Sponsor our mentoring Programme

The ULG team owe part of their success as solicitors to people who have had positive influences in steering their career paths. We are a diverse team and some of us come from backgrounds not traditionally associated with law and were the first in our families to go to university. We received career advice and guidance at the early stages of our career when we needed this guidance the most. Now that we have beaten the odds and achieved our ambitions, we want to give back and help to inspire the next generation to go on to successfully forge a career in law. 

Insight

We believe mentoring helps everyone and our mentoring programme will go a long way to helping students become better prepared and more sufficiently informed about what it takes to successfully forge a career in law. In order to be successful in securing a career in law, it is essential that our mentees have an insight into what it is like to be a lawyer, develop commercial acumen, know-how and a measure of self confidence. From our own personal experience, we have become aware that information is a key tool in the drive to widen access to the legal profession.

Research has shown that some sections of the student community are disadvantaged by age, nationality, ethnicity, disability, and cultural / social background and that those members of our community are more disproportionately likely to be unemployed in comprarison to most other graduates, and are less likely to have role models and contacts within the legal profession to bestow the benefit of their experiences and know-how which could help to make the difference in the journey towards becoming a lawyer.

Bridging the gap

The ULG team are passionate about increasing access to the legal profession. In many of the students we meet, we see in them a reflection of ourselves many years ago - bright, industrious and conscientious students full of potential but as first generation university entrants, lacking the confidence to believe that they could aspire to achieve more than the previous generation. As with our widening access programme, we believe in action. We seek to promote law careers to student groups who are currently under-represented in the UK legal profession. We seek to ensure that students are sufficiently informed and adequately prepared about their options available and the realities of what it takes to become a commercial lawyer. Our mission is to give something back by helping students to bridge the gap between education and employment. We are dedicated to guiding tomorrow's leading lawyers today by providing advice to enhance the career prospects of our mentees. 

Our mentoring programme

With the help of our sponsors, we are piloting a mentoring programme for 10 first year university law students. Our mentors will follow the students throughout their degree courses. The programme is open to students who have attended state schools and who may have been the first in their families to go to university. These are the students to whom we believe we can make a difference. The criteria for students we select for our programme are (i) those whose have excellent  academic achievements; (ii) are determined to secure training contracts at commercial law firms and (iii) want to develop their understanding of the role of a commercial lawyer at a City law firm.

Our mentees will each be allocated a mentor who will draw on their personal first-hand experiences and insights of practising as solicitors with the following aims: 

Aims of our mentoring programme:

• Educate and inform participants about the legal profession, 

• Help to demystify what leading law firms' are looking for in their future trainee solicitors, by offering students a realistic insight into the challenges, demands (entry requirements and on-the-job) and rewards of working in the legal profession.

• Highlight and promote the importance of early career planning, careful research and thorough preparation. We provide students with expert career guidance on the legal recruitment market and, on further objectives identified by the student.

• Explain what a career in law has to offer, and the wide-ranging options available to students.

• Empower participants by developing self-belief and inspire their confidence to realise a legal career is within their grasp.

• Nurture an awareness of the importance of self-motivation and commercial awareness.

• Assist participants to make informed choices and improve their chances of securing a training contract. We provide guidance and support to equip students with the tools to fulfil their potential, and to help students increase the employability prospects.

 

Become a mentor

Our mentors are a team of qualified lawyers who care about raising the aspirations of bright and talented individuals, to help inspire their confidence, unlock their potential and realise their talent. Our mentors have previous mentoring experience working with The College of Law's mentoring scheme, HRH The Prince of Wales's "Seeing is Believing" mentoring 14-16 year old students programme at Islington Green School and the Hackney Schools Programme. However, you do not necessarily need any previous experience to become a mentor. If you are a qualified solicitor from any background and are interested in making a difference and becoming a ULG mentor, please contact us for more information at info@ultimatelawguide.com.