Mentoring for Underrepresented Groups

“3VB is a strong supporter of this excellent and thoughtful scheme which gives real one-to-one help to those from under-represented backgrounds and groups who might otherwise be put off, or not sufficiently put on to, the opportunities at the Bar. We look forward to mentoring another cohort of excellent students this year.” David Quest KC and David Head KC, 3VB’s Heads of Chambers

The scheme pairs successful eligible candidates with practitioners for a series of one-to-one mentoring sessions. COMBAR will also organise a pupillage interview and application workshop.

To ensure that as diverse a pool of potential applicants is reached as possible, COMBAR will advertise the scheme through the careers departments of all English and Welsh universities with a law department, together with several universities in Scotland and Ireland, third sector organisations such as the Social Mobility Foundation and Sutton Trust, and commercial publications such as Legal Cheek.

Applicants will be assessed by reference to their need for mentoring and their potential to pursue a career at the Bar. A deliberate decision has been taken to give equal weighting to both criteria to help ensure that the scheme reaches talented applicants from the most under-represented groups who would benefit most from mentoring and guidance.

This year’s scheme is now closed but will open again for 2026 in August 2026. Further information can be found on the COMBAR mentoring scheme page.

Full details of the scheme can be found at the Scheme Guidelines. Any other questions should be directed to the following email address: socialmobility@combar.com