STUDENT ACTIVITIES

1. LSBU LAW SOCIETY

The LSBU Law Society is a platform where all the law students at LSBU can come closer together. We recognise that at times it may be a struggle for students at university when there is a constant focus on studying. So the main objective of our society is to help students to get ready to enter their career, whether they are undergraduates or postgraduates, to have fun, and enjoy university.

This year we focused on working with other societies at LSBU and societies from another university. We were very active on the social media front, via Instagram, Facebook and Twitter pages to provide better reach and interaction with our students this academic year. We also introduced a new WhatsApp group chat to communicate directly with them.

In the 19/20 academic year, we partnered with Aspiring Solicitors and LawCareers. Net. We provided commercial awareness workshop for our members to make them more familiar with developments in the legal field. The Society arranged seminars about how to secure training contracts and vacation scheme placements and how our members can prepare themselves for interviews and can improve their CV for a law firm interview. This allowed members to feel more confident and gave exclusive access to the resources offered by the platform in a bid to raise commercial awareness and gain essential insights and tips. We did another workshop about paralegal work with Ultimate LG to make our members more aware of the opportunities in this career field.

Events

Our first event (the Meet & Greet) was held in collaboration with Zoe’s World and a wide variety of students attended. We also had a social with just our members and the executive at Wagamama, which was an off-campus event.

In partnership with the LSBU Law Division, we invited different potential law firms to deliver talks to gain more insight into how law firms operate. These discussed topics such as the application process, law firms’ expectations and their view on the importance of diversity in the legal profession. Also, we assisted the Law Division at the ‘’Breaking Barriers” event. Hopefully, students have been much more inspired and motivated to pursue a career in law, knowing that law firms are increasingly recognising the importance of diversity and inclusion.

The President of The Law Society of England and Wales, Simon Davis joined us for an event in association with South London Law Society. During that evening, there was a discussion about access to justice, lawtech and the UK’s departure from the EU.

This year our annual Christmas Dinner was held in collaboration with the LSBU Bar and Mooting Society at Café Rouge involving a three-course meal followed by playing charades. Both students and academic staff stepped up and showed their skills!

Raising and Giving

For the first time, our Society ranked 11th in the LawWorks and Advocate Law School Challenge Leaderboard among all the UK Law Schools, which aimed to raise funds for both charities to support the facilitation of free legal advice and to raise awareness of the services available. We also won the draw for the “Early Bird Prize” for the same challenge.

We had a heavy focus on Raising and Giving with events such as the Bake Sale proving very successful in our efforts to raise money for LawWorks. In total, these events have raised more than around £550 for LawWorks - a charity working to connect volunteer lawyers with people in need of legal advice who are not eligible for legal aid and cannot afford to pay and with the not-for-profit organisations that support them. Drop-In sessions

This year we set up fortnightly ‘’DropIn sessions’’ for law students where they could seek support for their academic and university life as well as their career choices. We worked with law mentors, WestLaw, Aspiring Solicitors and Amicus campus ambassadors. We also got support from the newly established LSBU Bar and Mooting Society and Zoe’s World.

Volunteering

Our members were encouraged to volunteer for Freshers’ fair and our Charity Bake sale and they responded positively to this. Also, we were invited to a charity event organised by the Sri Lankan Lawyers Association UK at Garden Court Chambers, where one of our executive members and one of our student members volunteered.

COVID – 19 and afterwards

During the pandemic period, we did not organise any new events. Sadly, we had to cancel all preplanned events which included our trip to Brussels and the end of year dinner. However, we are trying to keep our members updated about new internship schemes and other opportunities so that they can make their time more useful. Finally, I would like to express a massive thanks to the committee of 2019-20 for all their hard work and effort in ensuring that we raised the society to a new level. The team worked hard throughout the year to host events and help fellow students to make the most of their degree and time at LSBU.

Jannatul Ferdous, President, LSBU Law Society, 20/21

Committee member list

LSBU Law Soc committee 19/20 President: Grebin Cherian Vice President: Jannatul Ferdous Secretary: Anya Sharma Treasurer: Roxana Nicolae Raising and Giving Officer: Ashlee Pleaden (till November) Commercial Awareness Officer: Kathlyn Mercado Welfare Officer: Chole Walker

LSBU Law Soc Committee 20/21 President: Jannatul Ferdous Vice President: Anas Khan Secretary and Events Coordinator: Gabriela Lazarova Treasurer: Roxana Nicolae Social Secretary: Noor Ahmed