News | Thursday, 1st May 2014
ITV and Squire Sanders host Law students
Widening access to top legal careers
AMBITIOUS students Matthew Bell and Heather Brown prepared for the world of corporate law at a FTSE 100 company and a global law firm.
The pair spent a week in the legal department of ITV in London and at the Manchester office of law giant Squire Sanders.
Their experience is part of a series of opportunities opened up by Manchester Law School senior lecturer in corporate law, Catherine Shephard, to help graduates gain access to a part of the profession which historically has recruited extensively from Oxbridge.
Catherine, author of Legal Systems and Skills and herself a Cambridge law graduate, said: “High quality work experience is key to help students develop essential legal skills and secure employment in the legal sector. Through this scheme, ITV and Squire Sanders set an admirable example in taking practical steps to widen access to the top of the profession. It’s a fantastic collaboration.”
Counsel
Matthew and Heather, who are studying corporate law on the Legal Practice Course, experienced life as internal and external counsel at the firms, learning about the day-to-day challenges faced by lawyers at ITV and how firms like Squire Sanders support clients as external advisors.
They even appeared on the set of This Morning with Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby!
Matthew, who completed his LLB at MMU, said: “We were able to test our ability to apply legal knowledge in a corporate environment. For example whilst at ITV Legal we were able to shadow in-house solicitors during meetings to review agreements, demonstrating how a lawyer should work alongside business executives.”
“The experience was worthwhile for my future career as it was such a unique opportunity to experience life as a lawyer in both private practice and in-house. Everyone we met took an interest in us and we were given ample opportunity to ask them questions and to draw upon their experiences to get a better idea of which direction to take our careers.”
Ambition
“My ambition is to work as a solicitor in a business environment, so the placement was a brilliant opportunity in preparing me for practice and perfectly complemented my ambition to practice in business law.”
Heather Brown, who is aiming for a career in media and entertainment corporate law, having studied both of these areas of law on the Legal Practice Course, said: "It was a fantastic opportunity to work alongside high calibre professionals in a business environment.
"Undertaking the placement has not only further cemented and reaffirmed my career ambitions, but has provided me with a real motivation and incentive to keep aiming high and remaining ambitious in terms of what I am able to achieve in the legal marketplace."
Matthew and Heather, joined by two students from the University of Salford, secured places on this scheme through an essay writing competition.
Rob Elvin, Squire Sanders’ Manchester Managing Partner, said: “Schemes like this are vital for students to equip them for the demands of life working as a lawyer and we hope that the past week has given these able students some valuable insight for their careers.”
Barry Matthews, Director of Legal Affairs and Third Party Sales Relationships, ITV Commercial and Online, added: “It is crucial that companies invest in the communities in which they do business. This scheme gives students who, whilst very bright, can all too often be overlooked for work experience opportunities of this quality. We were hugely impressed by the calibre of students who participated in the scheme.”
