CITY SOLICITORS HORIZONS PROGRAMME HIGHLY COMMENDED AT PRESTIGIOUS AWARD

The City Solicitors Horizons (CSH) programme has been highly commended at the Law Society Awards, the most prestigious awards ceremony for solicitors in England and Wales.

Solicitors who champion some of the most vulnerable people in society and have made an invaluable contribution to worthwhile causes were recognised across 20 categories at the event, which took place virtually on 7th October, hosted by comedian Jo Caulfield.

At the ceremony, the City Solicitors Horizons programme was announced as highly commended in the Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion category.

Roger Finbow, founder and chair of City Solicitors Horizons, said: "I am delighted that the aims when we established Horizons, and the achievements since of the students we have supported, have been recognised by this award. We have demonstrated, I believe, how much can be achieved when we offer to encourage and give confidence to ambitious young people from less privileged backgrounds".

Robert Bell, master of the City of London Solicitors' Company, also shared his pride at this outstanding occasion: "The City of London Solicitors' Company is delighted that City Solicitors Horizons, the social mobility programme funded by its Educaitonal Trust, is being publicly recognised in this award. The Solicitors' Livery Company actively promotes diversity and inclusion within its membership and, with charitable funding from city firms, aims to ensure that talented students from all socioeconomic backgrounds have the opportunity to enter our profession".

For Andrew Fairbairn, founder and chief executive of SEO London, the organisation delivering the programme, "The City Solicitors Horizons programme has broken new ground in the legal space for a social mobility programme by offering participants a highly structured, multi-year, multi-firm, multi-mentor experience. It's great to see so many young people benefiting so tangibly from the programme, and to see the programme recognised. SEO London's mission is based on the fundamental premise of equal opportunity for all, and see the CSH programme as a powerful vector of our mission in the legal industry and could not be prouder of its successes."

Every year, 50 first-year university sutdents, either studying law or committed to pursuing a career in law, are selected to participate in an outstanding three-year support programme of training, mentoring, and work placement alongside their undergraduate degrees. Since its launch in 2015, 104 CSH students have successfully started their lives in the legal industry, many of whom joined one of the more than 25 prestigious law firms which have partnered with the programme over time.

CSH is part of the City Solicitors Educational Trust, a charity whose trustee is the City of London Solicitors Company, and SEO London is the delivery partner of the programme.