We are very excited to this week announce the launch of the Serve Legal Foundation!

At the core of the Serve Legal ethos is a commitment to nurturing the growth of our young people through opportunities that auditing can bring for them. Through the Serve Legal Foundation, we are promising to support and develop talented young people as they progress through the early stages of their career at Serve Legal. The first part of this launch is our Serve Legal Talent Sponsorship for 2023, which has been awarded to Catriona Jolley. This sponsorship entitles Catriona to funding and support from Serve Legal as she enters into her post-graduate studies, along with a contract for a two year fulltime placement at Serve Legal, once she graduates. We are thrilled to offer this exciting opportunity to Catriona as our first recipient. Find out more about her story below. 

“I have consistently felt so incredibly supported by Serve Legal and I feel thrilled to be the first recipient of this Talent Sponsorship. In 2020, just as the pandemic hit, I found myself being cut short of my A-Level studies with months of isolation ahead before leaving for University. I had hoped this extended A-Level summer would be for earning money, gaining work experience and travelling with friends, but all of these plans were let down due to the pandemic. I knew that I wanted to gather some savings before I left for University, but I was concerned about working strict shifts during the pandemic, when I had family to care for. My family found this ‘auditing’ role on the government website – a job that allowed me to work in my free time to not only earn money, but gain independent work experience. I began working for Serve Legal and completed over 1,000 audits within a year and a half. During that time, I applied for and secured the role of a Part-Time Assistant Coordinator; supporting the internal team with approving audit reports, alongside my first year studies. After a few months this progressed into the role of a Weekend Operations Assistant. During the summer between my second and third year at University, I was offered the position of Marketing Executive at Serve Legal. I was overwhelmed by the time and training the company were willing to offer me as someone with a passion for social media and marketing work, but little to no experience or qualifications. I have been in this role for just over a year now, learning as I go as part of a wonderfully supportive team. Serve Legal has provided much more to me than a ‘Saturday Job’ to bring in some extra money for a struggling student. Instead, I am a recent Philosophy BA graduate with over 3 years’ business experience in a company that have developed and supported me from a part-time Auditor to a Marketing Executive. 

I feel incredibly privileged to be offered the Serve Legal Talent Sponsorship. This bursary will financially support me with my tuition and living costs as I begin my Master’s degree. I also have the greatest blessing of job security following University, with a guaranteed place as Serve Legal’s full-time Marketing Executive commencing in Autumn 2024. Whilst many students are concerned about finding employment in their final terms at University, I feel honored that Serve Legal have offered me both financial and job security for a role that I am passionate about. I cannot thank the team at Serve Legal enough for their consideration of my personal and educational wishes, alongside employment. Upon hearing that I wanted to complete a Master’s degree, the team not only encouraged me, but actively sought to support me as much as possible. This Talent Sponsorship is the biggest motivation to work hard in my degree, press on to my Master’s and continue to progress in the working world with Serve Legal as my biggest support.”

Jenni Garratt, Sales and Marketing Director, said ‘I’m thrilled that Serve Legal is able to support Cat with this opportunity and even more thrilled that she’ll be joining my team full-time when she completes her Master’s Degree! Cat has shown fantastic attitude, work ethic and skill in the various part-times roles she’s held since joining our internal team, as has played a significant role in our more recent rebrand and social media development. We’re always looking for talented people to support and develop within the Serve Legal team and Cat is a great example of this – congratulations!’

Seth Uden, Operations Director, said “Serve Legal is dedicated to providing high quality and meaningful work to its auditors and supporting them in their career development, whether that be within Serve Legal where 77% of our staff are former auditors, or elsewhere. This new scheme which makes up part of our SL Foundation initiative further demonstrates our desire and commitment to invest in good people. I’m delighted that Cat will be the first recipient of this grant having proven herself to be a dedicated auditor, excellent operationally and now a creative and dynamic Marketing Executive. We are delighted to have her as part of our team and look forward to having her on a full-time basis once she completes her studies”.

We are thrilled to share that alongside the exciting announcement of this year's winner, we can announce that our scheme will be an ongoing initiative, year after year, with the aim of fostering and nurturing our esteemed auditor community for the long haul. We will shortly be outlining a comprehensive application process, designed to provide current Serve Legal staff, auditors, and new external applicants with the opportunity to express their interest in this sponsorship and employment opportunity. Stay tuned for new details on how to apply for next year’s position.