School/college is the only thing that matters?

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I was running with a solicitor yesterday. He works for a big city firm and we have very little in common so we chatted about our DC who are similar ages and all starting to think about career choices.

He was saying that in his firm he is the only one who didn't go to public school, everyone knows this and he is singled out for it. e.g. when greeting "future lawyers" he will be allocated the state school kids.

Anyway he reckons his boss shortlists by first looking at the applicant's name (the MN High Court Judge test) and then is only interested in the school and college the candidate went to.

Please tell me this is a rare throwback and this kind of practice isn't common place? (or my sink comp DC are doomed)

This would be dreadful, but it doesn't ring true.

Law is a really competitive business (I'm not a lawyer, but I work with them).

The best lawyers - the ones who earn the most for themselves and their firms- are the brightest and the hardest working. Any firm that recruit on the basis of schools would be massively shooting themselves in the foot.

There is snobbery in law, but I would be amazed if this scenario was the full picture.

I’m a lawyer and that’s not my experience at all.

I know a lot of people who put a lot of weight on what uni, but not school or name. I went to a state school and so did most of my colleagues, and we’re all getting on just fine.

DH is a partner at a city law firm and no, that doesn’t ring true. He went to state school himself.

Sounds about right for the older professional firms still run by the older generations. Accountants and solicitors are basically of the same mould if they're "old school" and dominated by those approaching retirement.

I'm an accountant and there's still intense snobbery among the 50/60 year old partners who are chartered that they regard "Certifieds" as inferior. (Generally Chartered are those who went to uni, Certifieds are those who qualified whilst working). So that's a definite uni versus non uni snobbery. They're the same people who don't regard women as "partner" material! One of my first jobs was in such a firm where the older partners made it quite clear that as a woman, and as a certified accountant, I'd never be admitted as a partner!!

Thankfully, younger professionals have lost that kind of snobbery and more modern firms are no longer dominated by "chartereds" and men!

As a solicitor myself and DH is a partner and is involved in recruitment and gets me to read CVs too, we look at grades first, then if they are gained from a sink comp we are even more impressed because we realise how much harder the student may have had it!

PS. DH is in his 50s so a bit of a generalisation to say those in their 50s will be like the OP experienced.