Lawscot Foundation appeals for solicitor mentors

An appeal has gone out to Scottish solicitors for volunteers to mentor less-advantaged students supported by the Lawscot Foundation.

Applications have opened to sign up for the scheme, which forms a crucial part of the Foundation’s work to help a wider range of young people pursue a legal career.

Full training and support will be provided for successful applicants who are matched with a Lawscot Foundation bursary student.

Lawscot Foundation spokesperson Milly Berndes-Cade said: “Our mentors make an enormous contribution to the future of the young person they’re matched with and to the future shape of our profession, while also developing their own leadership and management skills.

“Our charity’s mission is to support these gifted students to pursue legal careers when their personal circumstances might otherwise exclude them, and our mentor scheme is as important as our bursary payments in fulfilling that goal.

“For many of our students their mentor is the first solicitor they’ve ever met. It’s a relationship that builds confidence and knowledge while showing our students they belong in the legal profession.”

Foundation student Chloe Fraser says her mentor, Turcan Connell senior solicitor Lauren McDonach, has played a key role in her development.

“Lauren and I both lived in the same home town, so it was comforting to be paired with someone who I shared similarities with.

“Lauren has helped and taught me so much. She has always made time to check up on me, arrange coffee dates, proofread all my course work, and has contributed massively to my professional and personal development.”