Social mobility and education
Our aim is to offer support across a range of age groups for less advantaged children and young people to help them broaden their horizons and access opportunities, with a focus on education around careers in the legal profession.
Some of our key initiatives include:
Magic Breakfast
Since 2021, we have worked with Magic Breakfast, a charity working with schools with a high percentage of students who are eligible for free school meals, to provide healthy breakfasts and expert support to help identify and reach those pupils at risk of hunger to two schools in Birmingham and Nottingham.
As well as financial support from our Charitable Trust, our people have been volunteering at the breakfast clubs – helping to serve breakfast and supporting the children through a range of activities including reading and developing language and conversational skills. We will be rolling out the partnership more widely and have plans to work with a school near each of our UK office locations from October 2023. This support will enable Magic Breakfast to deliver more than 120 breakfast club engagements nationally – totalling 815,100 healthy breakfasts for 2,090 children in every school.
Middle East Law Programme for Refugees In late 2022, we launched the Middle East Law Programme for Refugees. Focused solely on refugee law students in the region and working in close partnership with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA), this initiative targets students with refugee status who are based in Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Iraq. We are currently financially supporting two law students for their four-year university studies, with a commitment to sponsor two additional students during the next academic year.
As part of a wider outreach programme crafted in conjunction with the UNHCR and UNWRA, we support a total 40 additional students and recent law graduates from diverse nationalities and backgrounds, the majority of whom are currently studying law in Jordan and Palestine, as well as graduates who have obtained their law degree within the last three years.
PathFinders
PathFinders is a non-profit organisation in Hong Kong dedicated to supporting and safeguarding the rights of migrant domestic workers (‘MDW’) and their children, many of whom are stateless and thus unable to access even the most basic social assistance.
Our Hong Kong office has collaborated with PathFinders in activities such as a ‘Lunch and Learn’ educational session, preparing maternity packs and supporting their annual fundraising gala. We will continue to develop our relationship with PathFinders to help them deliver greater impact.
WATCH:
Empowering refugees in collaboration with UNHCR and UNRWA - Lana Habash, Partner, Amman
Scott Wagland and Gemma Curtis Bursary Supplementing our Unlocked programme is the Scott Wagland and Gemma Curtis Bursary, which covers university tuition fees for the period of an Unlocked participant’s law degree. The Bursary also provides students with mentors from the firm, and vacation scheme opportunities. Currently, we are supporting 10 bursary students. For more information about our Unlocked programme, please refer to the People section.
Of the 14 bursary recipients we have supported over the last five years, seven individuals were offered training contracts – underlining how the programme has become successful as a pipeline for emerging talent.
Social mobility and education
Our aim is to offer support across a range of age groups for less advantaged children and young people to help them broaden their horizons and access opportunities, with a focus on education around careers in the legal profession.
Some of our key initiatives include:
Magic Breakfast
Since 2021, we have worked with Magic Breakfast, a charity working with schools with a high percentage of students who are eligible for free school meals, to provide healthy breakfasts and expert support to help identify and reach those pupils at risk of hunger to two schools in Birmingham and Nottingham.
As well as financial support from our Charitable Trust, our people have been volunteering at the breakfast clubs – helping to serve breakfast and supporting the children through a range of activities including reading and developing language and conversational skills. We will be rolling out the partnership more widely and have plans to work with a school near each of our UK office locations from October 2023. This support will enable Magic Breakfast to deliver more than 120 breakfast club engagements nationally – totalling 815,100 healthy breakfasts for 2,090 children in every school.
Middle East Law Programme for Refugees In late 2022, we launched the Middle East Law Programme for Refugees. Focused solely on refugee law students in the region and working in close partnership with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA), this initiative targets students with refugee status who are based in Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Iraq. We are currently financially supporting two law students for their four-year university studies, with a commitment to sponsor two additional students during the next academic year.
As part of a wider outreach programme crafted in conjunction with the UNHCR and UNWRA, we support a total 40 additional students and recent law graduates from diverse nationalities and backgrounds, the majority of whom are currently studying law in Jordan and Palestine, as well as graduates who have obtained their law degree within the last three years.
PathFinders
PathFinders is a non-profit organisation in Hong Kong dedicated to supporting and safeguarding the rights of migrant domestic workers (‘MDW’) and their children, many of whom are stateless and thus unable to access even the most basic social assistance.
Our Hong Kong office has collaborated with PathFinders in activities such as a ‘Lunch and Learn’ educational session, preparing maternity packs and supporting their annual fundraising gala. We will continue to develop our relationship with PathFinders to help them deliver greater impact.
WATCH:
Empowering refugees in collaboration with UNHCR and UNRWA - Lana Habash, Partner, Amman
Scott Wagland and Gemma Curtis Bursary Supplementing our Unlocked programme is the Scott Wagland and Gemma Curtis Bursary, which covers university tuition fees for the period of an Unlocked participant’s law degree. The Bursary also provides students with mentors from the firm, and vacation scheme opportunities. Currently, we are supporting 10 bursary students. For more information about our Unlocked programme, please refer to the People section.
Of the 14 bursary recipients we have supported over the last five years, seven individuals were offered training contracts – underlining how the programme has become successful as a pipeline for emerging talent.