News 

LEDLET offers its deepest sympathies to the family of Lord Morris, who died in June this year. Lord Morris was a great supporter of the trust and acted as vice-present for a time. Lord Morris, a barrister (QC), was first elected as MP of Aberavon in 1959 and, at the time of his death, was the longest-serving member of the privy council, and had sat in cabinet under three prime ministers. 

After a long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic we hosted a conference for all of our alumni in London at the Linklaters office in the heart of the city of London. Over 30 alumni attended the event which was run by a handful of alumni who first did the scheme back in 2014, 2015 and 2016. The event covered the routes to qualifying as a barrister and a solicitor, application advice and a Q&A on how our older alumni found the application process for pupilages and training contracts, how they decided between living in London or Wales and what life is like as a junior lawyer after completing the summer scheme. 

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, LEDLET made the decision that the scheme could not be held in person with students travelling to London or Cardiff for a week in July.  The trustees have been working hard to design an online scheme for students to take part in, with the aim of giving them much the same opportunity to gain an insight into what a career in law may entail. The scheme will take place during the same week as originally planned, and we hope we keep everyone updated with the success of the scheme. 

LEDLET and Legal Wales are pleased to announce that the successful candidates have been selected for the Summer Scheme 2020.  Competition this year was greater than ever, with all applications of a high quality.   In light of the logistical difficulties posed by the Covid-19 emergency, this year the Scheme will be operated virtually to ensure successful candidates enjoy and benefit from the Scheme as optimally as usual.  The Summer Scheme 2020 is the seventh Summer Scheme, but the first being run in both Cardiff and London in association with Legal Wales.  LEDLET is delighted to be working with Legal Wales to maximise the opportunities available to young people in Wales, and to provide an equal insight into life in practice in Cardiff as well as London.

On Tuesday 21 January 2020, the Trustees of LEDLET and their President, The Right Hon Lord Lloyd-Jones of the Supreme Court, hosted an evening to thank all mentors who had supported LEDLET students over the past year. Kindly hosted at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP in London, the event was streamed live to those also celebrating in Cardiff. Amongst those in attendance were solicitors, barristers, judges, and members of diversity and inclusivity teams at legal firms. The highlight of the event were the inspiring talks delivered by the President in London, JJH Milwyn Jarman in Cardiff, and LEDLET alumna Katie Rivers, who has gone from a state school in the Cynon Valley to Oxford and is about to embark on a training contract at Linklaters. The evening provided a unique opportunity for mentors from all fields in law to engage and learn more about LEDLET’s intentions for the year ahead, including its 2020 Summer Scheme. For more information, the Law Gazette reported on the event and produced this article.