Students have highlighted the combined impact of financial support and professional mentoring, which helps build confidence, reduce pressure and provide a clearer pathway into legal careers. All scholars who have completed their studies have graduated with a 2:1 or 2:2, demonstrating the programme’s role in supporting academic success.
Professor Donna Whitehead, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Brighton, said: “At the University of Brighton, our students are the change‑makers and innovators who embody the future we strive to create. They bring with them powerful, diverse lived experiences that enrich our communities, strengthen our professions, and help build a more just society.
“As someone who was the first in my family to attend university, and having spent many years teaching law, I know how vital it is that the legal profession reflects the full spectrum of our society. That is why the Family Law Partners scholarship programme is so deeply meaningful.
“This partnership is opening doors to students whose backgrounds are historically under‑represented within the legal sector, and it gives them the opportunity to step into the profession as the compassionate, capable agents of change our world urgently needs. I am immensely proud of what has already been achieved – and of the students whose futures are being transformed through this exceptional initiative.”
Gemma Hope, Director at Family Law Partners and Scholarship Scheme Champion, said: “We have been delighted to see the progress of the young people engaged in the scholarship scheme. To see legal careers budding for students who may otherwise have found accessing higher education difficult is a wonderful feeling professionally.”
"As a firm, we are passionate about ensuring the public is served by lawyers from diverse backgrounds and cultures, and not just those individuals fortunate enough to have the financial means to study law. This scheme enables us to put our money where our mouth is.”
The partnership reflects a shared commitment to tackling structural barriers to social mobility by intervening early, during education, where support can have the greatest impact on long-term outcomes.
The People in Law Awards celebrate outstanding achievements across the legal sector, recognising organisations and initiatives that are driving positive change and improving access to the profession.
The University of Brighton and Family Law Partners’ shortlisting highlights the growing importance of sustained, collaborative approaches to widening participation and creating opportunities within law.