In our department of Law and Criminology, we’re dedicated to developing our students’ skills, knowledge and experience from day one.
To ensure you are given that all important real-world experience that will set you up for success in the working world, we’ve invested in specialist facilities and learning resources, built up a network of expert visiting lecturers, and developed modules that focus entirely around your employability and work experience.
For Law students, in our historical Main Building in the centre of campus we have a real courtroom that was a former local Magistrates’ court. There, you’ll find the rooms fitted out with judge’s benches, the witness boxes, the dock and the public gallery. Here, our Law students practice their advocacy skills and cross-examination techniques, as well as preparing for giving evidence in court.
As well as being used as part of modular teaching and learning, the courtroom is also used for mooting workshops. A moot is an oral presentation of a legal issue or problem against an opposing team and before a panel of judges, and our mooting workshops offer the closest possible experience to actually appearing in an appeal court.
As an Edge Hill Law student, you’ll be able to join the Mooting Society and enter internal and external mooting competitions – a fantastic way to build your confidence and feel comfortable in a courtroom setting.
The law clinic
Final year Law students are able to select six optional modules from up to twenty specialist choices, and one of the most popular options among students is the Law Clinic Experience Module. Edge Hill’s Law Clinic has been designed for final year Law students to provide free of charge legal advice to all staff and students at the University, as well as members of the public. Being involved with the Law Clinic allows you to build your experience of advising real clients with genuine legal issues, and you’ll be supervised by the Law Clinic Director and other active solicitors. Having the opportunity to apply your legal knowledge and advice to help clients, you’ll stand out to graduate employers with practical and in-depth experience and employability skills.
Being involved in the Law Clinic has taught me the practicalities of how matters are dealt with in real life situations rather than just a scenario drafted for us. I felt trusted to conduct the interview, the research and the letter, with support from our supervising solicitors, and it felt really great to know that I was able to help someone with a problem. Working with my peers on Law Clinic matters allowed me to build on my listening and empathy skills, as our discussions involved hearing one another’s opinions and knowledge. It has also helped me to develop my confidence and independence, which is essential when working in the legal sector.
Megan Bell, final year LLB (Hons) Law student
And that’s not all! As one of our students, you’ll be invited to join Edge Hill University’s Law Students Society. EHULSS is a student-led organisation created for and by Law students. The society organises educational visits, social events, a mooting society, networking events, an end of year awards dinner, and an annual Judge-Gatfield Negotiation Competition – all of which you can get involved with as a member.
Opportunities like the Law Clinic module, practicing mooting skills in our court room, and getting involved with our Law Society have all been designed for students to develop their skills and confidence. This means that when the time comes to graduate, they are well prepared to take their first steps on their career path.
We are proud of the success our Law graduates go on to achieve, and many of our hard-working alumni continue to work with the Department on alumni panel events and at careers fairs.
Since graduating from her LLB (Hons) Law degree at Edge Hill, Bethany Peers has secured an impressive graduate career in the legal sector. Currently a Legal Executive at Simpson Millar LLP, Beth manages a team of paralegals and fee earners, as well as being responsible for her own personal injury caseload. Beth gave us some insights into how her Law degree set her up for success:
How did your degree prepare you for your graduate career?
My degree gave me a foundation knowledge of many different areas of law and the underpinning principles of jurisprudence. The module of “Tort Law” is the basis of my specific area of law however I have also qualified in Conveyancing during further education and this was heavily assisted by my previous Land Law modules at Edge Hill.
What are the top 3 skills you gained from your degree?
- Perseverance
- Ability to accept and respect other people’s viewpoints
- Organisation
What was the most memorable moment of your degree?
Receiving the email to confirm my final grade. To know I had finally received my degree in Law, after being the first of my entire family to attend University, was amazing!
Adam Williams, also an Edge Hill Law graduate, has found success as a self-employed Barrister practicing out of 4 King’s Bench Walk in London. He told us how his time at Edge Hill, and the support he received from his lecturers, set him up to succeed in his graduate career.
How did your degree prepare you for your graduate career?
My degree gave me the fundamentals to pursue a career at the bar. Not only did it prepare me for the academic side of a career in law, but it also prepared me for the practical side by allowing me the opportunity to compete in advocacy tournaments both internally at the University and elsewhere. It must be said that the lecturers at Edge Hill work hard to take a practical approach to developing lawyer’s skills in all their students.
What is your favourite thing about law as a subject?
Law is a fascinating topic which is ever developing in line with any societal changes. The constant development of the law is what intrigues me, as well as how the law alters us as a society.
What are your plans for the future?
I intend to continue to practice as a Barrister. I currently specialise in all aspects of Criminal Law – both Prosecuting and Defending. I am a Level 3 Prosecutor on the Crown Prosecutions Service’s (CPS) Advocate Panel, and with a little more experience under my belt, I intend to apply for the highest level on the panel (Level 4).
May 31, 2022
