The Department of Law and Criminology attaches particular importance to raising the awareness of all students in relation to the career opportunities open to them upon graduation and making sure that they are in a position to pursue those opportunities.

In addition to providing individual careers support and guidance to our students throughout their programmes of study, the main activities through which we achieve these objectives include a careers visiting speakers programme, a Pro Bono Law Clinic, a Law Clinic experience module, the Mooting Society and the Alumni Associations. Our close links with the legal community are strengthened also via the Legal Professional Advisory Panel.

Visiting Speakers

• • Duncan Gibbins (Partner), Duncan Gibbins Solicitors
  • Nick Harrison (Associate, Solicitor), Pannone
  • Chris Henson (Associate, Solicitor), Keoghs
  • William Kerr-Rankin (Barrister), Oriel Chambers
  • Audrey Powell (Mentor/Volunteer Coordinator), Probation Service
  • Beth Brown (Professional Law Careers Adviser), College of Law
  • Rachael Kearnan (Project Development), Merseyside Youth Association
  • The ‘Choose Life Project’ (Liverpool Prison)
  • Kirsty Nickson (Edge Hill University Law Graduate, 2006), Solicitor, Fletchers
  • Joseph Davison and Lucas Griffiths (Edge Hill University Law Graduates, 2010), Legal Practice Course
  • Adam Williams (Edge Hill University Law Graduate, 2012), Barrister
  • Matthew Jarvis (Associate Partner), Silverbeck Rymer Solicitors
  • Andrew Scott (Partner), Scott Doyle Molyneux Solicitors
  • Norman Jones (President), Liverpool Law Society

Mooting Society

All law students are given the opportunity to join the Departmental Mooting Society and enter the internal mooting competitions. The final of the competition is judged by members of the legal profession, with all the finalists representing Edge Hill University in the external mooting competitions.

A moot is an oral presentation of a legal issue or problem against an opposing counsel and before a judge. It is perhaps the closest experience that a student can have whilst at university to appearing in court.

The Department, in collaboration with the Edge Hill University Law Students’ Society, also organises mooting workshops which enhance students’ mooting and advocacy skills.

Professional Advisory Panels

The Legal Professional Advisory Panel comprises representatives of local and regional legal practices. The Panel is chaired by Robert Collinson and meets with members of the Department two or three times a year, and provides a forum for discussion of current issues of relevance to our degree programmes and to legal practitioners. We are particularly concerned to ensure that future developments in law provision at Edge Hill are informed by the needs and requirements of practice.

The Criminology Professional Advisory Panel has members from a range of criminal justice and related occupations including the police, probation, prison service, youth services, social housing and victim support. The Panel is chaired by Professor Andrew Millie and meets with members of the Department’s criminology team twice yearly. The Panel is a forum for discussion of current issues of relevance to local practitioners and to our criminology and criminal justice students. We are particularly interested in opportunities for student volunteering and with issues of employability.

Pro Bono Law Clinic

The Department runs a Pro Bono Law Clinic. Undergraduate third year law students provide free of charge legal advice to other students in the University. The students providing legal advice are supervised by experienced legal practitioners who are academic staff members of the Department, as well as legal practitioners working for a range of practices based in the region. The key aims of the initiative are to enable students to gain practical experience of working in legal practice and to provide a no-cost advisory legal service to the student community.

Director of the Law Clinic and Solicitor Robert Collinson said: “All law employers these days expect students at the very least to have undertaken work experience if they wish to work in legal practice. Law Students who have the opportunity to take the significant further steps of interviewing and advising a real client, have a substantial advantage in terms of convincing employers that they have the commitment and skills needed in the modern world of legal practice.”

Graduate Careers Profiles

Alumni Associations

To develop further networking opportunities and career development advice for our graduates, the Department has Law and Criminology Alumni Associations. We are keen to maintain our relationships with students after they graduate and to hear about how their careers progress. We regularly invite our past students to careers talks, which enables them to share their career experiences with our current students. Graduates give a lot of inspiration to our current students, and practical advice to help them in their job search and career planning.

The Law Alumni Association was launched at a special gathering of local employers, staff, current students and alumni. Watch footage of the event and hear interviews with former students and legal professionals who continue to have strong links with the Department.

Contact

If you would like to find out more about our careers and employability support, or if you are an employer who can potentially make placements available in your organisation, please contact Robert Collinson.