CILEX Foundation awards £50,000 in scholarships and bursaries
The CILEX Foundation has awarded three student scholarships this year as well as providing bursaries to a number of CILEX paralegals to allow them to complete their studies and qualify with CILEX.
Over £50,000 has been awarded to able, ambitious candidates, bringing the total value of awards made since the scholarship and bursary programmes began to over £270,000.
The 2023 scholarship students are legal assistants Charlotte Godsell and Sophie Hills, who at the start of their legal careers, and Faye Wood, a paralegal with over 20 years’ experience in her practice area.
The CILEX Lawyer Scholarship Programme, now in its third year, provides full funding for the CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ), giving access to legal education to those under-represented in the legal profession and/or from a socially disadvantaged background. The bursary programme provides academic funding to current members of CILEX who wish to progress their studies and achieve CILEX Lawyer status.
The CILEX Foundation was once again grateful for the support of a group of experienced CILEX Lawyers who volunteered their time to assist in assessing applications and interviewing candidates.
CILEX president and CILEX Foundation board trustee Emma Davies said: “The legal sector remains a place where who you know and where you come from is sometimes valued more than what you know and how you got there. Those from under-represented groups or who came from less affluent beginnings tell us they have to work harder to achieve their goals of a successful career in law. This was one of the reasons CILEX has improved and enhanced its qualification offering over the last few years.
“The trustees of the CILEX Foundation believe that social mobility and finances should not be barriers to accessing a legal education, and that by providing students with the opportunity to study with CILEX through its scholarship and bursary programmes, the legal sector will benefit by becoming a more diverse and representative environment.”
The CILEX Foundation is the only charity dedicated to supporting members of CILEX and those aspiring to study the CILEX route to law.
If you would like to support the work of the Foundation, there are a number of ways you can help, from making a donation or fundraising on the Foundation’s behalf, to nominating the charity to your employers as a cause to support or providing assistance as a volunteer assessor.
For more information on the work of the CILEX Foundation you can visit the website or contact charity Officer Dominique Edell: Dominique.edell@cilex.org.uk