Tom Campbell

Held at Parliament Hall on Tuesday, the Lawscot Foundation marked a decade of supporting students facing socioeconomic barriers with a commemorative event to reflect on the charity’s success.

Lawscot Foundation chair, Kay McCorquodale, highlighted the progress the charity has made since it started in 2016, with a number of scholars now fully qualified solicitors.

Since its establishment the foundation has supported over 100 students, 87 of them with funding and a further 30 with mentoring and career development opportunities.

Now a diploma student at the University of Edinburgh, Lawscot Foundation scholar Tom Campbell told attendees: “As the first person in my family to consider law, I knew accepting the LLB offer and committing myself to pursuing a career in the law represented a significant challenge, both personally and financially.

“Now with my traineeship confirmed for 2028, it is without question that I would credit the fantastic staff and supporters of the Lawscot Foundation with a major role in getting me to where I am today.

“With any luck, in 10 years’ time, I may even be standing in a room like this again, alongside dozens more lawyers who might not have entered the profession without the Foundation’s invaluable support and guidance.”

Ms McCorquodale said: “None of this would be possible without the support of the Law Society of Scotland, our loyal sponsors, volunteers, my fellow trustees and of course, our inaugural chair, Christine McLintock, whose passion and vision were instrumental in driving forward the success of the foundation.

“I want to thank you all for ensuring we can carry this work forward. We are very grateful for your continued support.”

Law Society of Scotland chief executive Ben Kemp added: “The foundation’s work to remove socioeconomic barriers to the profession for aspiring law students is vital, both from the perspective of social justice and fairness, but also in helping to ensure that the profession reflects, and remains relevant to, the society it serves.

“It has, over the last decade, made substantial progress towards this objective. Thank you for championing the work it does and for so generously supporting the foundation’s scholars.”