Six participants from Everton in the Community’s Secondary Education Pathways programme have embarked on their paid internships with national law firm, Weightmans this summer.
The Club’s official charity has worked with the award-winning law firm on its ‘Internship Into Law’ programme for a second consecutive year, which sees successful candidates work in Weightmans’ Liverpool headquarters, shadowing lawyers on real cases and gaining a practical understanding of the law.
Since launching in January 2023, more than 100 young people from across Everton in the Community’s Secondary Education Pathways programme have competed in the esteemed initiative, with 15 participants securing themselves an internship to date.
And from this year’s cohort, six participants out of an original group of 50 were accepted onto the leading law firm’s programme after four rounds of competitive interviews including presentations, application questions and a final group assessment.
The winning students celebrated in style with their friends and family, charity staff and leaders from Weightmans at the prestigious Royal Liver Building before starting their internship.
Carly Wheeler, Secondary Education Manager at Everton in the Community, said: “We’re delighted to have been able to work alongside Weightmans again on this distinguished programme.
“Many of our participants have experienced a life-changing opportunity that they wouldn’t have otherwise had access to, and the process has been invaluable for them all. Some of our young people have even attributed the internship to helping them realise that they’d like to pursue a career in law.”
Helen Taylor, HR director at Weightmans, added: “We are very proud to see our partnership with Everton in the Community continue to grow into its second year. We both share the same ambitions to inspire our region’s young people and provide them with opportunities that will hopefully shape their future careers.
“This year’s cohort were a joy to watch – talented, enthusiastic and eager to learn from our people during their time with us. I’m in no doubt that some, if not all, will be the legal stars of tomorrow, and the hope is that we see them again through our apprenticeship routes in the future.”
Secondary Education Pathways participant, Immie was amongst this year’s group and successfully landed herself an internship with Weightmans despite battling a number of challenging circumstances in her personal life.
With support from the charity, Immie decided that she was interested in corporate law and subsequently applied for the programme. After swiftly progressing through each stage of the process, Immie became a standout candidate and was offered a month-long internship with the firm.
Weightmans has also guaranteed Immie and the other successful interns that it will fast track them through the application stages should they wish to apply for a law apprenticeship with the firm.
Reminiscing on her experience competing in the programme, Immie said: “I never thought that succeeding in the internship programme was a possibility for me, but now it’s a reality and that’s just amazing.
“Everton in the Community and Weightmans have helped me realise that I’m capable of pursuing a career in law, without their support I wouldn’t have even considered it. The programme has opened up so many doors for me, it’s inspired me to keep going and follow my dreams.”
Immie’s journey highlights the significant impact that Everton in the Community’s programmes can have on its participants; helping them to discover their passion, develop essential skills and strive for their desired career path.
To find out more information about the charity’s Secondary Education Pathways programme, click here.