James Crossley

I decided to take every opportunity offered to me at Edge Hill. I’ve continued this ‘say yes’ attitude within my new employment as a paralegal at CEL Solicitors. I have written a blog, spoken in a podcast and debated ‘the good of social media’ in front of the firm, all because I said yes to the opportunities that I was given.

Law is absolutely everywhere, it’s such a versatile subject, there really is a niche for everyone. Law is such an important aspect of society, it puts the social norms into something understandable and tangible. It helps us to understand what’s important to society and it’s useful in measuring the changes in what’s acceptable and appropriate. There is opportunity in Law to argue anything, within reason.

The best aspects of the law school are the tutors and the extra curricular activities, I whole-heartedly encourage everyone to get involved from the start of your degree.

The tutors are there to help, their experience is a resource that you cannot afford to miss out on and nerves are normal. Whenever you’re unsure about what you’re doing, within the degree or within an extra curricular, they have a wealth of experience and will give you the best advice.

No one is a perfect negotiator, mooter or advocate when they start. The best people practice regularly, the more you do, the better you get and the more opportunities you have to grow. You do not need to work in a firm to have legal experience, competitions demonstrate the same skills.

Grab every opportunity you can get, just do it. Do it scared. You will be better for the experience. I competed within the Judge-Gatfield Negotiation Competition every year of my degree, ending my final year as a champion of the competition. I also competed in a range of mooting and negotiation competitions and was the writer and creator of the Legal Lookout, which has now developed into the Law Society’s blog. I was also the Vice President of the Pro-Bono Society.

The top three skills I have gained from my degree are negotiation, public speaking and self confidence.

It’s important to build strong, positive connections with those around you. Work together to understand what you’re studying and develop your legal skills. An employer doesn’t care who you beat from your law school, they care about what you learned, how you developed and how it applies to the role.