City elite launches new round of funding for university charity

A consortium of city firms have launched a new round of funding for their £7m charitable trust, which funds universities suffering from government budget-cuts of law departments.

The City Solicitors' Educational Trust, a charitable trust funded by firms including the Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters, Lovells and Slaughter and May, will pay over £540,000 in grants for the academic year 2006/07.

Administrator Michael Maunsell said the Trust would award over £7m during its 15-year life time.

The grants will support lecturers in core subjects at nine universities, as well as boosting library resources at six others.

Bristol University will receive funding for a lecturer in tort law, Cardiff University for a lecturer in trusts and land law; and the University of East London for a lecturer in constitutional law.

Keele University will receive lecturer funding for commercial torts, Leeds University will receive finding for criminal law and Leicester University receives funds obligations.

Liverpool University will receive lecturer funding for core subjects, Nottingham for human rights and Queen Mary London for public law.

Other grants to be paid are for support for library facilities at Cambridge, Coventry, Oxford, Reading, Sussex and Wolverhampton universities.