Dickson Minto sponsors legal foundation

Corporate law firm Dickson Minto has become a key sponsor of a foundation set up to help academically gifted students from less advantaged backgrounds enter the profession.

The firm, which has offices in Edinburgh and London, is now a platinum sponsor of the Lawscot Foundation, founded in 2016 by the Law Society of Scotland.

Dickson Minto’s contribution will help fund a four-year law degree for a recipient of a Lawscot Foundation bursary.

The firm’s recruitment partner, Allan Fraser, said graduate recruitment was extremely important to the practice, which was founded in the 1980s by Alastair Dickson and Bruce Minto and is one of Scotland’s largest legal firms by fee income.

He said: “Trainee recruitment is the backbone of our business – seven out of our ten most recently assumed partners joined the firm as trainees. We seek out the top graduates and we aim to recruit from a diverse range of backgrounds and skill sets.

“It is right that everyone should have equal access to the profession and our commitment to the Lawscot Foundation will hopefully go some way to help reduce the financial barriers to entry.”

The firm is also offering each recipient of a bursary a mentoring session with one of its solicitors and the opportunity to interview for a work placement.

Foundation chairwoman Christine Mclintock said: “We believe access to a legal career should be based on ability rather than financial circumstances.” 0 Allan Fraser: ‘We seek out the top graduates’