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Law School Bulletin January 2023
Welcome to the first bulletin of 2023!
2023 is a big year as Exeter Law School celebrates its centenary year. Over the coming months we will look back at 100 years of legal education in Exeter, and celebrate us becoming a contemporary law school leading the charge for social justice. Follow @ExeterLawSchool on Twitter for the latest information and features. #ExeterLaw100
This month’s newsletter also celebrates the achievements of first year Law Student Shreya Srinivasan who was one of the winners at the Aspiring Solicitors Commercial Awareness Competition 2022, and the Community Law Clinic being awarded the ‘Specialist Quality Mark’. We also shine a spotlight on Andrea Wallace who talks about the work she is doing to support students with racial equality and inclusion.
With long winter days and the transition back to studying after the winter break, January can be a long month for many of us. Therefore as we get back in to the cycle of teaching, be sure to look after yourselves and each other.
Joasia
Professor Joasia Luzak, Head of Law School
Spotlight on....
Andrea Wallace
As the Academic Lead on Student Support, Andrea’s role is to support students who have concerns or negative experiences because of exclusionary behaviour and structures. These might relate to disability, race and equality, sexual orientation and/or any marginalised identity. If this is you, please know you can contact Andrea at any time. Her details are below.
Education Matters
New Year, New Opportunities, New Beginnings?
Director of Education and Student Experience, Dr Craig Newbery-Jones writes:
Welcome back to 2023 and welcome back to term 2! We hope you had a restful break, a productive assessment period, and are eager to continue with your studies.
Regardless of which programme you are studying, what stage of your studies you are at, and what has gone before, a new year and a new term gives you the opportunity to take stock, reflect deeply, and make a fresh start.
This could be as simple as managing your time more efficiently or doing a little more reading on the subjects you are studying. Maybe you want to try a new hobby or to take a little more time to look after your physical and mental health? Perhaps you want to engage in some extra-curricular activities or join one of the student law societies? Or maybe you just want to connect more with your student community or engage with your personal tutor? Now is the time to do it!
It is always good to reflect and really think about what you would like to do to make the change that will benefit you. There is a wealth of opportunities in the Law School, the Faculty, and the University that can help you make that change. So make sure you check your emails regularly, pay attention to newsletters like this, engage with the services and opportunities being offered, and make the most of 2023.
Celebrate!
Congratulations to first year Law Student Shreya Srinivasan. She has been chosen as one of the six winners of the Aspiring Solicitors Commercial Awareness Competition for 2022.
This is a highly competitive and challenging competition, with a number of elimination rounds. Students are required to demonstrate exceptional commercial awareness and public speaking skills, with the final taking place in London with representatives from a number of top firms. Winners are offered vacation scheme opportunities with several top law firms, making it a highly desirable prize.
It is quite unusual to see a first year law student progress to the final, let alone win, so this is a remarkable achievement! Well done Shreya!
Law Clinic receives ‘Specialist Quality Mark’ (SQM)
Superb news about the Law School's Law Clinic which has just been awarded an SQM. This is a quality assurance standard owned by the Legal Aid Agency. The mark is designed for organisations supplying complex legal help and legal services by trained professionals.
Our Auditor believes we are the only university Law Clinic to have this level of accreditation. Well done and congratulations to the Law Clinic directors and colleagues involved in the arduous process! If you are interested in finding out about the Law Clinic and its work, get in touch with Kim McDonald and see more on our website here.
Our Centenary!
This is the first in a series of social media posts we've put out to mark our 100 years.
Our Centenary
We’re excited to involve everyone in our law community with the Law School’s centenary celebrations. As well as looking back 100 years, it’s a great opportunity to look to the future and our ambitions for the years ahead.
With a hundred years of archives there are plenty of stories and pictures to share about the history of Exeter Law School. We’ll showcase some of these on a special Law100 website and reflect our large community of staff, students, local and international partners, as well as profiling people who have made a lasting contribution to Exeter Law School. We’ll also be hosting a number of in-person and online events such as the annual Hale Lecture, Lasok Lecture, a Gala Dinner and hosting the National Student Negotiation Competition final, as well as creating events for you join in with as we look towards the next 100 years.
More details to come in next month’s newsletter and in the meantime follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Opportunities and Events
Below are just a few of the many things available for you to join in with or attend. Click here for more opportunities - including other events provided by the University and external providers. We will regularly update this page with new items so save the link.
It's not too late to register for our Mooting Competition taking place next month. We're organising it with the Exeter Law Society. Send any questions to mooting@exeter.ac.uk and register via the link below.
LEGAL APPLICATIONS: ADVICE ON WEDNESDAYS
Are you in the process of making vacation and training contract applications or any other legal applications and feel that you would like advice on how to improve your application, CV, interview, or assessment centre technique? …. if so, we will be running some face-to-face workshops to help you do just that! The workshops will be on Wednesdays, starting from 25 January. See dates and titles below and click on the Handshake link to find out more details about each one.
- Interview techniques, 25 Jan https://exeter.joinhandshake.co.uk/edu/events/24161
- Applications for Legal Opportunities, 1 February https://exeter.joinhandshake.co.uk/edu/events/24167
- CVs for Legal Opportunities, 8 February https://exeter.joinhandshake.co.uk/edu/events/24168
- Introduction to Assessment Centres, 15 February https://exeter.joinhandshake.co.uk/edu/events/24169
Call for Papers
The Exeter Law Review is celebrating the Law School centenary by publishing a special edition of the journal.
This is a call for papers from research and scholarship staff (at all levels) on any area of law, with a preferred focus on how the law has changed/developed in a particular field over the last 100 years. The word count is between 3,000 to 8,000 and the deadline is 1 September 2023. Any work can be sent to L.Cherkassky@exeter.ac.uk or via the ELR website.
The journal is still open to articles and case notes on any other topic of law, so if you have an old piece in a drawer that needs polishing off, or would like to publish something for the first time, this may be a good time to do it!
Exe-change the Norm
We are offering an exciting, research-based training programme this year. The ‘Exe-change the Norm’ programme increases awareness of gender based violence, misogyny and racism in all its forms. The training ultimately equipping you to become an active bystander, to skilfully and safely intervene in any potentially harmful situations that you witness on or off campus.
All it takes is you, to make a positive difference and to prevent harmful situations occurring in our community. Sign up now through Handshake and search ‘Bystander’ to begin this sector leading programme.
Scan below on your camera to sign up! If you have any questions or issues signing up please email bystander@exeter.ac.uk.
Are you interested in being part of a supportive community of humanities & social sciences students? Join a HASS Family!
HASS Families is a pastoral peer support scheme that allows you to ‘buddy up’ with other students as part of a ‘Family’ within the HASS Faculty. Each HASS Family is made up of two mentors (Family Leaders) and 8-12 mentees.
Becoming part of a HASS Family is a great opportunity to make new friends and connections, participate in social events, share knowledge and experience with other students from different year groups, and give and receive advice in a supportive environment.
What do students say about HASS Families?
“Being part of a HASS family will give you another layer of support during your time at Exeter”
“A community of people where everyone feels welcome to talk openly about student life and share their concerns in a comforting environment with their elders surrounding them with knowledge of experience and how to signpost to greater resources.”
“Sharing advice across year groups – whether that relates to academia, budgeting, or making friends!”
“Your family will be a safe space to share both positive and negative aspects from university life.”
To find out more about the scheme and how to join a Family as a mentee or sign up to be a mentor ‘Family Leader’, visit the HASS Families website. Contact Beth Parry and Sarah Khan at HASS-studentexperience@exeter.ac.uk for more information.
Industrial Action
UCU Industrial Action – Wednesday 1 February
The University College Union (UCU) has confirmed their intention to take strike action at 150 universities across the UK between February and March in disputes over staff pay, conditions and the USS pension. The first day of strikes has been announced as Wednesday 1 February. We will share the additional dates once they have been confirmed.
We would like to reassure you that providing our students with an excellent educational experience is our top priority. An industrial action response group is working alongside representatives of the Students’ Guild and the Students’ Union to carefully manage the potential impact any planned national strike action may have on our University community, and to ensure any measures we put in place are the right ones for students and colleagues. Please continue to attend all your timetabled sessions and submit your assignments by their due dates.
Society News
Each month we’re going to take a look at one of the Students' Guild Societies you can join whilst you’re at Exeter. This month we’re focusing on the Women and Law Society.
With a membership of 356 this student-led society strives to empower women to enter the legal profession and drive important conversations about gender inequality. Women and Law are a discussion-led, career networking, forward thinking society that supports Exeter's female law and non-law students. The society recognises that entering the legal profession is rarely straightforward, and this is why they are passionate about building a community that:
- Empowers women
- Builds confidence
- Provides a strong foundation for their legal careers
What opportunities do they offer members?
- Their own female-led mentoring scheme
- A family scheme - pairing members with committee members + older years
- An intramural netball team
- Non-traditional pathway series - showcasing different careers you can pursue with a Law degree
- Pro-bono projects
- A Christmas and Spring Ball!
They are excited to be hosting the following events this term:
- Meet the Campus Ambassadors: Female opportunities at City firms
- Q&A with a Crown Court Judge
- Firm Spotlight Series with an Exeter-based law firm
- Interviewing Skills Session
- LinkedIn workshop
Looking ahead to International Women’s Day(8 March) the team are in the process of planning a networking session with a drinks reception, celebrating the success of both female students and recent Exeter graduates working in the legal sector. Students will be able to hear from speakers who have only recently been through the University and job application process themselves. There will be activities to help prompt conversations between students and speakers in the networking session after.
Why not join the society - Students can become a member for free by purchasing a Guild Membership here: https://my.exeterguild.com/groups/CX3BG/women-and-law-society/memberships and check out their Instagram too @womenandlawexe.
The National Student Survey is now open for all final year students. The feedback we receive from your contributions helps shape all aspects of University life for future students. Follow the link provided in your email from Ipsos or click on the NSS website here.
UNIVERSITY OF EXETER LAW SCHOOL
If you would like to see previous editions of the bulletin, they sit on our WordPress site here. And if you have any suggestions for future editions, or would like to share an exciting story with us, please email lawcomms@exeter.ac.uk. Fin
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