FLPA and College of Law announce PLT Scholarship Winner
University of Southern Queensland law graduate Tracy Bowen has today been awarded the 2021 FLPA/COL PLT Scholarship.
Ms Bowen will receive a fully-funded place in the College of Law Practical Legal Training course and $1,000 cash. She will also receive mentoring and a work experience placement over the course of the PLT program with an experienced family lawyer who is a FLPA member.
Ms Bowen, who is currently enrolled in the USQ Honours Program, said the FLPA/COL Scholarship will provide her with an invaluable opportunity to secure work experience.
“As a mature aged law graduate, I have met with difficulty in both obtaining work and work experience in the legal arena. Many employers seem reticent to employ mature aged law graduates. Being awarded the scholarship will open the way for me to fulfil my goal of becoming admitted to practice,” she said.
Ms Bowen studied both Family Law and Family Violence and Child Protection Law as part of her undergraduate law degree. She hopes to work in family law and, once admitted, to continue her passion for volunteering with community legal centres as a graduate lawyer.
FLPA President Dan Bottrell and College of Law Queensland Executive Director Ann-Maree David acknowledged the high calibre of the applications received in this scholarship round.
“There is a great need to mentor new practitioners into this field and the joint FLPA/COL Scholarship provides an opportunity for one graduate/early career lawyer to benefit from both the formal practical legal training through the College of Law and the mentoring and support by a senior FLPA member,” Mr Bottrell said.
The Family Law Practitioners Association (FLPA) is Queensland’s leading industry body representing those who work in family law – solicitors, barristers, social workers, psychologists, and associated fields.
The College of Law is the school of professional practice for lawyers in Australia and New Zealand and the largest provider of practice-focused legal education in Australasia.
The College is committed to developing family law practitioners. Nearly 1000 lawyers in Australia have attained postgraduate qualifications in Family Law and/or Family Dispute Resolution practice with the College of Law since 2011.