CMS names two Scottish bursary winners

Law firm CMS is to support two aspiring law students from Scotland this year under its bursary scheme, rather than a single winner.

As part of an annual UK-wide initiative now in its fourth year, the firm awards £2,500 each year to a high-performing Scottish state school pupil from an economically disadvantaged background while they are completing their law degrees. All finalists in the competition also benefit from mentoring by a qualified lawyer, and will be offered paid work experience with CMS during their first year of University.

Due to the high quality of this year’s finalists, the firm has opted to award two bursaries, with one going to Zaynab Sarguroh from Glasgow and the other to David Stark from Aberdeen.

The 2018 scheme was launched in May when pupils were initially asked to submit an essay. Applicants from eight Scottish schools were then shortlisted and invited to attend an interview, meet trainees and take part in teambuilding exercises at CMS’s Edinburgh offices earlier this month.

Allan Wernham, managing director of CMS in Scotland, commented: “We have been hugely impressed with the quality of pupils applying for the support of the CMS Bursary Scheme for Scotland this year. Many of these applications were of exceptional quality and as a result, we’ve made the decision to award bursaries to two aspiring Scottish law students.

“This is our commitment in Scotland to ensuring that when you choose to pursue a career in law, your background doesn’t matter. I want to congratulate David and Zaynab who will both receive £2,500 per annum for each year of their university studies. All finalists also benefit from mentoring by one of our associates in Scotland and will be offered paid work experience with the firm in December 2019.”