The Herbert Smith Freehills Networked Scholarship Scheme is an innovative programme designed to equip students not only with a range of essential skills for business, but also with a network of professionals to support their development.
One scholar said:
"The workshops, networking and work experience have helped me to develop skills that I can use anywhere".
The programme also creates opportunities for our employees to further develop their skills by facilitating sessions and mentoring students.
A mentor has described his experiences as:
"…life changing and an opportunity to actually change someone's life for the better".
Additionally, Networked Scholarship Scheme has played a part in the firm being ranked 15th in the 2018 Social Mobility Index.
The scheme recruits five A-level/BTEC students from comprehensive schools in London, targeting those who have limited access to corporate support and would benefit from expanding their network.
The personalised programme offers a minimum of 22 hours of contact time with the firm each year for five years, assisting students before, during and after university. The scheme is not about creating lawyers, but about fostering skills that apply to all business environments. This is done through mentoring, training skills (such as teamwork, communications and presentation), work experience and a financial bursary to support the students during their degree.
100% of our first two cohorts of Networked scholars graduated from the programme with roles at professional services firms, investment banks as well as marketing and technology firms.
The Herbert Smith Freehills' Networked Scholarship Scheme
The Herbert Smith Freehills Networked Scholarship scheme was launched by the firm in 2010. It provides five students per year with a five year programme of support, including insight days, mentoring, skills training, an internship and a financial bursary. The scheme has been designed to help develop future business leaders. We partner with our clients and work closely with our students to meet their individual needs and the scheme is designed to operate flexibly around a number of fixed components, which act as anchor points to support our scholars at key stages in their academic career.