Succeeding in law requires a comprehensive skill set. Intelligence and integrity, determination and drive, commitment and creativity are amongst the many attributes required to be an outstanding solicitor. Even if you are able to tick off all of these boxes, you might still encounter personal or financial circumstances that prevent you from a successful climb up the career ladder. Those disadvantaged in this manner will be pleased to know the Law Society is here to help.
This is the third year the society is running its Diversity Access Scheme, a pioneering platform for talented would-be solicitors who face disadvantages. Amongst last year’s scholarship recipients are various students from ethnic minority backgrounds, whose disability, social or financial circumstances could easily have ruled out the option of further education. While options for the less privileged have multiplied over the last few years, the scheme offers an excellent support system and many would not be able to complete their vocational training to become a solicitor without support from the scheme.
“There are many people with the skills, intelligence and commitment to make really good solicitors, but without support they will not be able to realise their ambition,” says Janet Paraskeva, Chief Executive Officer of the Law Society. “This scheme is helping some exceptional people to break through. The legal profession will be enriched by their contribution.” The vociferous support influential figures within the organisation like Paraskeva have given the scheme has not only firmly established the programme, but has also increased awareness among aspirants who are considering law as their chosen profession.
The scheme has three means of offering assistance. Firstly, it can open up opportunities for young people to gain relevant work experience at law firms or other legal institutions. In a profession where experience is a necessity not only for one to get their bearings in the profession, but also when attempting to secure a job, the scheme offers the otherwise underprivileged a lifeline.
Secondly, students who are still undertaking a degree in law can be put in touch with solicitor mentors who can help with the vital preparation for joining the profession and the search for a suitable job. Again the importance of a mentor, both on professional and personal levels, is vital for any young hopeful trying to learn the ropes and network successfully.
Finally, those in a financial situation that prevents them from embarking on a university course can apply for special scholarships to pay the fees for the Common Professional Examination/Graduate Diploma in Law or the Legal Practice Course.
Applicants for the scheme should fall under either of the following categories: Law undergraduates in their penultimate year of study, Common Professional Examination/Graduate, Diploma in Law students, Legal Practice Course students, or Legal Practice Course graduates who have not yet secured a training contract.
In 2005 the scheme kick-started the careers of several students from ethnic minorities - amongst them is Akalikai Sivarajah, a Sri-Lankan who came to London when she was 16. Akalikai has brittle bone disease and is a wheelchair user. She did not have the benefit of any formal education in Sri Lanka but managed to teach herself to read at an early age. Her mother died when she was three, and her father passed away soon after the family’s arrival in the United Kingdom. With no parental care or close family support, Akalikai was left to manage her personal care and education alone. Akalikai, who now lives in Tooting in London, managed to read for a law degree after only eight years of formal education. She was inspired to forge a career in law by her father’s work as a public representative in Sri Lanka where he was an active participant in civil rights movements and organisations. Her inability to afford the fees for her degree was a career-threatening issue until the Diversity Access Scheme stepped in.
Another shining example is Obiageli Omu from Nigeria. Her education has been constantly disrupted because she has sickle cell disease, which has forced her to spend long hours in hospital during school terms. Her illness is a serious one and can easily be life threatening. Sadly, her sister died as a result of this condition. Despite the interruptions to her studies by family issues, Obiageli still obtained an Upper Second (2:1) Bachelors degree in English, and now wants to study for the Graduate Diploma in Law. Obiageli, who lives in London, is now on new medication and undergoing newer forms of treatment, resulting in her being healthier than ever before. Her determination to ensure that her illness would not ever be able to challenge, let alone destroy her ambitions of being a lawyer are a key factor in her being awarded under the Scheme. That and her intelligence and perseverance.
Rashid Warsame was awarded both an undergraduate law degree and a Masters degree in Human Rights. As a child he contracted polio which left him with mobility impairments in his right leg. Ever since graduating, Rashid has found it difficult to procure a job, primarily because of his disability. Rashid currently lives on income support and disability living allowance and his financial constraints result in him not being able to continue his studies to qualify as a solicitor by undertaking the Legal Practice Course examination. Banks do not consider him able to repay any funds provided thus eliminating the option of taking a loan. This scholarship is his only hope of completing his education and realising an ambition that everyone admits he clearly deserves - that of becoming a solicitor.
Another candidate, a young Asian woman who has asked to remain anonymous, was forbidden by her family from studying any further after school, in spite of her keen passion for learning and her undoubted ability. After her early marriage, she managed to convince her family to allow her to study for a degree, obtaining a respectable Upper Second (2:1) in Law while simultaneously keeping house and raising a family of three children. Her husband has been experiencing various health problems in the recent past and as a result the family has suffered financially. Equipped with her degree she is now determined to support her family and prove her intelligence, and the sponsorship provisions offered under the Scheme are the only way she will be able to afford a Legal Practice Course and provide for her family.
The Law Society’s Diversity Access Scheme aims to help talented, committed people to overcome obstacles to becoming a solicitor.You can apply via the website
www.lawsociety.org.uk or by contacting diversityaccessscheme@lawsociety.org.uk.
