Hogan Lovells co-founds VANTAGE: new software set to revolutionize graduate law recruitment

• Diversity specialist Rare launches online attraction tool for legal recruiters to tap talent
• Vantage aims to tackle the problem of “high-low schools”, where pupils are achieving top grades yet do not apply for the best graduate jobs
• Leading City firms amongst founder members pledging to double applications to law firms from low-participation schools 
• 2,000+ candidates already signed up, thousands more expected this autumn  

Hogan Lovells is among ten founding partner firms – Baker McKenzie, Clifford Chance, Eversheds Sutherland, Herbert Smith Freehills, Hogan Lovells, Linklaters, Macfarlanes, Pinsent Masons, Slaughter and May, and Travers Smith that have pledged to help Rare double the number of applications to top law firms from the UK’s 100 “high-low schools” within three years. The firms hope that Vantage will help them broaden their talent pools and ensure the UK’s legal services industry maintains its position as global leader.

Hogan Lovells graduate recruitment partner Louise Lamb, said: "Commitment to diversity is one of our core values so we are delighted to be part of the launch of the Vantage system.  This is set to be another game-changer for diversity in the legal sector, providing an opportunity for high-low schools students to reach their potential."

One in every three university students coming from an elite school and achieving an A grade at English A-Level eventually applies to become a solicitor. But many schools fail to supply any applicants at all, despite producing students with the requisite exam grades.

Research by Rare has identified 100 “high-low schools” in the UK where only one in forty students achieving an A grade at English A-level goes on to apply to the legal profession – twelve times less than the rate from elite schools. But Vantage aims to change that, giving capable students a better chance of accessing great careers and helping employers open the doors of the legal industry to a wider range of talent.

Candidates interested in a career in law can input their academic and personal information onto Vantage, allowing them to be approached by prospective law firm employers. The revolutionary new database uses advanced analytical techniques to match firms with historically hidden talent. The system currently has 2,000 high quality students and graduates registered and Rare expects thousands more to sign up by the end of the graduate “milkround” this autumn. 

Vantage enables employers to enter precise search criteria, with 23 different search filter options available, to pinpoint specific candidates or candidate groups. From GCSE and A-level grades to university and degree type, Vantage tracks candidates’ academic achievements coupled with social mobility metrics. It also allows firms to find candidates by location, making the process of regional recruitment more efficient. Legal recruiters can then contact candidates directly about the opportunities they have available.

Rare’s pioneering contextual recruitment software is hardwired into the Vantage portal, enabling employers to measure academic outperformance. It allows firms to see, at a glance, not just the achievements of candidates, but the context in which those achievements were gained, taking into consideration several factors, including postcode, school quality, eligibility for free school meals, refugee status, and time spent in care.

Raph Mokades, Founder and MD of Rare, said: “We are extremely excited to bring Vantage to market and are hugely encouraged by the response from candidates and law firms alike. Our mission is not just to open access to rewarding careers for people who have surmounted a challenging start in life, but to make their talents and drive accessible to the employers who need them. Vantage is a remarkably powerful solution for law firms looking to recruit high quality trainees, apprentices and paralegals from all walks of life.”

About Rare

Rare is the graduate recruitment firm changing who companies hire and how they hire them. We’re helping people to be better and we’re helping organisations to be smarter, to look not just at someone’s achievements, but to look at the context in which those achievements were made. We’re helping employers to look more like the communities they serve. Rare’s Contextual Recruitment System (CRS) provides real time contextual information allowing employers to identify exceptional candidates they might otherwise miss. We have contextualized over 400,000 applications, and have built one of the largest data sets of the social mobility status of top graduates in the UK.

https://www.rarerecruitment.co.uk