MTSA ANNA BRAILSFORD
On behalf of the Middle Temple Students’ Association, I’d like to thank the entire team and the Inn for an excellent year. We have had some notable successes with Middle Temple debating and mooting. With the experience of Debating Officer, Jamie Batchelor, and Mooting Officer, Amy Woolfson, we have witnessed some outstanding advocacy from Middle Temple students. I’m proud to say Middle Temple teams have won numerous prizes this year in debating competitions. This debating function has been led and organised exclusively by Jamie; the success of the team is a real credit to him. Middle Temple has also provided many brilliant mooting opportunities, notably entering teams for the LSE Featherstone LGBT Moot and the Southampton University Insurance Moot. Amy has worked tirelessly to ensure that Middle Temple students are given as many funded places as possible. Perhaps the biggest debate of all was the reform of the BPTC. The MTSA co-ordinated with the other student bodies to respond directly to the BSB consultation. We spoke with the BSB in person and delivered our views. The results of the consultation are far-reaching and are certainly set to shake up the present system. I personally welcome the Inn taking a more active part in the education of students. I believe a more hands on approach is needed to bridge the gap between formal education and exceptional vocational skills. We ran some great events this year, thanks to the efforts of our Events Officer, Olivia Woolfson. Olivia managed these events seamlessly and often during exam periods. The MTSA hosted a very successful pupillage event. This was attended by a large number of students looking for pupillage application advice from a dedicated team of very kind barristers. This type of event is absolutely paramount for BPTC students, so I thank both the barristers and the team for their continued dedication. The year was topped off with an end of exams party, which included enough Pimm’s to sink the Titanic. The MTSA has also been working with A-level law students from London state schools. George Hanslin, as Equality, Diversity & Welfare Officer, has done a fantastic job facilitating students to perform mock trials at the Rolls Building. In one evaluation, students felt 90% more engaged with the law after the sessions took place. This serves as a continual reminder that opening our doors to students from diverse backgrounds has a very real impact on young individuals.
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Middle Temple Student's Association (MTSA)
We had a great deal of help from secondary school students at Northumberland Park Community School, collecting clothes for the Syria and Iraq humanitarian appeal. Our combined efforts resulted in an entire container of essential items being sent to Aleppo. We also saw considerable kindness from chambers, with donations coming from across the board. Finally, a big thanks to Adiba Bassam, Mehrunissa Sajjad and Kit Weddle. Adiba has provided first class communications and marketing support throughout the year. As the VP of the MTSA, Mehrunissa has helped to coordinate regional engagement strategies with our members outside of London. Kit, the MTSA Treasurer, has kept a keen eye on the numbers and provided the voice of reason on many occasion. We are sad to see him leave for Tokyo. In terms of the future, I’m very happy to be invited to Washington D.C. to represent Middle Temple alongside MTYBA. We anticipate some friendly trans-Atlantic competition and memorable advocacy. As our tenure is coming to an end soon, please join us later in the year for the election of a new MTSA body. But just a warning, bring your ‘A’ game. We want epic speeches reverberating through Hall. Good luck! It has been a real pleasure to serve as President. Anna Brailsford is the President of the MTSA and has been a member of numerous committees since October 2016. She works to represent the interests of the MTSA and members who are in the process of being Called to the Bar. Anna received an MA and MSc from Edinburgh University. She then went on to study the GDL and BPTC at BPP Law School, before being awarded the Diplock Scholarship by Middle Temple. Anna currently works in the EdTech industry and has held senior positions in large technology companies.