Osborne Clarke launches second cohort on expanded #10KBI programme

By Giles Gwinnett

24 August 2023

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Left to right: Hannah Ringane, Krystal Wachira, Justin Richards, Ayodola Ayorinde, Naomi Yikuno-Amlak, Alexia Saunders, Ibiye Isokariari , Ife Danso, Naomi Ezenwa , Daniel Owusu, Kayana Smith, Perpetua Chia - picture contributed

Osborne Clarke has launched the second cohort on its #10000 Black Interns programme, which it has now expanded, and which aims to improve diversity across the legal and professional services sector.

As it did with the first 10KBI cohort, Osborne Clarke provides buddies and mentors to support the interns' learning journey across its offices in Bristol, Reading and London for the six-week programme.

This year, for the 12 interns, the programme includes two placements with one of eight clients, namely, ITV, OVO, British Land, Hargreaves Lansdown, Pension Protection Fund, Linkcity, Sovereign and the University of Bristol.

10000 Black Interns seeks to offer internships each year over five consecutive years. The programme is active across more than 20 sectors partnering with firms to deliver paid work experience.

By the end of this summer, the programme will have created almost 5,000 internships in three years and provided training opportunities for over 25,000 applicants.

Osborne Clarke's #10KBI Programme lead Su Akgun said: "Most people will remember having that light bulb moment in an internship, when you finally start to figure what you want to do and, most importantly, what you don't want to do in your career.

"That's why we've broadened our programme this year. We want to give our interns a deep understanding of our business and what it's like to work in a law firm so they can make informed decisions about working in a business like ours.

"Programmes like #10KBI really are making a difference in helping the legal sector diversify its pool of great talent," she added.

Also, new this year, Osborne Clarke held a London collaboration day with client GLP, which included a discussion with Ofei Kwafo-Akoto, the head of legal (Europe) at GLP, and Osborne Clarke's head of responsible business Bola Gibson.

Osborne Clarke is involved in the #10KBI legal collaboration network, which brings together 14 law firms involved in the programme to provide additional skills training for the interns.

Each firm hosts a session covering a range of topics and Osborne Clarke hosted a session covering confidence and navigating imposter syndrome. All interns can join the various sessions available at all 14 law firms.

Osborne Clarke is also offering interns the opportunity to undertake the assessment process and apply for a training contract with the firm.

This autumn it will also launch a long-term scholarship programme aimed at students from black and ethnic communities, including mentoring, work experience, and financial support.

As part of its race action plan, Osborne Clarke said it is actively investing in recruitment, retention, inclusion and progression initiatives to improve ethnic minority representation in the firm.

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By Giles Gwinnett

Giles Gwinnett is a writer at The Business Magazine. He has been a journalist for more than 20 years and covered a vast array of topics at a range of media settings - in print and online. After his NCTJ newspaper training, he became a reporter in Hampshire before moving to a news agency in Gloucestershire. In recent years, he has been covering the financial markets along with company news for an investor-focused web portal. His many interests include politics, energy and the environment. He lives in Dorset.