The unspoken privilege embedded in the legal profession

From socio-economic background to cultural capital, the inherited advantages many law students and practitioners possess continue to dictate access, inclusion, and opportunity within the field.

The privilege pipeline

Marianne Marchesi, managing principal of Legalite, grew up in a middle-class family, with her parents having migrated to Australia in the mid-1980s.

From the age of 14, she aspired to become a lawyer, but despite her determination, she encountered barriers well before entering the legal workforce.

“My biggest challenge turned out to be getting a foot in the door – at all. Despite being a hard-worker, ample volunteer experience in the legal industry, and good (sometimes great) grades, I was often overlooked because of which school or university I went to,” she said.

Something Marchesi hadn’t realised at the time — but quickly became aware of after stepping into the legal world — was that “the pathway to a legal career (especially a top-tier one) is paved in stone”.

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“Those with privilege, such as wealth, schooling, connections, or even being born as an Anglo cissexual, have doors opened for them before they’ve even knocked,” she noted.

Even after overcoming numerous challenges and securing a coveted paralegal role at a top-tier firm, she was told outright that she wouldn’t be considered for a clerkship — simply because she hadn’t graduated from the right university.

“When I did get an opportunity, it would only get me so far. I had secured a great role as a paralegal at a top-tier firm, which I loved, and didn’t get a look-in for seasonal clerkships, let alone a graduate clerkship, because (I was explicitly told) I didn’t graduate from Monash or Melbourne University. The message was clear: they didn’t hire people like me,” she stated.

This wasn’t the first time Marchesi encountered challenges stemming from the unspoken privileges within the legal profession, often feeling she was constantly at a disadvantage compared to her more privileged peers.

“Early on, it felt like for every step forward I would take in my career, I would be forced ten steps back. I didn’t graduate from the same elite schools, didn’t study at a sandstone university, and didn’t have other lawyers in the family that I could turn to for a leg up. I lacked the privilege that gets you a foot in the door,” she outlined.

“My research supports this. A review of the educational background of lawyers from top-tier firms on LinkedIn shows that the top four universities represented are all sandstone institutions. And societally, it’s no secret that these universities tend to draw from private schools”.

For Arlia Fleming, chairperson of Community Legal Centres Australia, privilege was not about race but class. Though she acknowledges her “white privilege”, Arlia came from a financially disadvantaged background and endured housing instability, mental health struggles, and geographic isolation during her studies.

“Receiving Centrelink benefits throughout my university years was challenging at times, but it made me resourceful. However, by the time I graduated from a double degree and went on to the College of Law, Centrelink refused to renew my youth allowance, claiming I was a serial student,” she said.

“It took me seven years to complete my double degree due to housing instability, family issues that impacted my mental health and ability to study, and the fact that I was overqualified for most jobs in my rural hometown.”

Despite graduating, these challenges did not simply disappear for Fleming. She had to volunteer at a community legal centre because she was unable to secure paid work for her PLT placement and struggled to afford the Supreme Court admission fees.

“To complete my PLT work experience days, I volunteered at a community legal centre. Once I finished, I found it difficult to afford the Supreme Court admission fees. I remember feeling quite intimidated that many people at my admission ceremony had family members move their admissions,” she noted.

“Fortunately, the principal of the CLC agreed to move my admission, a favour that I have now happily returned to other students whom I have supervised. I didn’t know any other lawyers in Sydney at the time.”

While Fleming felt a strong “sense of solidarity” with her peers at the regional university she attended, she candidly shared that she still found it “difficult sometimes to relate to others” because of her different home life and personal experiences.

This sense of isolation only deepened when Fleming began her PLT, feeling noticeably different from her peers who had studied in the city and already had jobs lined up.

“Doing PLT at the College of Law was very different to uni, and I did feel like the odd one out, most people had studied in Sydney and had been getting experience in private practice and seemed to have jobs already lined up. Most people seemed to come from wealthy backgrounds,” she stated.

“People would ask me what I was doing and what I wanted to do, and I would just say I'm not sure - all I could concentrate on was getting the grad dip and finally getting admitted. The lecturers were encouraging, but I almost failed property law - conveyancing, so foreign to me as I'd always lived in rental properties and at the time I thought that I would never be able to afford to buy a home.”

Challenges persist

While many may assume the legal profession has evolved and such issues are a thing of the past, they remain a very real and persistent reality within the field today.

Fauzia Hussein, a Juris Doctor law student, shared that significant challenges have marked her journey through the legal profession as a culturally diverse, first-generation student from a low socio-economic background.

One of the biggest hurdles, she explained, was entering the legal world without any pre-existing network or familiarity with the industry—a reality that made her early experiences particularly daunting.

“It has been challenging because I had no pre-existing network or exposure to the legal industry growing up. It has also been defining, as these circumstances pushed me to step outside my comfort zone, develop my confidence, build connections, and clarify the kind of lawyer I aspire to become,” she said.

“At times, it was overwhelming. I was entering a world that felt completely unfamiliar, where the expectations and pathways were neither clear nor accessible. Even in professional networking spaces, I experienced intense impostor syndrome, especially because I often felt inadequate compared to others due to my background.”

However, one challenge Hussein believes is rarely discussed – but central to the unique experience of being a first-generation law student – is the “invisible weight” of being “the first and only to embark on such a steep and often solitary journey.”

Even well-intentioned praise, she added, can feel disconnected from the reality of what that journey entails.

“While compliments like 'how do you manage it all?' or 'I’m inspired by how much you do' are well-meaning, they often overlook the dual reality we are navigating,” she noted.

“On one hand, we are finding our way as the first in our family to pursue law; on the other, we are entering a profession that often assumes a certain polish, confidence and cultural familiarity from the outset.”

Yet, despite these obstacles, she has transformed her challenges into resilience, reflecting, “The experience has also been deeply rewarding. Over time, I have built a strong legal network and found a pathway I feel increasingly confident in pursuing”.

Is the legal profession still dominated by privilege?

While meaningful progress has been made in addressing critical issues like gender and race—though work remains in these areas—the entrenched privilege that continues to dominate the legal profession is often overlooked and rarely confronted.

Fleming acknowledged that while change is happening within the legal profession, many of the entrenched privileges that have existed since its inception still remain.

“Absolutely, though I do feel it is changing - there are still barriers (the HECS debt for one), though there are more pathways and avenues for entry to university, and to PLT, more online options and shorter degrees than when I was an undergraduate. I think it's still hard, though, for people to enter and succeed, and it requires a great deal of determination,” she said.

Marchesi echoed this sentiment, reflecting that even when individuals overcome entrenched barriers, they are often confined to specific practice areas based on their background.

“Unfortunately, I still believe the legal profession is dominated by privilege. We have made some strides on gender and race (with more work to do), but socioeconomic background is still a strong filter,” she noted.

“And often when people from those backgrounds do enter the field, they are pigeon-holed or stereotyped into certain practice areas, which may not be aligned to their goals.”

What do law schools need to do?

Since university serves as the initial gateway to a legal career, initiatives have been introduced to support aspiring professionals; however, more must be done to challenge and redefine traditional notions of success within the legal profession.

Hussein acknowledged that although progress has been made in creating pathways for students from diverse backgrounds, current initiatives remain insufficient and do not fully support all who need them.

“I believe that some progress has certainly been made through the introduction of mentorship programs, but we are not there yet. While many law schools provide equitable scholarships and on (or off) campus initiatives, the reality is that students from underprivileged backgrounds still remain unsupported in practice,” she stated.

“The issue isn’t due to a lack of good intention but rather, the lack of funding, inconsistent resourcing and programs that are too broad in scope.”

To effectively tackle these challenges, she believes law schools and universities must implement more targeted and tailored initiatives that comprehensively support students from diverse backgrounds, helping them thrive in the legal profession.

“To address this, we need to see more targeted and sustainable initiatives. For example, immersion programs that directly engage with the challenges faced by first-generation students, low-SES students, and those who are from underrepresented cultural backgrounds.

“These programs should prioritise academic support, financial assistance, and career readiness, not as optional extras, but as essential components of success. Without this level of support, students facing systemic barriers are left feeling ‘two steps’ behind in a profession where the starting line was never equal to begin with.”

She added: “Success in law must be redefined to include resilience and the ability to overcome hardship. That redefinition begins in law school, through pathways that actively reflect the diversity of talent in our student cohorts.”

Persevering through such obstacles

While the unspoken privilege embedded within the legal profession may seem overwhelming and insurmountable to many, these three women have demonstrated that overcoming it is not only possible but achievable.

Though there were moments when her love for the legal profession was tested, Marchesi revealed that she eventually had to create her opportunities in a field where few existed for someone like her.

“I love the law, but there were many times when I fell out of love with the profession. At one point, defeated and disillusioned, I left the profession for close to a year,” she said.

“However, coming back to it, I realised I needed to create my own opportunities. I did that for many years, until ultimately I started my own practice, which has grown to be a successful, multi-award-winning firm. With that success, I’m determined to create opportunities for others.”

For Fleming, overcoming challenges and defying stereotypes about what a typical lawyer should look like was made possible by staying grounded in her values and focused on her purpose.

“I think what has helped me to persevere was staying true to my values and ethics. I wanted to make a difference, and I believe strongly in social justice and human rights. I knew I wanted a career that would be meaningful. I knew early on that I never wanted to wake up when I was 50 and think 'what have I been doing my whole life?',” she noted.

“I also knew that a law degree could open doors to other roles beyond legal practice - someone told me early on that having a law degree would mean you'd never be out of work, and this encouraged me as I wanted to be independent and not reliant on welfare, or other people.”

For young lawyers navigating similar challenges, Hussein emphasised the importance of reframing their mindset, urging them to see their underprivileged backgrounds not as setbacks, but as sources of strength.

“Early in my degree, I often felt like I was two steps behind. But over time, I came to realise that my lived experiences, resilience, and adaptability were not only valid, but they were also essential to the path ahead as they provided me with the unique advantages that I was seeking whether it be skills development or the opportunity to expand my network,” she stated.

“This mindset shift helped me move away from comparison and conformity and instead lean into authenticity in how I show up within the profession. I also learned to view moments of discomfort and periods of impostor syndrome as opportunities for growth, both professionally and personally.”

Hussein added: “Another key strategy was immersing myself in as many extracurricular opportunities as possible .. My involvement in Diverse Women in Law has been particularly meaningful. It created space to connect with like-minded law students and practitioners, share stories, and remind one another that the path into law is rarely linear - and that’s okay.”