Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer - Freshfields Scholarships

What the Freshfields Stephen Lawrence Scholarship gives you

You will receive a 15-month career and development programme run by the London-based law firm Freshfields, as well as a financial grant of about 5,800 EUR (5,000 GBP) to cover the associated costs. The programme includes mentoring (regular advice from Freshfields lawyers), job application training and work placements in a commercial law environment during the semester breaks. You will also be guaranteed a place at the assessment centre for the firm’s ‘Trainee Associate Programme’ or its ‘Summer Vacation Scheme’. Both programmes are pathways to a trainee contract. Freshfields launched the programme in 2013 in collaboration with Doreen Lawrence, Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon OBE – in memory of Stephen Lawrence, a 18-year-old who was murdered in a racially motivated attack in London in 1993.

Who can apply

• Who it is for: You are a Black man or a man of mixed Black heritage, and come from a background with fewer financial and social advantages.
• Study level: You are a first-year student.
• Field of study: Mainly law students. Some partner universities also put forward students from other disciplines; please therefore check with your university.
• University: You are studying at one of the 80 or more participating universities across the UK.
• Nationality and residence: You’re studying at a British university.
• Grades: There is no minimum grade requirement. Freshfields looks for your talent and potential, not your grades.
• Motivation: You are open to a career in the legal sector or in another field in the City of London.

How to apply

Applications are made through your own university, which nominates candidates for the programme. You should therefore contact your university’s careers office to take part. Freshfields is organising an information session in London in February, with all costs covered, should you wish to find out more first. The application deadline is 6 March. Shortlisted candidates will take part in an assessment centre in late March or early April, and the results will be announced in the summer.

How realistic are your chances?

This programme is aimed at a limited target group, meaning that far fewer people are eligible than is the case with open scholarships. Between 2013 and 2025, more than 880 students applied, and 150 were offered a place – so whilst it is a selective process, it is not a lottery. If you clearly belong to the target group, are in your first year of study at a partner university and contact your university’s funding office at an early stage, your chances are good. The absence of a minimum grade requirement also benefits applicants with great potential.