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PRIME welcomes new board members and establishes advisory committee

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Bill Drummond

The PRIME board has appointed two new members following a period of consultation over the summer, and established a new advisory committee. PRIME is an alliance of law firms and legal departments across the UK that have made a commitment to broaden access to the legal profession.

Hogan Lovells chair Nicholas Cheffings took over the reins as chairman of PRIME on 1 May this year and has been seeking feedback from members in order to shape the future of this pioneering initiative to encourage diversity in the legal profession.

The consensus from members was that PRIME should have a refreshed focus on:

  • maintaining ongoing contact with alumni,

  • communication and sharing best practice, and

  • greater promotion through web and social media presence.

  • To help the board achieve these goals they will be joined by Chris White, founder of Aspiring Solicitors, and partner Bill Drummond, managing partner of Brodies.

    • In addition, they will be supported by a newly formed advisory committee comprising three teachers - Penelope Alford, head teacher at Hoe Valley School, Woking; Jamie Brownhill, head teacher of Central Foundation Boys’ School, London; and Suzanne Whiston, assistant principal at New College, Leicester – as well as PRIME alumni who will rotate on a regular basis. The committee will act as a consultative body for the board which is keen to ensure that, in setting its agenda and developing initiatives, it has the benefit of input from students and those working in the education sector.Commenting on the appointment of the new members Nicholas Cheffings said: “PRIME is about fairer access to the legal profession, with over 80 law firms collaborating to offer work experience to young people from less privileged backgrounds who might otherwise not have the opportunity to access careers in the legal world.

    “Theresa May has pledged to promote social mobility and to make Britain a country that works for everyone. This is to be applauded, but we know well at PRIME how difficult it can be to effect real change in this area.

    “With the addition of our new board members and access to our advisory committee, we now have a broad range of views, experiences and perspectives available to us and I am confident that we can continue to develop and grow the reach and effectiveness of PRIME and achieve our objective of making PRIME even more helpful to members, parents, teachers and students.”

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