York Law School and Clarion Family Law Prizes 2025

Posted on Thursday 6 November 2025

Huge congratulations to Janna Tahan and Sophie Wadsworth, the winners of the 2024-25 Clarion Family Law Prizes.

Sophie wins the prize for the highest mark in the Year 2 Family Law module and will be completing a work experience placement with Clarion.  Sophie said “Studying Family Law has been both challenging and inspiring — the module pushed me to think critically about how the law works for families in practice, not just in theory. I’m honoured to receive this prize and very grateful to Clarion for recognising student achievement and creating opportunities to gain hands-on experience. I’m really looking forward to learning from the Clarion team and contributing where I can.”

   Sophie Wadsworth with Martin Grange (Partner and Training Principal at Clarion) at the York University Law Fair

 

Janna achieved the highest mark for the Year 3 Family Law in Practice module and is also looking forward to work experience with Clarion. Janna said “The Family Law in Practice module was one of the most rewarding aspects of my legal education. It not only deepened my understanding of family law but also gave me the opportunity to apply that knowledge in a practical, skills-based setting. Through realistic client simulations, I developed essential competencies in legal drafting, advocacy, and research, which helped bridge the gap between academic study and real-life legal practice. This hands-on experience has given me a distinct advantage as I prepare for a career in law, particularly in a field as nuanced and people-focused as family law. I am especially grateful to Clarion Solicitors for sponsoring the award for this module. Receiving this recognition means a great deal to me, and I truly appreciate the support and encouragement it represents.”

Janna Tahan - graduation photo

 

Clarion has established itself as one of the foremost players in Yorkshire’s highly competitive legal community providing legal support to both business and individuals, across the region, the UK and internationally. At the close of 2022 The Lawyer recognised Clarion as the 3rd Fastest Growing Law Firm in Europe and in 2023 named them Independent Law Firm of the Year. In 2024, they were recognised by the Sunday Times as one of the top 10 big organisations and the best place to work for young people. The firm have an award-winning culture, where colleagues are actively encouraged to build relationships with clients from a junior level and colleagues are given the time to collaborate both internally and externally for the good of themselves, the firm and their clients.

At York Law School we are delighted to work in partnership with Clarion and would like to thank the firm for the generous sponsorship of two of our option modules. 

Clarion recruit for training contracts on a yearly basis and offer work experience placements twice a year by application. Visit their Early Careers pages for more details.