Supporting education
The scholarships will provide up to five students with £15,000 per year of a three year undergraduate law degree, to cover the costs of university fees and contribute to living expenses.
Recipients will also be given a mentor from the firm, invited to insight days and employment workshops, provided with work experience and guaranteed a place at an assessment centre for a training contract.
In recognition that there are both practical barriers (such as the cost of university education) as well as those which are harder to identify (like not knowing anyone who can share their experiences of working in law), our programme has been designed to address both elements.
Criteria
To be eligible you must successfully apply for a law degree to commence in September/October 2026 (you do not need to have secured your place prior to your application for the scholarship).
To be considered, you must:
- Be able to demonstrate that you have the academic potential to succeed at university;
- Be attending, and have attended from aged 11, a state-funded, non-fee-paying school/college; and
You must also meet at least one of the following criteria:
- Be in receipt of, or have previously received or have been eligible for, free school meals, pupil premium, education maintenance allowance and/or 16 to 19 bursary;
- Have grown up in a household where no parent or guardian attended University;
- You are, or have been, in local authority care (for a period of 3 months or longer);
- You are, or have been, a full-time or part-time carer;
- You came to the UK as a refugee or asylum seeker; or
You are attending a state school or college with below average A-Level or Higher point score and/or low rate of progression to higher education.
Applications for our scholarships are open from 6 October 2025 until 10am 30 January 2026.
Who we look for
We look for qualities that’ll make you a high-performing law student – possibly even a future trainee solicitor at Stephenson Harwood.
- The ability to learn and reason; the capacity for knowledge and understanding.
- To quickly assimilate and master substantial factual or technical information.
- To use incisive thought to identify the key issues in a problem; to think logically and laterally through a problem; and to produce reasoned solutions.
- The ability to work to a high standard, and have meticulous attention to detail.
- Identifies own developmental areas and is willing to take action; responds well to feedback.
- The ability to take on new and challenging goals, to invest energy readily and maintain the necessary commitment, motivation and energy.
- To persist even when faced with pressure, set-backs and obstacles.
- The ability to change approach when required; and the ability to work in a changing environment.
Tips from Scholarship Awardees
Daisy Faraday and Mir Tasin, two previous scholarship holders, share their journey into law, and tips for those who wish to apply.
Supporting Social Mobility
"Widening access to the legal profession is something about which I am particularly passionate. I grew up in a rural village in West Wales, in a family where one grandfather had been a miner, and the other a farmer. The progression to higher education is something that was a natural expectation by most of my colleagues, however that is not true for everyone and wasn’t my experience growing up. I was one of ten grandchildren and the first and only one to go to university.
We need more diversity in law, more people who may have thought that a career in law is not for ‘people like them’."
- Eifion Morris, Chief Executive Officer
Have a question?
If you have a question regarding our scholarships, please email us at future.talent@stephensonharwood.com.