Freshfields Stephen Lawrence Scholarship Scheme

Freshfields Stephen Lawrence Scholarship Scheme

You get 5,000 GBP (about 5,800 EUR) towards your study and living costs. On top of the money, you join a 15-month mentoring programme (regular one-to-one support and guidance) run by lawyers and business staff at the global law firm Freshfields. You also get interview coaching, a look at commercial work during the university holidays, and a guaranteed place at the firm's assessment centre. That guaranteed place skips the usual first hurdle and sends you straight to the final interview stage for a training contract (a paid trainee lawyer programme) or a paid summer placement at Freshfields. Freshfields set up the scheme in 2013 with Baroness Doreen Lawrence, whose son Stephen was murdered in a racist attack in London in 1993. Even if you are not chosen as a scholar, you still get coaching, feedback and career advice.

Who can apply

• Who it's for: You are a Black man of African or African-Caribbean heritage, including mixed Black African or Black African-Caribbean. The scheme opens up City of London law careers to a group that is under-represented in large commercial law firms.
• Study level: You are a first-year undergraduate at one of over 80 partner universities across the UK.
• Field of study: You study law. At a small number of pilot universities, some non-law students can also apply.
• Schooling: You went to a state school. You did not attend a fee-paying private school in the UK, or a school abroad that charged more than nominal fees.
• Financial need: You meet at least one need marker, for example a maintenance loan above the Student Finance threshold, eligibility for free school meals, or being a care leaver (someone who has been in the care system).
• Grades: No minimum grade is required. Selection looks at your talent and potential as a whole.

How to apply

Your university applies on your behalf, so contact your own university to check whether it takes part and under which criteria. You also record a two-minute video about yourself. Both are due by 6 March 2026. There is an optional free insight meeting on 16 February 2026 (register by 9 February 2026). Shortlisted applicants attend an assessment centre in London in spring, and scholars are chosen in summer 2026.

How realistic are your chances?

This scheme is cut very narrowly by who it's for, your school background and financial need, so the eligible field is far smaller than for an open scholarship. Between 2013 and 2025, over 880 students competed for 150 places, so it is selective but not impossible if you clearly fit. There is no minimum grade and selection is holistic, so a strong personal story and genuine interest in a City career matter as much as marks. Check early that your university nominates candidates.