School of law Student community newsletter SEPTEMBER 2024
UPCOMING EVENTS
WELCOME BACK! As we approach the start of a new academic year, here is a roundup of some of the fantastic things our SoL community have been getting up to over the past few months within the School, University, and beyond! GRADUATION JULY 2024 The biggest event of the Summer was of course the Class of 2024 Graduation ceremonies! Congratulations to all of all our Swansea Law Graduates. It was a great day at the Swansea Arena, celebrating your achievements and meeting friends and families. The Oxford University Press Law Prize for Highest Achievement for this year’s final years was awarded to Yusuf Serang.
27 SEP
Joint-Society Social
2 OCT
Law Clinic Volunteer Training
OCT
School of Law Societies School Quiz!
8
5 NOV
Coffee and Sweet Treats
STUDENT VOICE
A big thank you to all of our Student Reps who have worked hard all year to share your feedback and ideas with the School; we are looking forward to getting to work with the School and Subject Student Reps for Academic Year 2024/25! You can find out who your Student Reps are and how to get in touch with them on the Law Canvas Hub. Over the summer, we have been working on plans in response to the results from the Big Swansea Surveys, the NSS, and your module feedback - another big thank you to everyone who completed those surveys. From your feedback, we have been working on lots of things over the summer such as: improving opportunities for feedback, streamlining communications and utilising platforms such as Canvas, Instagram, and LinkedIn to share important messages and opportunities, and providing guidance to staff on organising materials on module Canvas pages. There are many ways you can provide us with feedback, including:
Speaking with your Student Reps Emailing the School’s Student Engagement Partner (Katy Vaughan) Speaking to your Personal Tutor. Module feedback.
STUDENT VOICE... CONTINUED
There are other ways we look to enhance the student voice by involving students in decision-making in important areas of School activity. To find out more about how you can work in partnership with the School and provide feedback, see the Student Voice section on HUB:Law on Canvas.
For example, the Law Clinic’s Advisory Board includes student members and the Swansea Law Skills Competitions Association (SLSCA) is led by students who work with academic staff to give a steer on Mooting, Negotiations, and Client Interviewing Competitions.
SPOTLIGHT ON STUDENT SOCIETIES Our student societies are an integral part of our School community, and we are really lucky to have five active societies this year. These include: the Bar Society, the Canadian Law Society, the Law Society, the Street Law Society, and the Women in Law Society. They run a number of events and activities for students throughout the year – sign up if you haven’t already! They are running a joint Society event on Friday 27th September, check out their social media for details!
SKILLS COMPETITIONS: MOOTING, NEGOTIATIONS, CLIENT INTERVIEWING In 2023/2024 the School of Law entered students into 27 external competitions, with 112 slots available and 60 students selected to represent the School. There were a number of notable achievements which you can read more about here. This year the Skills Competitions continue to be supported by the School of Law and a number of law firms and Barrister Chambers, including Angel Chambers, Pendragon Chambers, RedKite Law, JCP, Acuity Law, David W Harris, and Gomer Williams. Keep an eye on your emails, Canvas and Instagram for ways to get involved with the Skills Competitions this year!
STUDENT AND STAFF WORKING TOGETHER ON RESEARCH PROJECTS
The Terrorism and Social Media (TASM) Conference took place at Swansea University’s Bay Campus on 18th and 19th June 2024, with over 250 delegates from more than 20 countries. Organised by one of Swansea Law’s Research Centres, CYTREC. The event brings together a range of researchers, policymakers and practitioners from a number of different countries to examine extremist and terrorist use of online platforms. This year law students helped to organise and run the conference, as well as attending interesting sessions, they also met with employers such as Ofcom’s Online Safety Team, and the UK Counterterrorism Police.
STUDENT AND STAFF WORKING TOGETHER ON RESEARCH PROJECTS... CONTINUED
Hadley Middleton and Evan James worked with Dr Katy Vaughan on a research project looking to create guidelines and policy recommendations for researchers working with civil society on issues related to terrorism and violent extremism online. As part of the research internship Hadley and Evan carried out a literature review and worked to organise and facilitate a series of workshops with global civil society organisations visiting Swansea from California, New York, Germany, and New Zealand. They also co-authored this blog post: ‘Effective Cross-Sector Collaboration’. Sara Wideman carried out an internship with Dr Michelle Coleman to research acquittals in international criminal law. Sara identified relevant case law for inclusion in the acquittals database, conducted legal analysis, and researched what happened to acquitted people after trial. Her research directly contributed to presentations Michelle gave this summer and a journal article currently in progress.
Chloe Gear and Chidinma Nwalupue worked with Dr Katy Vaughan and Ms Trilby James to look into students’ perception of ‘good’ engagement with their university studies to identify possible barriers for engagement. After competing training, they carried out research interviews with students as part of data collection for the project. Their findings will contribute to a plan for the School to try to improve student engagement longer term with teaching and learning at University.
YEAR IN INDUSTRY
Law students have the option to spend a year in industry between your second and final year of undergraduate study. This is a fantastic opportunity to spend a year in the world of work gaining invaluable experience.
Ellie Mabbett has spent the year as a Legal Intern for SAP, a multinational Software development company. On her positive experience: “My 13 month placement year with SAP was invaluable. I learnt so much, both from a legal perspective as well as vital skills suitable for the corporate world. I got to handle the NDA process, from initial redline to signature, as well as reviewing contracts and sitting in on negotiations with customers, at times providing input. SAP gave me so many amazing opportunities, like visiting law firms to learn about new legislation and network with their partners.”
TRAINING CONTRACT NEWS
Congratulations to some of our graduates who have recently been successful in obtaining training contracts… Katie Phipps has started her training contract at Shoosmiths, where her first seat involves a secondment at Mercedes-Benz UK. Mubashir Syed has secured a training contract at Herbert Smith Freehills, a leading international law firm. Caragh McCormack will begin at Darwin Gray LLP, a commercial law firm in Wales. Masuma Nessa has started at Gomer Williams & Co Ltd where her first seat is in the conveyancing department.
WORK PLACEMENT FEATURE
Kardo Mina was part of the Santander Scholars Programme this Summer completing 2 weeks of work experience at Santander UK HQ in the Corporate and Commercial Banking Department. Speaking on his experience: “My time as a Santander Scholar was nothing short of transformative, immersed in the dynamic world of Corporate and Commercial Banking. I had the chance to witness how legal principles operate in high-stakes financial environments, from regulatory frameworks to corporate governance and debt management. This experience has deepened my understanding of law and finance and fuelled my passion to shape the future of both fields.”
Rashmika Sama has taken part in a 3- month work placement as a legal intern with Healthcare Tech Company, Optum (UnitedHealth Group), in Dublin over the Summer. As part of her placement, Rashmika has had insights into drafting board minutes, reviewing vendor and IT contracts, AI, data privacy, intellectual property, corporate transactions, real estate, framework and intercompany agreements, 3rd party licensing and medical devices.
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