Students celebrate new Brighton law scholarships

Brighton-based Family Law Partners announced their Law Progression Scholarship with University of Brighton last April, designed to support students from lower income backgrounds through the entirety of their undergraduate studies. The scholarship offers £2,000 a year for three years study at the university's highly-regarded School of Business and Law, alongside mentoring opportunities with Family Law Partners.

The scholarship programme will fund six students overall, with two new scholars joining each year. The first duo to take up the funding are Alana Frawley and Loren May Waddon, whose success was celebrated at the University of Brighton’s newly opened Elm House by the founding directors of Family Law Partners, along with Dr Jo Smith, Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Brighton.

Loren May Waddon (left) and Alana Frawley (right), flanked by Robert Williams (left) and Alan Larkin (right) from Family Law Partners

Loren May Waddon, who has begun studying Law LLB (Hons), said: “Thank you for selecting me for this scholarship. I am very grateful to receive this support financially, and also the chance for mentoring. I am excited for what these next few years hold.”

Alana Frawley, now studying Law with Criminology LLB(Hons), said: “I feel very honoured to have been chosen as a recipient for this scholarship. This money will really be so helpful as I focus on my studies, and will make a real difference for me throughout my time at the University of Brighton.”

Professor Toni Hilton, Dean of the university's School of Business and Law, said: “We are absolutely delighted to award the first law scholarships from Family Law Partners. It is particularly pleasing to award scholarships that combine financial assistance with the valuable benefit of mentoring to support the career aspirations of our scholarship holders.”

Robert Williams and Alan Larkin, Founding Directors of Family Law Partners said: “The creation of this scholarship is driven by our belief that the public are best served by lawyers from diverse backgrounds and cultures, and not just those individuals fortunate enough to have the financial means to study law.

“Together with the outstanding team at the University of Brighton, we’re excited at the opportunities we can create for young people entering the legal profession. Having now spent time with Loren and Alana we are looking forward to playing a part in their future development and shaping the future legal talent emerging from within our community.”

Family Law Partners was recognised as Law Firm of the Year (South) in the Family Law Awards 2021, as well as winning the Law Society's title of Medium Law Firm of the Year 2019. The company also received a Business Impact award in 2021 from Innovate UK for its Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) collaboration with the University of Brighton to help people access legal services more easily.