Learning on the job? Addressing students’ exposure to bullying, harassment or discrimination during legal placements

Law schools in the UK regularly encourage and support students to apply for vacation placement schemes on the basis that they provide valuable work experience and improve career progression prospects. There are, however, rarely any processes in place within universities to ensure equitable access to such opportunities nor systematic procedures for enabling reflection and evaluation post-placement before encouraging repeat uptake from future cohorts. In a context in which the legal profession continues to face well-documented challenges in regard to bullying, harassment and discrimination, these placements have the potential to expose students to inappropriate workplace behaviour. However, the nature of students’ experiences in this respect, and the adequacy of existing mechanisms for reporting and responding to any complaints, have not to date been the subject of sufficient scrutiny. Drawing on scoping research involving semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, this article explores students’ potential exposure to bullying, harassment or discrimination in the particular context of mini-pupillages undertaken at the legal Bar, and calls for increased clarity across chambers, regulators and universities alike in regard to lines of communication and accountability to address this.