| Brighton Law School blog

University of Brighton Student Success at Law Competition Finals

December 2014 – The University of Brighton hosted two competition finals for its law students in association with DMH Stallard and McMillan Williams solicitors and Gerard Maye Legal Services. Negotiation Competition The University of Brighton Negotiation Competition 2014-2015 saw students from Law with Business, Law with Criminology and the Postgraduate Diploma…

Judge praises students’ work in overturning conviction on Innocence Project

UK judge praises students for helping overturn murder conviction Ex-gang member Dwaine George’s conviction for 2001 murder quashed after Cardiff University law students took up case The Guardian, Tuesday 9 December 2014 12.22 GMT Sir Brian Leveson, president of the Queen’s bench division, paid tribute to the work of the Innocence Project at Cardiff…

Advocacy at Sussex

What an amazing experience! Well, that wasn’t my initial reaction. At first, I thought ‘This is scary! Why did I even volunteer?’ The jurors were called to the Jury meeting room and it was announced that someone was needed to act as the defendant which I volunteered to do on the condition I was allowed…

Placements: A One Year Delay or a Head Start? – By Polly Jackson, LLB with Business Placement Student

“Do a placement.” That is a phrase that was drummed into me even before I started my degree at the University of Brighton in 2012. As a Law student, I had always been concerned that doing a placement year in a field outside of Law might hold me back and delay my further educational path,…

Oscar Pistorius

By Dewi Jones. I do not know about any of you but I find it absolutely astonishing that in this day and age murder only gets you a five year sentence. I am of course talking about Mr Oscar Pistorius. I know it was a case from a country where the rules are different from…

Client Interviewing Skills workshops 2014/15

Tuesday 21 October marked the start of three client interview workshops occurring over the next month. We began the session by brainstorming different qualities we felt were positive and negative when carrying out a client interview. This led on aptly to a talk from Alexandra Stott, a Claimant Personal injury Solicitor from LA Law in…

Life after University – Callum Kirk, 2014 Law with Business graduate

After finishing my exams, I began my current position as a conveyancing paralegal at McMillan Williams Solicitors in Hove. McMillan Williams Solicitors is one of the largest firms in the south east of England and they offer a variety of different areas of legal expertise. I was lucky enough to obtain this position during my…

Networking: What’s the point?

‘Networking’ has always made me feel little bit nauseous. Having to splash out on a nice suit, head off to a city-central venue to befriend potential ‘key-holders’ to your career, it’s always made me feel uneasy. Yet, even though the prospect still makes me a feel a little nervous I’ve learnt to take networking from…

Stand Out from the Crowd – Law Careers Question Time

‘Stand Out from the Crowd – Law Careers Question Time’ was an opportunity for law students to learn more about their profession. The event followed the same format as BBC Question Time, with students putting their questions to the panel of legal professionals. It took place in December 2013 and was chaired by Zoe Swan,…

BBS Law Network Launch

We were delighted to see more than 70 alumni, current students, business people and staff gather for the launch of the Brighton Business School Law Network on 20 March at Mithras House.# Professor Aidan Berry, dean for Brighton Business School, welcomed attendees who included judges, lawyers and business experts, before handing over to the evening’s…

Law students mooting their way to success

Congratulations to final-year Law with Business BSc(Hons) students George Stead and Callum Kirk who defeated Reading University in the semi-final round of the OUP National Mooting Competition. They are now through to the final four pairs in the country. Mooting competitions offer law students the opportunity to practise their oral and written skills. Students argue…

Gerard Maye Legal Client Interviewing Competition

Now more than ever legal professionals need inter-personal skills as well as knowledge of the law in order to be successful. The University of Brighton’s annual Legal Client Interviewing Competition seeks to promote the skills necessary for effective interviewing. The theme for this year’s competition was criminal law, eg interviewing and advising clients in the…