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In 2024/25, the University of Liverpool Alumni and Friends Fund awarded Helenor Birt, Co-Director of Liverpool Law Clinic, a grant to develop a new leadership programme for Liverpool Law School students from non-traditional backgrounds. The Clinic partnered with Heart Leadership’s Gemma Ellison and Hetal Hathiwala, a University of Liverpool alumna (Law LLB), to create an innovative programme designed to support students preparing for careers in law.
The programme covers topics including authentic leadership, dealing with imposter syndrome and how to have brave conversations, aiming to give law students a competitive edge when applying for legal roles.
Following a successful first year, the programme is returning this semester, expanded in both scale and ambition. After a competitive recruitment process, 11 students from non-traditional backgrounds attended the launch of the Future Leaders Development Programme on 27 January 2026.
MSB Solicitors, based in Liverpool with offices in Manchester, Birmingham, Widnes and Chester, have agreed to sponsor the programme and are providing mentors for participating students.
Emma Carey, Managing Partner at MSB Solicitors and a University of Liverpool alumna (Law LLB), said: “I am incredibly proud that we are working alongside the University of Liverpool to mentor young students. This partnership reflects our deep commitment to social responsibility and our belief that the legal profession has a duty to open doors, empower future talent, and invest in the communities we serve. By guiding the next generation, we are not only supporting individual potential but also helping to shape a more inclusive, accessible and socially conscious future for our profession and our city. Law regulates and creates a framework for society; it is only right that the profession should be truly representative of that society.”
Students have highlighted the value of working closely with legal professionals and developing confidence alongside practical skills. Jack Davis, a second-year law student on the programme, said: “The prospect of working closely with legal practitioners and gaining both commercial awareness and leadership skills is a fantastic opportunity, both for yourself and CV. I'm looking forward to how my confidence builds, but above all how I change as a person and my perspective changes of the legal field.”
Helenor Birt said: “It is fantastic to be able to work with Gemma and Hetal again. MSB have been so generous to the clinic and our students over the years and this new opportunity to collaborate is really exciting and will provide our students with opportunities to develop important skills to enter the job market with. I look forward to working with the cohort, to see them grow in confidence and follow their stories in the years to come.”