CMS opens applications for 2016 bursaries

Law firm CMS is inviting applications to its 2016 bursary programme, now in its fifth year.

The scheme awards up to five bursaries worth £2,500 each year for aspiring UK students to use towards their law degrees. One place is specifically reserved for Scottish students.

To be eligible for the scheme, students must be in the first generation in their family to go to university and meet certain academic and financial criteria.

Finalists, including the winners of the bursary, will benefit from mentoring by a lawyer at CMS throughout their UCAS application process and will receive two days of work experience during their first year of university at CMS’s London and Edinburgh offices. Since the programme’s launch in 2012, 42 students have received mentoring support, and 26 have taken work experience placements at the firm.

Of counsel solicitor Sarah Hyde, who leads the bursary initiative, commented: “We are proud to see the difference the scheme is making to students, at a critical point in their lives as they transition to university. The scheme enables aspiring lawyers, who may not have the opportunity otherwise, to gain an insight into the legal profession and what it is like to work at a top law firm. It equips them with the confidence they need to pursue a career in law.”

She added: “We want to level the playing field and make a career in law more accessible for students, regardless of background.”

The process begins on 9 May in Scotland and 6 June for the rest of the UK with an essay competition focusing on a legal and ethical issue. The deadline for submitting essays is 4 July in Scotland and 20 July in the rest of the UK, with the winners being announced in September.

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