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12 March 2025
Issue: 8108 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Training & education , Diversity
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Fund launched to open doors for aspiring solicitors

A £360,000 fund to support about 190 aspiring solicitors from disadvantaged backgrounds has been launched by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

Only organisations—not the individuals concerned—are eligible to apply for the SQE Access and Reinvestment Fund. They will be asked to show how their schemes support aspiring solicitors who face barriers to entry such as a disability, family estrangement or background in a cared for setting.

If successful, they can use their allocation to cover the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) entry fees of candidates they have selected for support.

Paul Philip, SRA chief executive, said: ‘We do not want to see talented individuals being held back by financial constraints and other personal challenges.’

The fund is generated by payments from SQE provider Kaplan. The deadline for applications is 30 April, and more information is available here.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

Daniel Burbeary, office managing partner of Michelman Robinson, discusses launching in London, the power of the law, and what the kitchen can teach us about litigating

Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

Firm welcomes partner with specialist expertise in family and art law

Birketts—Álvaro Aznar

Birketts—Álvaro Aznar

Dual-qualified partner joins international private client team

NEWS
Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
In a striking financial remedies ruling, the High Court cut a wife’s award by 40% for coercive and controlling behaviour. Writing in NLJ this week, Chris Bryden and Nicole Wallace of 4 King’s Bench Walk analyse LP v MP [2025] EWFC 473
A €60.9m award to Kylian Mbappé has refocused attention on football’s controversial ‘ethics bonus’ clauses. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Estelle Ivanova of Valloni Attorneys at Law examines how such provisions sit within French labour law
A seemingly dry procedural update may prove potent. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold explains that new CPR 31.12A—part of the 193rd update—fills a ‘lacuna’ exposed in McLaren Indy v Alpa Racing
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