head of resourcing at Browne Jacobson and creator of FAIRE, said: “Over the three FAIRE events we have staged so far, 15,000 young people from all social-economic and minority backgrounds now have a far better insight into the array of opportunities and routes open to them in the legal profession.

“By hearing first hand from so many influential role models, we hope those taking part will be inspired to follow their dreams and ambitions of a career in law.

“For us the importance of building diversity into our talent pipeline cannot be underestimated. It is what our clients want to see, makes great commercial sense, and ensures the long term sustainability of our business.

“We hope that events such as FAIRE will act as a catalyst to further improving diversity, equity and inclusion in the profession.”