Pupillage Awards

The Inner Temple offer a small number of scholarships for those with a minimally funded pupillage, called Benefactors’ Scholarships. 

In addition, the Marshall Hall Trust also offers financial support, in the form of grants, to student or pupil members of the Inner Temple. In particular, the Marshall Hall Trust considers supporting those who, through no fault of their own, may be unable to fund the costs of completing their pupillage. Financial support may be available even if the applicant’s pupillage is not a minimally funded pupillage. However, financial support is most likely to be provided to applicants with minimally funded pupillages or otherwise benefitting from limited support for their pupillage. Further information about the Marshall Hall Trust is available here.

In 2023, the Marshall Hall Trust expects to make available funding of a minimum of £15,000 for distribution to applicants in the form of Marshall Hall Trust pupillage awards. Successful applicants will be offered grants, at the discretion of the selection panel, in such sum as the selection panel considers appropriate.

Applicants need only complete one application form to be considered for both the Inner Temple Benefactors’ Scholarships and the Marshall Hall Trust pupillage awards.

The awards offered by the Inn are:

Award name Award
The Rachel Lawrence Scholarship £2000
Leonard Woodley Scholarship £1000
Sunley Prize (awarded by the Knights of the Round Table to those who have debated and/or mooted for the Inn) £1000
Sweet and Maxwell Scholarship £400
Cecile Yahuda Scholarship £325
Basil Nield Scholarship £250
Neville Laski Scholarship £150
Geoffrey Veale Scholarship £100
Ede and Ravenscroft Prize wig, gown and circuit case

Application Procedure

Applications for 2023 are now closed. The 2024 round of applications will open in March 2024.

In order to apply for a scholarship you will be required to submit an online application form, which will be linked below, when the application window is open.

The application form is broken down into 7 sections – contact information; educational details; legal and non-legal work experience; pupillage details; financial circumstances; references and equality monitoring. The financial statment section of the form is compulsory for the Pupillage Awards.

There is no interview for the Inner Temple pupillage awards, but if you are selected for Marshall Hall funding a short interview with the Trustees of the Marshall Hall Trust will be required.

Applications for 2023 are now closed

References

Applicants are required to arrange for two references to be included in support of an application, which can be either academic or professional references.  All referees should have known the applicant for at least 6 months, and references should be as detailed as possible. Please note that family members cannot provide references.

As part of the application form, applicants will be required to provide the names and contact details for their referees. An automatic email will then be sent to the referees, asking them to upload their reference directly to us.

The Committee will also usually expect to be provided with a letter from the Applicant’s pupil supervisor (or proposed pupil supervisor) or from the head of chambers or the chambers’ pupillage committee, confirming the funding arrangements for the pupillage.