Swedish Minister for Equality Affairs and Integration Nyamko Sabuni (the Swedish Liberal Party), and the labour market committee chairman Hillevi Engström (the Swedish Conservative Party), as well as labour market committee members visited Vinge to learn about the firm’s diversity project.
The diversity project was initiated during 2002. The purpose of the project is to inform upper secondary school students with an immigrant background about the possibilities to choose a legal education. Very few Swedish inhabitants with an immigrant background are represented within the legal profession. Vinge wants to put efforts into changing this situation.
- When we initiated the project we arrived at the conclusion that upper secondary schools were where we should focus our work. We hope that the project will make it possible to, in the long run, employ qualified lawyers with an immigrant background, says Michael Wigge, Managing Director at Vinge Stockholm.
- We are very proud and happy about the fact that Nyamko Sabuni has taken an interest in our work. We look upon the diversity project as a step in the right direction to change built in patterns and prejudice.
Five upper secondary schools are included in the project: Farsta- S:t Botvids- and Tensta in Stockholm, Malmö Latinskola in Malmö and Angeredsgymnasiet in Gothenburg. These particular upper secondary schools were selected because of their high proportion of students from immigrant backgrounds.
The diversity project offer students training by Vinge’s lawyers, educational study visits, trainee positions and priority to Vinge’s summer traineeships as well as mentorship during law studies. Around 50 lawyers are involved in the project which have handed out more then 70 scholarships and encouraged many students to study law.
Michael Wigge, Managing Director Vinge Stockholm, tel: +46 70 714 30 56, michael.wigge@vinge.se
Olof Jisland, Managing Partner Vinge Göteborg, tel: +46 70 872 81 38, olof.jisland@vinge.se
Rikard Azelius, Managing Partner Vinge Malmö, tel: +46 70 913 66 66, rikard.azelius@vinge.se
Boo Ehlin, Head of Commuication, tel: +46 70 429 33 87, boo.ehlin@vinge.se
Vinge is the leading law firm in Sweden with approximately 450 employees, of which 300 are lawyers. The business is focused on commercial law with a large number of international transactions. Vinge has offices in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö and Helsingborg as well as in London, Brussels, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Vinge is a member of Lex Mundi, a global network of independent law firms.
