1 - um.. where did you hear thaht/who has said that? because put simply, it's not true.
of course the number of students at big law firms will be less - it's a new uni, plus a lot of people at uws don't necessarily want to become lawyers a lot want to be legal consultants in large corporate entities, enter alternative dispute resolution, add to another degree etc...
emplolyers will not favour someone from a more prestigious uni just on that basis - they're not that stupid. If you did a relevant course and achieved highly no one's gonan care if you went to uws.
that said - employers i have spoken to/heard etc all have quite significant respect for the course structure, uws teachers and students, the practical nature of the course, the abilty to apply our knowledge to the workplace etc etc...
EDIT : ps - what's to say that getting accepted into a big law firm means a more successful career anyway? most people dont stay at their first place of work, and if you're in a large firm at teh bottom rung, the experience gained may be less beneficial than if you were at a smaller firm and were higher 'ranked' i spose and thus gaining more 1st hand experience
2- just because it may foster a less academically competitive nature to applying to uws doesn't mean there isn't a positive learning environment.Very few people who are there don't wanna be there/don't want to learn, there's a big age range ie undergrads, 1st/2nd/3rd etc yr students, mature ages and post grade giving, i think, a more positive lerarning environemt as unlike other unis you have a huge range and variety of experiences and opinions to learn from...
oh, your comment about scholarships - it's not as easy as most people think
to be assured of getting an (academically based) scholarship, you pretty much gotta get aroun 98 ish it seems to be i guess 'guaranteed' a scholarship.... so its a little easier but not hugely... more than anything, it depends on the area peopel live coz you may have kick ass marks but ifur postcode ain'nt on the list you can't apply.. so depends on who can and can't apply each year a lot..... plus you gotta keep it by keeping up high academic succes once you get it
just don't make a decision before you come to the uni and talk to lecturers and students ie open day because unfortunately the vast majority of the non-uws attending population's view and opinions of teh uni are ill-informed/aimed to bag out the uni/just plain bullsh*t...
so come and talk to us before accepting those kinda opinions