Uptree

This Black History Month, the national theme is "Honouring Our Communities". At Uptree, we’re marking it by celebrating Black former Uptree students whose communities have shaped their journey to success.

Fortune Solanke's story shows how many communities can shape a single journey. Born in Lagos and raised between Barking & Dagenham and Kent, he first stepped into a City law firm through an Uptree insight day at Allen & Overy in 2023. Three years on, he is a Cambridge finalist with a training contract at A&O Shearman.

Fortune was born in Lagos, Nigeria and moved to the UK when he was just three years old. He spent his early years in Barking and Dagenham, within a very diverse and multicultural community. During his childhood, his family moved to Kent and the community around him changed completely. At his secondary school, there were around six Black students in a year group of roughly 120. But in spite of the shift, Fortune remained ambitious.

“It didn’t affect what I wanted to achieve, because from a young age my parents always supported me and pushed me to do as well as I could."

By the end of Year 12, Fortune had his sights set on corporate law. Finding a way in was harder. He emailed every local firm he could find and heard nothing back, so he widened his search and found Uptree. In July 2023, he attended an Uptree insight day at Allen & Overy (now A&O Shearman). The firm covered his travel, removing a barrier that had stopped him from attending other insight days. Fortune recalled being in disbelief to see a programme that allowed him the chance to go to an international large firm; he immediately knew he had to go.

"The main thing Uptree gave me was access. Not just to learn about corporate law and the firm, but the belief that I could really see myself there."

From then on, he kept coming back. Fortune returned through the Black Student Lawyer Programme and again for a summer vacation scheme in the Environmental and Sanctions team, where he loved the research-heavy work. He then accepted a training contract, which he will begin in September 2028 after completing his final year at Cambridge and the SQE.

At Cambridge, Fortune's experience has been positive. Still, ethnic diversity remains noticeably limited, so he has actively sought out and found community where he can: playing piano for the Fitzwilliam Gospel Choir and attending events run by the African-Caribbean Society. Those spaces, alongside his family and church, are the communities he carries with him.

For Fortune, honouring his community has three parts: embracing his Nigerian heritage, doing his best to honour his parents' sacrifices and giving back, from reading the personal statements of current Year 12s, to sharing tips on the tests he once faced.

"Wear your flag. I show people that I am from Nigeria and don't hide my culture. I'm my full self, even around people who aren't like me."

The person he most wants to honour is a mentor he met by chance. At the end of Year 12, Fortune joined a spoken word group at his church on a whim. Through it, he met a magic circle associate who held monthly calls with him, coached him through the LNAT and even bought him a preparation book. "He didn't have to do any of it, but he did it anyway. He showed me who I aspire to be."

Fortune’s journey matters all the more because Black men remain the group where progress on representation in law has been slowest, something many of the firms Uptree works with are working hard to change. Every Black student who secures a place at a leading firm shows the next that there is space for them too.

Looking ahead, Fortune is excited to start his training contract so he can see a deal through from start to finish. He is also looking forward to deepening the relationships he has built at A&O Shearman since that first insight day. His advice to students wondering whether a path like his is possible comes straight from his own story.

"Try to learn as much as possible and be open to anything. Some experiences you'd never expect to lead anywhere can end up taking you somewhere really good. I only met my mentor because I joined a spoken word group at church on a whim. Being open to that one thing led to everything that followed."