Aspiring Barristers Visit Lincoln’s Inn, London

Last month, five of our students had the opportunity to visit the Lincoln’s Inn for their University Information Afternoon and Dinner held on Wednesday 22^nd February 2023.

View the full Lincolns Inns visit here.

Student Prizes 2022:

Students put in a lot of time and effort in relation to both their studies and extra-curricular activities with keen determination to perform exceedingly well.

The School of Law is grateful to its partners for providing various prizes to students in a wide range of categories.

View Student Prizes 2022 Article .

School of Law networking event draws praise from employers. 

The University of Bradford’s School of Law has been praised by employers for its efforts in training future barristers and solicitors.

To learn more about the School of Law, see the interview below with the Head of School, Prof Engobo Emeseh, which took place at the Law in the Community Event: https://youtu.be/6GZNZFhKJr8

School of Law networking event article.

Law student wins a car in mock trials competition

First year law student Hussain Alkachkach won a car in the University of Bradford 2022 mock trials competition.

Law student wins car full article.

Bradford School of Law shortlisted for Educate North Award

The University of Bradford’s School of Law has been shortlisted for an award at the Educate North Awards 2022.

Educate North Award full article.

Walker Morris Vacation Scheme 

Walker Morris LLP is collaborating with the School of Law at the University of Bradford in offering a mock vacation scheme open exclusively to students from the University.

Walker Morris student experiences.

Summer Placements  and Vacation Schemes 2021 – Students Share Their Experience 

The School of Law is proud to have partnered with a number of organisations offering placements opportunities exclusively to students of the School of Law, University of Bradford.

Last summer saw a number of students take up these opportunities some of whom have shared their experience, to view please click Summer work experience student experiences 2021.

Bradford Grammar School pupils win University’s mock-trial competition: 

For more information, go to the Bradford Gramma School pupils win University's mock-trial competion full article.

July 2021: Live-streamed mock trial competition and chance to win a car

Local law firm teams up with University of Bradford School of Law to run competition

Everyone loves a good courtroom drama and now University of Bradford students are preparing for a series of livestreamed mock trials in September 2021.

The mock trial competition is being launched in collaboration with local law firm Proctor & Hobbs Solicitors and will take place in the University’s Lady Hale Court, a state of the art mock court named after, and opened by the then President of the UK Supreme Court, Baroness Brenda Hale in January 2020. The event will see students compete to win a smart car sponsored by Proctor and Hobbs and will be live-streamed on Proctor and Hobbs official YouTube page and follow their Proctor and Hobbs instagram for live updates on this competition.

This latest offering is part of a concerted effort by the School of Law to  work in collaboration with law firms and other organisations to provide a robust academic and practical learning experience to our students that ensures they have the knowledge and work-based skills  necessary to enhance their employability.

Professor Engobo Emeseh, Head of School said:

“These are exciting times here at the School of Law and we are proud of the excellent learning experience and opportunities we are able to provide our students. In 2020, we completely revised our curriculum, embedding practical skills and careers training at all levels to ensure that our students gain a solid foundation in their academic legal knowledge as well as the essential skills they need to not only gain employment but excel in the workplace when they graduate. The School is committed to nurturing ambition and excellence in our students and we are excited to work with local firms and organisations to provide students with an all rounded experience.”

Aneesa Ehsan, who graduated in law from the University in 2014 and is a founding partner of Proctor & Hobbs, said the firm was keen to be giving something back to the community.

She said: “We’re really excited about this competition. We think it will give students the chance to experience what it is like to have to advocate on behalf of a client in a real setting, to have to do research and present arguments in court as an advocate. It will also boost their confidence and we hope it will also show people from around the country what Bradford has to offer.”

Now a busy mother-of-two, Aneesa, 28, has fond memories of her time at Bradford, adding: “I chose to study at Bradford because I live in Bradford and had family and work commitments. However, once I actually joined the School of Law, I found the calibre of teaching and the level of expertise available to students to be exceptional, and that it was the best decision I could have made for a place to study law”

Proctor & Hobbs specialises in criminal defence, civil and commercial litigation, personal injury, immigration and intellectual property and has offices in Pakistan and Dublin and one opening soon in London. It already offers placements for University of Bradford students, including one year long placement and one six-week placement.

Applications for the mock trials open on July 1 and run until July 31. Those wishing to enter should prepare a short video about themselves, why they want to be a lawyer and stating their favourite case. Entries will be shortlisted to just six, who will then go forward to the live mock trials. The competition, exclusive to students at the University of Bradford, is open to any undergraduate or post-graduate student who have an element of law in their degree. Mock trials will take place during the first week of September. The public will have an opportunity to vote for the best advocate with the public vote opening on Friday 10^th September and remaining open for a week.  The winner will be announced on September 20 2021 and presented with the smart car at an award ceremony at Proctor & Hobbs offices.

Tuiya Tembo, a Lecturer  in the Law School, who is  solicitor and one of the staff supporting the Law Clinic at the School said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to gain experience in a courtroom setting and it will also show the public the calibre of students we have here.”

Go to the Live stream mock trial competion page to find out more about the competition.

March 2021

Mel Nebhrajani: International Women’s Day 2021 Lecture

We are really pleased to have hosted Mel Nebhrajani CB - Director of Litigation, Litigation Group, UK Government Legal Department, as guest speaker for the School of Law, University of Bradford, International Women’s Day 2021 lecture. It was an inspiring evening, with Mel Nebhrajani CB delivering a lecture entitled: “Your Career Journey, Leadership, and Emotional Resilience”.

In addition to showcasing her outstanding career development in the lead up to and over 23 years of working as a lawyer in the public service, the lecture was an inspiration for participants from diverse backgrounds to: (a) challenge their potential; (b) be more ambitious, proactive, and sensitized about the opportunities available to them in the current environment; and (c) maximize these opportunities despite the challenges they may face from different quarters.

The lecture was an insightful personal story of the resilience of a BAME woman who has risen to the top of her profession through demonstrating courage to change those things which she cannot accept, or at least trying to make a change for better despite the odds! Five top tips for building emotional resilience, leadership skills and a successful career that resonated throughout the session were:

1. love what you do and who you do it for;
2. take risks;
3. learn, learn, learn - there are good days and learning days;
4. everyone needs support/role models and networks; and
5. assist the people coming up behind you.

It was indeed a befitting lecture for celebrating the UN Women theme for the 2021 International Women’s Day: “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world”. You can catch-up with the recording of evening’s events available here:

Link to recording of International Women's Day 2021 lecture: Passcode: uwq&V6^3

January 2021

Joseph Corina reflects on AOTY competition

During the latter part of the first semester, I had the opportunity to take part in BPP’s annual Advocate of the Year competition (“AOTY”).  Unlike most mooting competitions which focus primarily on submission advocacy, AOTY also offers students the opportunity to take part in a mock-trial.  Each university is represented by two students, who take the role of Lead and Junior Counsel. I had the honour of being led by Katie Siobhan, current President of the UBU Law Society, for the prosecution. Katie conducted a conference with the victim of an assault, followed by conducting an examination-in-chief in court. I began with making submissions for a witness statement to be read out in court, followed by cross-examination of the defendant, who was accused of the assault. Rather than focusing on the nuances of the law, participants were scored purely on their advocacy style. This placed emphasis on how a conference, examination or submission was delivered, over the complexities of the law, which were not at all considered.

The trial started with submission advocacy. I argued that the statement of a witness should be read out in court where the witness was unavailable due to illness. Although the law has quite a lot to say about this topic, we were directed not to engage the law in areas other than those set out in the rules. Other than speaking to the ‘uniqueness’ of the evidence and the ‘survivability’ of the prosecution’s case without it, we were scored specifically on our style and effectiveness of advocacy. After the defence made submissions against admitting the evidence, Katie and I were sent to conference with the victim of the assault, who was our lead witness. During the conference, Katie asked the victim a series of question that not only sought to ascertain what he would say on the stand, but also to identify any weaknesses in their testimony. This is so that Katie was able to put a positive spin on them in Examination-in-Chief, and that we would not have any nasty surprises in the cross examination.  After the conference, Katie carried out the examination-in-chief in court.

After the defence cross-examined the prosecution witness, they carried out the examination-in-chief of the defendant herself. During the examination, the defendant made some subtle yet important contradictions to her witness statement. Throughout the examination, I tweaked the questions that I had prepared for cross-examination so as to expose these contradictions and strengthen the prosecution’s case. Having never even practiced any cross-examination before, I found the prospect quite daunting. I knew that we were being scored purely on our advocacy style, and therefore thought that the being a bit more ‘theatrical’ would benefit my score. This was made slightly easier by the passive aggressive character of the accused, for whom it did not take much to wind up. Once I put to her the contradictions she had made, together with accusations towards her aggressive character, it did not take much to paint an ugly picture.

Overall, this was a unique experience. Most mooting competitions involve submission advocacy on a point of law with heavy judicial intervention. AOTY tests something quite different in that it focuses solely on the advocacy element. It appears to be a good taster to life on the Bar Course, and perhaps even practice. Now, I bet that you are wondering: How did we do? Fortunately, the University of Bradford placed second in the North East & Yorkshire Regional Heat. Additionally, I placed in the top 16 individual winners and secured a place in the Grand Final.

I would recommend that any student who wishes to experience courtroom advocacy should take part in this competition. It really is a fantastic opportunity to develop your advocacy skills.

August 2020

Saffah Akhtar wins Stowe Family Law Prize

Now in its fourth year, The Stowe Family Law Prize is an annual award presented to the best performing undergraduate student within the family law cohort. In August 2020 this award was presented to Saffah Akhtar, a third-year student who had excelled in this key foundation module and the analytical skills it requires.

The Stowe Family Law Prize offers the winner work experience at the law firm’s central Leeds office. Stowe’s aim is to give the award winner a taste of what it's like to work in a family law firm, what the work entails and the chance to expand their professional network.  

One of Stowe’s main motivations for getting involved in this way is to help give the next generation of the legal profession an opportunity to try their hand in different areas of the law.

Judge Eboe-Osuji delivered the first Annual Law Lecture for the School of Law on the subject of The International Criminal Court – an Indispensable Instrument of Accountability for the Gravest International Crimes.

Judge Eboe-Osuji, the President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), was an incredible prestigous guest to launch the annual Law Lecture programme here at the School of Law. His lecture offered staff, students and the wider community an opportunity to find out more about a highly relevent subject from the perspective on an eminent International jurist.

Judge Eboe-Osuji has had a distinguished career in law, was elected to the ICC in December 2011 and became its President in March 2018. He has also previously been the Legal Advisor to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, during which time he led the writing of submissions to the European Court of Human Rights and the United States Supreme Court.

• Read more about the Inaugral Annual Law Lecture from 2020

Lady Hale was at the University of Bradford to officially open a new mock courtroom for the School of Law. As the first woman President of the UK’s Supreme Court and a trailblazer for equality in the field of law and justice, it was a fitting honour.

The new facility, named the Lady Hale Court in her honour, will provide students with an opportunity to experience a courtroom atmosphere and develop their legal skills. It is also hoped that the facility will provide the community with opportuities to experience a court setting for themselves.

As part of the event, Lady Hale, who was awarded an honorary degree from the University in 2019, delivered a speech to students, solicitors and alumni, and talked about her praise and admiration for the new development.  She said: "It's very important that the diversity of those entering the legal profession is increased. Because the law is for everyone, and those who are administering the law should reflect everyone. It shouldn't just be a narrow, so-called elite group of people. And so a place like Bradford, which is making real efforts towards social inclusion and being there for everyone, is a very valuable place."

• Read more about Lady Hale's opening of the new mock courtroom