New Family Law Prize – Collaboration with Stowe Family Law LLP
The University of York is excited to announce a new collaboration with Stowe Family Law LLP – the UK’s largest specialist family law practice.
They have offices across the country including a team of divorce solicitors in York.
As experts on relationship breakdown matters, Stowe’s involvement is to help students understand client work in this niche through contact with their family solicitors and work experience.
The firm will be doing this through sponsorship of the LLB third year Family Law Module, awarding work experience to the highest achieving student. The module has a strong focus on legal matters arising during relationship breakdown, including financial and child arrangements for divorcing and cohabiting couples, and civil partnership dissolution. Their solicitors work in all of these areas daily; in fact, over 90% of the firm’s caseload is comprised of divorce and other relationship breakdown issues. These types of matters require a unique combination of skills and attributes, compared to most other areas of the Law. As a result, many family solicitors, including some of Stowe’s, didn’t choose family law in so much as it chose them. Similarly, it is not uncommon for students to work hard on securing a training contract in her or his preferred niche, only to learn later, from experience that they are (or were!) better suited to another area of the Law.
The firm’s advice is to try as many areas of the law through volunteering, pro bono, summer placements, Citizens Advice Bureau, and other types of work experience.
Work experience at Stowe Family Law is intended to help students to understand the skillset and mindset of the successful family lawyer, regularly advising people at one of the most emotional and traumatic times of their lives. Some clients see their family lawyer as the most important person ‘in their corner’. Others develop more of a friendship bond and some have even commented on their solicitor being more like a psychologist.
The firm looks forward to meeting this year’s highest achieving student at the awards ceremony and inviting them to gain experience in their niche practice.