Top students secure coveted scholarships at leading law firm Ward Hadaway

Top 100 law firm Ward Hadaway has welcomed four scholarship students from Newcastle and Northumbria universities, as part of its award-winning trainee recruitment programme.

Kanyinsola Lawal from Teesside, Tyler Campbell-Welham from Huddersfield, Abigail Chorlton Wilson from Wynyard and Cate Johnson from Stockton-on-Tees are amongst the highest performing students on the degree courses in law, within the top 10% of their cohort.

The coveted scholarships enable them to automatically fast-track their entry to the Ward Hadaway trainee assessment centre in May 2023. Successful assessment centre applicants are awarded a much sought-after training contract at the firm after graduation, setting their career path within the legal profession.

Second year law students Kanyinsola, Tyler, Abigail and Cate will undertake two weeks of training at Ward Hadaway’s Newcastle headquarters during the scholarship programme.

They will work alongside solicitors from a range of legal disciplines at the full-service law firm. This includes meeting Partners and current Trainee Solicitors, as well as working with the Graduate Recruitment Team and Training Principal Matthew Cormack, helping to build their professional network and experience the daily workings within a live legal environment. They will also receive a bursary.

Caroline Jones, Recruitment and Emerging Talent Manager at the firm, said: “We are delighted to welcome this year’s scholars, who represent the brightest and best of our future legal profession. Our trainee programme is a key aspect of our graduate development strategy and is aligned with our aim to recruit motivated, skilled and forward-thinking individuals with the right mix of competency, skills and attitude. Our scholarship scheme not only showcases the dynamism and variety of working for Ward Hadaway – one of the most established full service firms in the North of England – it also demonstrates the endless possibilities available to these talented individuals.”

“Working alongside institutions like Newcastle and Northumbria universities, we aim to help students to experience working life as a lawyer before they graduate which is all part of our holistic, people-centred approach to supporting the lawyers of the future.”

The scholars will undertake their work experience during December and the first quarter of 2023, before being invited to attend the assessment centre in May 2023.

Speaking of her scholarship, Abigail Chorlton Wilson, who is studying law at Northumbria University, said; “I am delighted to have been awarded the scholarship after a tough entry process and I am very much looking forward to meeting the wider team at Ward Hadaway. Everyone throughout the process has been extremely friendly and I know some of the trainees already with the firm and they speak incredibly highly about their experience.

“As a trainee, gaining experience within a full service practice is extremely useful, because of the broad perspective it will give me. I’ll be working across the employment, real estate and commercial litigations teams, areas of law which all interest me. I’m also attracted to the firm because of its Northern presence. I’m from the North East and hope to stay here and eventually work with clients in the region. Ward Hadaway has such a strong history and heritage across Newcastle, Manchester and Leeds, it demonstrates you don’t have to leave the North to develop your career and enjoy challenging and fulfilling work at a Top 100 firm.”