Faculty launches this year’s scholarship applications to increase diversity

NEW Scottish Council of Law Reporting Scholarship.

In launching this year’s applications for scholarship programmes to help remove barriers and increase diversity among the membership of Scotland’s independent referral Bar, the Faculty of Advocates is delighted to announce a new scheme alongside the other, established sources of support.

The Scottish Council of Law Reporting (SCLR) is providing £5,000 for a scholarship to support devilling (pupillage), which will be administered by the Faculty in tandem with its own programmes.

The Faculty is conscious that lack of means during devilling may constitute an obstacle to individuals who wish to practise as advocates. Therefore, four scholarships schemes are now available to prospective devils: the Lord Reid Scholarship, the Faculty Scholarship, the Lord Hope Scholarships, and the new SCLR scholarship.

The Lord Hope Scholarships – launched at a conference of the Scottish Ethnic Minorities Lawyers Association (SEMLA) in November 2018 – are funded by contributions made by existing members of Faculty. In addition, one or more Faculty Scholarships may be awarded each year.

The Lord Reid Scholarship is awarded in honour of the late Lord Reid of Drem, who generously bequeathed sums to the Faculty with the intention that they be used for educational scholarships. One Lord Reid Scholarship is usually awarded annually, to the outstanding applicant.

The Lord Hope, Faculty and SCLR Scholarships have as their aim improving accessibility to the Bar. Applicants must demonstrate sufficient ability to merit the award, but greater weighting is given to those in financial need or to those from groups currently under-represented at the Scottish bar.

Ruth Crawford, QC, Treasurer of Faculty, who chairs the Faculty’s Scholarship Committee, said:

“We are delighted to be adding the Scottish Council of Law Reporting Scholarship to our other programmes of support, aimed at removing barriers and increasing diversity among the membership of Scotland’s independent referral Bar.

The Faculty is fully committed to being inclusive and is open to every person in Scotland with the appropriate legal abilities – regardless of sex, race, sexual orientation, disability, religion or background. We continue to work hard to meet that commitment. Our growing scholarship programmes contribute to that. We hope that they will help to alleviate hardship experienced in the unpaid ‘devilling’ period so that applicants have financial support to pursue their goals.”

The deadline for applications for all scholarships, for those intending to commence devilling in 2022, is Friday 30 April. For details on the application process and further information go to http://www.advocates.org.uk/media/3893/scholarship-guidance-notes-2022.pdf