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E E T T I M M O C r u o t e Me
George Pressdee - President
I will be going into my 3rd year studying law, at Jesus College. I am really excited to be taking over as President. I think CUHRLS is a society with great potential to expand and, with the fantastic new committee we have, I am enthusiastic about making that happen.
Jordhi Nullatamby - Vice-President Hi I’m Jordhi, and I’m really looking forward to working with the CUHRLS Committee 2020-21 as Vice-President. I’m currently going into my second year of studying Law at St John’s.
John McVea - Speakers Officer Hi, I’m John, a 2nd year lawyer at Girton. Being from Northern Ireland, I’m particularly interested in how human rights can provide practical working solutions. I’m excited to organise some great events to show how essential human rights are on a national and international scale!
Satya Amin - Campaigns Officer My name is Satya and I'm a law undergraduate at Jesus. I'm excited to make human rights issues more accessible and relevant for students. I firmly believe that our voices on these issues matter!
Lily Young - Treasurer My name is Lily and I am studying Land Economy at Pembroke. I'm looking forward to taking on a new challenge and learning more about contemporary human rights issues.
Ellie Harkness - Publicity Officer I’m Ellie, I’m about to start my final year studying History at St John’s. I’m very interested in social impact work and excited to learn more about human rights law as Publicity Officer this year!!
Simon Collerton - Moots Officer Hi! My name is Simon and I'm a third year law student at Hi! My is Simon I'm a third year law at Jesus. I'mname also the Mootsand Officer for CUHRLS andstudent am Jesus. I'm for alsoorganising the MootsaOfficer for CUHRLS and am responsible competitive and challenging responsible organising a competitive and challenging Human Rightsfor Law Moot for first-timers and experienced Humanalike. Rights Law Moot for first-timers and experienced mooters mooters alike.
Elena Handtrack - Webmastert
Elena is a law student at St. John’s College and she has been involved in human rights activism through Amnesty International for years. In her free time, she loves to read anything from fiction to law books and to crack jokes with her roommate in college.
Anna Chaplin - Blogs Officer Anna is a PhD student at Wolfson college, and her research focuses on the causes of depression. More widely, she is interested in issues related to inequality and discrimination.
Ella Jones - Journal Officer I’m Ella, a 4th year Politics & IR (formerly MML!) student at Girton and I'll be the editor of the Journal this year.
Lizzie Howe - Social Secretary My name is Lizzie Howe and I am about to start third year studying law at Homerton! I will be taking over as social secretary for CUHRLS.
Tom Carlton - Blogs Editor I study history at Magdalene. I am passionate about freedom of expression and the right to democracy. I look forward to contributing to the CUHRLS blog.!
Tabasom Mahjub - Blogs Editor Tabasom is an incoming second year lawyer, who will be working on the CUHRLS editorial board this year.
Careers in
HUMAN RIGHT S
With a Firm
Work for a firm specialising in civil liberties and human rights
Top firms in include: Bhatt Murphy, Bindmans LLP, Deighton Pierce Glynn and Leigh Day. Pros: ensures the majority of your practice will consist of human rights work and it’s high earning. Cons: depending on the firm, you may be expected to take cases on behalf of governments and corporations, rather than the alleged victims.
Work for a commercial (or other) firm which encourages pro bono work
Top firms for pro bono include: Hogan Lovells, Freshfields, and DLA Piper. Pros: high earnings and the opportunity to provide legal assistance to those who need it most. Cons: not all commercial firms have a good reputation for pro bono work and the number of hours you do spend working pro bono will be comparatively small – Hogan Lovells, No. 1 for pro bono in 2019, had an average of 32.6 hours per UK fee earner for the year.
Applications
Look to secure a vacation scheme with a firm for the summer between 2nd and 3rd year, followed by a training contract starting after you graduate.
At the Bar Work as a civil liberties and human rights barrister
Top chambers include: Blackstone, Matrix and Doughty Street (note the ranking varies slightly for “public law” compared with the subset of “civil liberties and human rights”). Pros: can ensure an exclusively public law and human rights practice and can be very high earning. Cons: depending on the chambers, you may be expected to represent the governments and corporations accused of human rights violations rather than the alleged victims. Applications: look to undertake three or more mini pupillages during your 2nd and 3rd years, with at least one in public law and human rights. Apply for pupillage in January of your 3rd year (or the following year if you are applying for a masters). Typically, pupillages are applied for a full year in advance, to allow for a year where you undertake your vocational training course. At around the same time as applying for pupillage, you will also apply for this course and to join an Inn of Court.
With an NGO
Become a caseworker for a pro bono advice organisation
Examples: the Free Representation Unit, Advocate, and the Southall Black Sisters. The work: giving free advice to those that could otherwise not afford it. This will largely be similar to the work of a solicitor but, depending on the organisation, may also involve responsibilities typically undertaken by a barrister. Pros: you will be exclusively representing claimants, who have no other means of securing representation. These positions tend to be less competitive and they are a good way to experience if you are unsuccessful in your applications to a firm of chambers first time around. Cons: these jobs tend to be relatively low paid. Applications: apply during your 3rd year. It is good to have some experience - some of organisations, such as Advocate or the Justice Centre Hong Kong, offer Summer schemes for students.
Join the In-house Legal Department of a Human Rights Organisation Examples: JUSTICE, Liberty, Amnesty International. Pros: the work is very ethical and rewarding. Cons: these jobs will not be as lucrative as working for a firm or chambers. Applications: secure a training contract in your 3rd year with one of these organisations to become a qualified solicitor or move to the organisation after qualifying and working at a firm.
With a Governmental Organisation Work for a government or intergovernmental organisation
Example: the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Pros: large scale impact. Cons: extremely competitive and difficult to secure. Applications: applicants typically work elsewhere for a number of years before coming to the UN.
Commissioned by the Cambridge University Law Society