The event brought together 61 Law student mentees in Years 2 and 3 of their courses to meet with their professional mentors from a wide range of industries and services for the first time. Mentors hailed from non-commercial fields such as Environmental Law, the UNHCR, the Metropolitan Police Force, Medical Law, Human Rights, the EU and Government Legal Departments.
A collaboration between the Law School and Professional Liaison Network, the Law in Society Mentoring Scheme is being piloted in 2019/20 following a demand from students for more exposure to non-traditional legal roles, for example, working for a not for profit or a charity. For students, it is a unique opportunity to connect with professionals who have either studied Law, are still practising Law or working in a non-traditional role.
Jo Cooksley, Law School Employability Adviser said,
“The Law School was keen to respond to student interest in careers that do not fall into the more traditional corporate/commercial type legal roles.
We are very happy to have been able to link students with mentors working in such a wide variety of areas and roles. Being mentored by someone who has already navigated their way into a career in their area of interest will provide our students with real insight and support in developing their own careers.
The small group nature of the mentoring also means students are developing valuable skills and making connections with other students who they may never have met before, but who share an interest in a particular career path. We are looking forward to working with the PLN again to develop the scheme for next year.”
Colin Yeo, a Human Rights Barrister at Garden Court Chambers, said,
“I volunteered for the mentoring scheme because I wanted to give students a different perspective on law and how lawyers can make a difference and make a living in human rights law. It is very competitive to become a barrister, and those interested in human rights and social welfare work usually need to show prior commitment to helping others through volunteering, law clinics and similar.”