Story
This fund has been set up in memory of HHJ Jeremy McMullen QC in order to fund the Jeremy McMullen Access to the Bar Awards. Jeremy was passionate about increasing diversity at the Bar, and the fact that he spent his last weeks setting up these Awards is testament to his big heart and commitment to social mobility.
The target for the fund is £50,000, and Jeremy and his wife Debbie have generously donated £25,000 towards this total.
The purpose of these Awards is:
- To encourage able female students from disadvantaged and/or underrepresented
backgrounds with the potential to be succesful barristers to make a more
informed choice about a career at the Bar.
- To provide award winners with experience of what a career at the Bar
involves, by introducing them to practitioners and judges and giving them the
opportunity to ask for informal advice and feedback as to their suitability for
a career at the Bar and the practical steps that they need to take in order to
become barristers.
The Awards will consist of one week's
work experience in a set of barrister's chambers and one week's marshalling
alongside a sitting judge. For each week undertaken, the student will receive
£250, and up to 10 placements will be available in every year.
Students who satisfy the following
criteria will be eligible to apply for the Awards:
- In the second, third, or fourth year of a qualifying law degree, or taking
the GDL or equivalent.
- Little or no family history of higher education.
- Parents had a non-professional education.
- Completed their secondary education at a state school.
Awards will be allocated based on merit,
assessed through academic performance and an interview with the Inn.