Norton Rose Fulbright launches bursary programme to widen access to legal profession
United Kingdom | | April 2022
Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has launched a new programme which provides students facing socio-economic barriers with a £5000 bursary and a comprehensive programme of support to improve access to opportunities.
The programme, entitled ‘Scholars’, welcomes ten students in their first or second year of university in the UK with an interest in pursuing a career in law. This year’s students were selected following a competitive application and interview process.
In addition to the bursary, students will receive a bespoke programme, which includes insight days at Norton Rose Fulbright’s London office, a mentoring scheme with the firm’s lawyers and support in work experience, vacation scheme and training contract applications. The recipients will also be invited to a range of events and workshops hosted by the firm, culminating in a graduation event in 2023.
The firm has also awarded £500 each and offered additional support to a further ten students who performed well in the application and interview process to support them in their studies.
Farmida Bi, CBE, Norton Rose Fulbright’s Global Chair, said: “By launching this programme, we aim to help aspiring lawyers from socio-economically diverse backgrounds start their careers by widening access to the profession. Diversity of thought and experience is essential to our people and our clients and we are committed to ensuring everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential.”
Fahd Kato, a student on the programme this year, commented: “The Scholars programme provides an invaluable opportunity to gain the skills and experiences necessary for my future. The generous bursary and additional support, including the mentoring programme, will enable me to build strong applications for vacation schemes and training contracts to achieve my goals and ambitions.”
The Scholars programme is the latest initiative in the firm’s broader commitment to social mobility and adds to a number of existing projects and partnerships, including working with Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, Rare Recruitment, the Sutton Trust Pathways to Law initiative and Aspiring Solicitors. The firm is also a signatory to the Social Mobility Pledge and a founding member of PRIME, an alliance of law firms in the UK committed to improving access to the legal profession. In 2020, the firm launched its Advance network whose aims include helping the firm widen access to more socio-economically diverse talent in the UK.
Read more about the Scholars programme here.
