BARBRI has this week announced its collaboration with the Law Society Diversity Access Scheme (DAS), supporting aspiring lawyers through the qualification journey via the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE).
This will see BARBRI offer the scheme’s applicants one sponsorship place per year for its SQE1 and SQE2 Prep courses, helping to improve diversity and access to the profession in line with the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) key objective for the SQE.
The DAS supports talented and tenacious aspiring solicitors from less advantaged backgrounds. It provides funding, work experience and mentoring for successful applicants and in 2021, it will offer funding for either the SQE or the Legal Practice Course (LPC).
This news follows BARBRI’s recent collaboration with Linklaters and Breaking Barriers to offer five free SQE1 places to aspiring lawyers with a refugee background currently living in the UK.
Robert Dudley, deputy managing director for BARBRI said: “We’re proud to offer our support to the Law Society Diversity Access Scheme. It’s an exceptional initiative that helps to reduce barriers to entry within the profession and at BARBRI, this is something that we are actively working to support.
“One of the key benefits of the SQE is that it offers greater flexibility and therefore the potential to increase diversity within the legal industry. However, we appreciate that for some, its introduction alone will not be enough. There needs to be support in place to help talented, tenacious individuals pursue their passion regardless of social or economic barriers. We believe that this partnership is another positive step towards that goal.”
BARBRI’s offers a range of pathways to prepare aspiring solicitors to successfully complete the SQE1 and SQE2 with various funding and scholarship options available to support diverse entry into the profession.
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