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An undergraduate Business Law student at St Mary’s University, Twickenham has been awarded a mini-pupillage with a set of chambers in the Inner Temple, one of the four Inns of Court in London.
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Shawkat Kohestani[/caption]
Shawkat Kohestani, who is in his final year at St Mary’s, has been awarded the week long work experience with practising barristers known as mini-pupillage, by the Pegasus Access Scheme. Gaining mini-pupillages is essential for success as a barrister, but with thousands of students applying each year, competition can be fierce. The Pegasus Access Scheme has been designed to combat this by supporting students from diverse backgrounds to provide the opportunity to shadow a barrister at the Bar.
St Mary’s is supporting Shawkat through the Article 26 project, a scheme providing financial and practical support, sponsored by Baroness Helena Kennedy, to students who are unable to access Student Finance. He said, “The Pegasus Access Scheme allows students like me without the family or other social connections to the legal profession to get a real, up-close look at the practice of a barrister.”
St Mary’s Law Lecturer Vanessa Beever, who supported Shawkat’s application said, “Shawkat is a very deserving recipient of this award having overcome significant personal issue in order to make a real success of his time studying here. We wish him every success in his future career at the Bar.”
![Shawkat-Kohestani -profile](http://www.stmarys.ac.uk/news/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Shawkat-Kohestani-234x300.jpg)