Funding
If you want to qualify as a solicitor you should carefully weigh up the costs involved in completing the qualification process. A number of funding options are available to you, the most common of these is the Professional Studies Loan. There are also a number of scholarships and funds available. Further details can be found below.
Law Society schemes
Law Society bursary scheme
The Law Society’s Bursary Scheme is funded by several trusts and scholarships established to encourage the development of new solicitors.
Awards from the fund are available exclusively to students who have a place on the Common Professional Examination, Graduate Diploma in Law or Legal Practice Course, and cover the cost of course fees.
The fund is limited, and competition for awards is intense. (In 2007, for instance, out of 170 applicants, seven candidates were awarded a bursary.)
To be eligible to apply for an award, you must be able to demonstrate that
- your financial position would make it difficult for you to further your legal studies
- you are able to complete the course for which you are registered
- you are committed to completing the course
- you are committed to pursuing a career as a solicitor
Applications for the academic year 2008/9 have closed. Details of how to apply for the academic year 2009/10 will be available on this site early next year.
Ideas for other sources of funding can be found below and in awards and competitions.
Law Society Diversity Access Scheme
The Law Society operates a Diversity Access Scheme which provides support to talented people who overcome particular obstacles to qualify as a solicitor.
Obstacles might relate to social, educational, financial, family circumstances, or a disability that makes the goal of qualifying as a solicitor an especially challenging one.
Successful applicants are granted sponsorship to cover fees for the Common Professional Examination, Graduate Diploma in Law or the Legal Practice Course.
The deadline for completed application forms is 29 February 2008. If you require further information please read the guidance note.
Awards
HRLA Bursary Award 2008
The Human Rights Lawyers’ Association (HRLA) bursary scheme enables law students (either currently studying recently graduated) to undertake work placements in the field of human rights. In 2008, the HRLA will offer between three and five awards from a maximum bursary fund of £5,000. Awards are valid for 12 months from 1 May.
Successful applicants will be able to undertake work related to human rights law that they would otherwise be unable to afford to do. Although this work need not take place in the UK, it must have direct relevance to developing human rights law, practice and procedure in the UK, and applicants must demonstrate that they are committed to finding employment, or practising as a lawyer, in the UK in the human rights field in the future.
To apply, complete and email the application form to HRLA by 1 April 2008. If you are successful, you will be contacted by 1 May.
For more information and an application form, see the HRLA website.
Local authority grants
Your local authority will be able to provide you with details of mandatory and discretionary award policies. This will include courses which the authority considers suitable for the purposes of financial support.
The CPE, Post Graduate Diploma in Law and Legal Practice Course are categorised as discretionary awards. The authority will decide whether you qualify for an award, using a series of criteria established by the officers and elected members.
Discretionary funds, where available, are limited, and you should check with your local authority when to apply.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families also publishes information about funding on the Directgov website.
Loan schemes – the high street banks
Major high street banks are a popular source of finance for those considering a career in law. A number of these banks offer special schemes for the CPE/GDL and LPC, with lower interest rates than normal and delayed repayment arrangements.
NatWest Professional Training Loan
Loan amount: up to £15,000
Available for: CPE/GDL (second year onwards) and LPC
Repayment period: begins six months after completion of course. Repayment up to a maximum of 10 years from the date the loan was arranged.
Notes: loan available as lump sum or in stages. Loans can be arranged as early as the second year of a law degree or final year of non-law degrees for CPE/PgDL courses. No loan arrangement fee. Applicants must have a student account with NatWest to be eligible for the loan.
Contact details: enquiries to local branches.
HSBC Professional Studies Loan
Loan amount: £5,000 pa plus course fees or the equivalent of two thirds of salary over the previous 12 months
Available for: CPE/PgDL and LPC
Repayment period: begins twelve months after completion of course. Up to £10,000 repayable over a maximum of seven years; over £10,000 up to a maximum of 11 years
Notes: security may be required. Interest-free overdraft up to £1,500 for duration of course and for the following 12 months
Contact details: see local branches for information and application details.
Lloyds TSB Professional Studies Loan
Loan amount: £10,000 or two-thirds of previous salary if in employment
Available for: CPE/PgDL and LPC
Repayment period: begins six months after completion of course. Maximum five-year repayment period
Notes: loan available as lump sum or in stages. No arrangement fee
Contact details: information and applications through local branches.
Barclays Professional Studies Package / Law School Loan
Loan amount: up to £25,000 over two years
Available for: CPE/PgDL (£10K available) and LPC
Repayment period: begins nine months after the course has ended. Loans of up to £10,000 repayable over a maximum of five years, over £10,000 up to a maximum of nine years
Notes: loans available in one lump sum or in stages as required. Students can get all the benefits of the Barclays Student Account including interest-free overdrafts and specialist service.
Contact details for information: Call free on 0800 400 100, call into any Barclays branch or contact Barclays Bank plc, Consumer Lending Section, PSMD, PO Box 120, Longwood Close, Westwood Business Park, Coventry CV4 8JN. Tel: 024 7669 4242
Royal Bank of Scotland Law Student Loan Scheme
Loan amount: up to £15,000 (LPC)
Available for: CPE/PgDL (£5K) and LPC (£10K or £15K if not borrowed money for CPE)
Repayment period: up to seven years (including study period). No repayments in year one and interest only in years two and three. £100 fee payable
Notes: applicants should be existing RBS customers or should transfer their account. RBS offer student account terms while studying, including a £2,000 interest-free overdraft. The loan schemes offered to barristers and solicitors differ to some extent – contact the number below for further details.
Contact details: contact local branch or apply to Royal Bank of Scotland, Commercial Banking Services (Marketing), PO Box 31, 42 St Andrews Square, Edinburgh EH2 2YE. Tel: 0131 523 4145
Career development loans
Loan amount: £300–£8,000
Available for: vocationally-related courses for up to two years (such as CPE/PgDL and LPC)
Repayment period: the individual banks within the CDL scheme vary slightly as to their repayment holidays and repayment periods. Check details in the CDL applications pack
Interest rates: paid by Government while on course. High interest rates once completed
Notes: run by Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, Co-operative and Clydesdale banks on behalf of Department for Education and Skills. Can borrow up to 80% of fees (100% if unemployed for more than three months) plus costs towards books and living. Available for full and part-time courses
Contact details: Career Development Loans, FREEPOST, Newcastle upon Tyne NE85 1BR, Tel: 0800 585 505
The National Association of Managers of Student Services runs a website serviced by Money Facts which has pages on student finance and loans listing details of all the loan packages offered by banks.
Other loans
At present, the Government’s Student Loan Scheme is not available for post-graduate study.
Charities and grant-making trusts
Your local authority awards officer will have information about local charities and any grant-making trusts for which you may qualify. This may also be available in the local reference library. Qualifications for these awards vary enormously. Usually, they provide only small amounts of money and should not be relied upon to provide full financial support for either tuition or maintenance.
College access funds
These funds are available to post-graduate students at universities and publicly funded colleges mainly to provide additional assistance to meet living costs. The funds are used at the discretion of your college. Students should contact the student support or student services officer of their institution for further details.
Sponsorship
A number of firms will sponsor students, mainly those applying for Legal Practice Courses and those intending to take the CPE or Post Graduate Diploma in Law Course. In the circumstances, you would normally expect to serve your training contract with the firm. Occasionally, commitment to employment with the firm over a longer period is required. This will form the subject of a covenant in the training contract.
The Register of Solicitors Employing Trainees (ROSET) is available free from your university or careers service, or, if you are a graduate, from the Law Society Bookshop. ROSET lists firms which are recruiting trainees and able to sponsor for the LPC or the CPE and Post Graduate Diploma in Law. You will also find sponsorship information in the CSU publication, PROSPECTS Legal, again available from your university or careers service, or available from CSU.
Twice yearly The Lawyer magazine publishes a ‘Student Special’ supplement which contains a list of firms who are willing to sponsor students. Further information is available from The Lawyer. Copies are usually kept in university careers services.
Ethnic minority students
A limited number of scholarships is available, usually for the Legal Practice Course, to members of ethnic minority communities, who are British Citizens and who wish to qualify as solicitors. For further information, contact Fitzroy Allen, Windsor Fellowship, 47 Hackney Road, London, E2.
The British Council provides information and assistance to overseas students seeking to qualify as solicitors in England and Wales.
Overseas students who are able to obtain work permits may apply for sponsorship with firms to support their studies for the CPE, Post Graduate Diploma in Law and the Legal Practice Course.
H M Hubbard Law Scholarship
This scholarship is for trainee solicitors and recently admitted solicitors. You may apply for a scholarship if you plan to study the law and legal procedures in France, Spain or Canada. Further information can be obtained from the scholarship administrator – see the H M Hubbard Law Scholarship website for details.
The Inderpal Rahal Memorial Trust
The Trust makes one, or occasionally two, grants per year towards legal training for women from an immigrant or refugee background who intend to practise or teach law in the UK. Candidates are required to complete an application form and those shortlisted, attend an interview.
Contact the Inderpal Rahal Memorial Trust Administrator, Two Garden Court Chambers, 2 Garden Court, Middle Temple, London EC4Y 9BL (email irmt@twogardencourtchambers.co.uk) for further details.
