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Tracy Kaye/Berrymans Lace Mawer Memorial Bursary 2012

Introduction

The Tracy Kaye/ Berrymans Lace Mawer Award has been set up in memory of the late Tracy Kaye.

Tracy, who lived in York, graduated from University of Northumbria in 1994 and later joined Berrymans Lace Mawer where on qualification as a solicitor she specialised in the field of personal injury litigation. Tracy was a dedicated member of the firm and made an enormous contribution to her clients and the team with whom she worked. The partners of Berrymans Lace Mawer decided to establish the Award as a token of their affection and respect for Tracy.

The Award is a £1500 bursary to assist a student in meeting the cost of the Legal Practice Course tuition fees at The College of Law, York.

The successful candidate will also be offered one week's work experience to be taken at BLM's Leeds office before starting the Legal Practice Course.

Eligibility

Criteria

Essential

To qualify for an award, you must demonstrate:

that you have accepted a place on the Legal Practice Course at The College of Law in York
that you are able to complete the course
that you are committed to completing the course and to a career as a solicitor
a commitment to help others eg through charity or pro bono work
that your financial position would make it difficult for you to further your legal studies without the bursary
skill and ability in a non-academic competitive environment.

Desirable

It would also be desirable to be able to demonstrate an interest in pursuing, and an aptitude for, contentious legal practice.

There is one Award of £1500 each year and competition is likely to be strong. Simply meeting the criteria will not result in you being granted the Award. The allocation of the Award will depend upon the relative merits of each application

It is in your interest to include as much information as possible in support of your application. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend an interview to discuss their application further.

To be considered for the Award, you must submit with your application written confirmation from The College of Law acknowledging your acceptance of a place on the course.

Character and suitability

Your character and suitability will also be assessed in the application. You must declare any information that might affect your suitability to be a solicitor. Such information includes:

any criminal conviction, including police cautions, unless they are “spent” under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
any instance of cheating in examinations or plagiarism during a course of study
any county court judgments against you, declarations of bankruptcy (even if they have been satisfied) or evidence of inability to manage your financial affairs.

Academic ability

You must be able to demonstrate a high level of intellectual ability and the capacity to think and argue like a solicitor.

You will be asked to provide details of your educational and vocational qualifications to date as supporting evidence of your academic ability as well as your capacity to complete the course for which you have accepted an offer.

If you feel there are reasons why your academic achievements do not reflect your full potential you will be given the opportunity to comment on this in the application form and, if short-listed, when called for interview.

Commitment to a career as a solicitor and to help others

You will be required to provide details of your commitment to a career as a solicitor. You can submit any information which you feel demonstrates this but you should include evidence of the following:

the efforts you have made to gain experience and understanding of the legal profession. This might include time spent on work experience or vacation placements which have given you an insight into legal practice and the demands for legal services
your interest in the law and the legal profession
the characteristics and attributes of a solicitor, including honesty and integrity
a wish to help others and to serve the wider community- this might include voluntary or community work that you have undertaken.
Commitment to completion of the course and to the need for financial assistance
You should be able to demonstrate that you are committed to completing the legal practice course. For example, you will be required to demonstrate how you have calculated the funding you will need to complete the course and why you require the Award.

You will also be required to demonstrate other sources of funding which you have already explored. The Award will contribute to your course fees but you will still be required to fund the remainder of the course fees and your living expenses. You will be required to demonstrate how you will fund these additional fees and expenses.

You should be able to demonstrate that you are experiencing significant financial hardship. Bear in mind that most students finish their undergraduate study with a certain amount of debt and this, on its own, will not qualify you for consideration for the Award.

Details of your current financial status will be requested on application. Information on the steps you have taken to alleviate your financial hardship should also be supplied – the Award is not simply made to applicants with the highest debts.

The application process

You must complete the application form in full. Incomplete applications will not be considered. You will be expected to comply with the instructions on the application process. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

The closing date for receipt of applications for the course starting in the academic year 2012/13 is 4:00pm on Tuesday 10 July 2012. Following this date, applications will be assessed against the criteria for the scheme and applicants will be shortlisted for interview by the selection panel. We will contact shortlisted candidates by e-mail by the middle of July. Please do not contact us before this date to find out if you have been shortlisted.

Submitting your application

Application forms are only available here.

Please return your completed application form by Tuesday 10 July 2012 to bursary-york@lawcol.co.uk. Applications must be submitted by e-mail. All applications will be acknowledged.

Applications which are hand delivered, faxed or posted will not be considered.

Interviews

Interviews will take place by end of July 2012 at the York centre of The College of Law. Reasonable travelling expenses up to £50 will be reimbursed by Berrymans Lace Mawer.

If you are called for an interview the panel will ask you to expand on the information provided on your application form and to explain why you feel you should be granted the Award and how you would benefit from it.

If you are called to interview you will be asked to provide:

the original certificate for any professional or vocational qualifications.
the original degree certificate or transcript of your marks to date. Transcripts must be on official university or institution headed paper and must be verified by the academic registrar by way of stamp or signature.

Interviews will not go ahead unless you provide this information when requested. Please do not provide this documentation with your application.

Awards

Any Award will be for courses starting in the academic year 2012/13 and will be payable directly to The College of Law.

For the full time course the £1500 award will be paid in part satisfaction of the second instalment of fees due in December.

For a part time course £750 will be paid in part satisfaction of the second instalment for year 1 of the course and £750 in part satisfaction of the first instalment in year 2 of the course.

Data Protection

Information provided by you in this application form will be kept for the purpose of monitoring. Once the selection process is completed, the data will be stored for a maximum of six months and then destroyed. In submitting this form you are confirming that the information is complete and correct and that you understand that if you knowingly provide false information any offer of a bursary may be withdrawn. You consent to the use of this information as outlined above.

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