Six diverse Law students and graduates celebrate recent successes

Three recent graduates – Harrie Austin-Jones, Laurie-Elizabeth Ketley and Liam Chin – have been offered a pupillage in an incredible coup for the OU Law School and its alumni.

At the same time, two students (Thomas Barry and Kurt Tavares) have been offered a prestigious Stephen Lawrence Scholarship at Freshfields, designed to address the disproportionate under-representation of black and black-mixed race men from less privileged backgrounds in large commercial law firms 

And, in another exciting yet well-deserved win, for the second successive year, an OU student is a Lincoln's Inn Neuberger Prize winner. Kathryn Der Gregorian will receive free membership of Lincoln's Inn, among other prizes.

The deserving OU students and graduates come from a diverse range of backgrounds, demonstrating the legal profession's progress in diversity and inclusion.

With only 400 pupillages available annually and 6,000 law students vying for them, this is wonderful news for the OU’s Law School and its alumni and students.

The Freshfields Stephen Lawrence Scholarship is designed to broaden access to careers in commercial law, and we are delighted to have two students who have been awarded the Scholarship. Similarly, the Lincoln’s Inn Neuberger Prize is an excellent achievement – there is much to celebrate for the Law School.

Improving access to the profession through scholarships and awards is an excellent way of opening up the legal profession to diverse groups of people. It is essential that lawyers reflect the society they serve.

We are incredibly proud of each and every one of these students and graduates – their achievements are so well deserved. We wish them every success.

Hugh McFaul
Head of the OU Law School