Law Society: Reflecting on the academic year 2023-24
The University of Leeds Law Society looks back on a successful year of events and activities.
The University of Leeds Law Society is a student society that works closely with the School of Law to provide aspiring solicitors and barristers with a variety of opportunities to enrich their university experience.
The Executive Team for the 2023/24 academic year, which included Ben Anderton as President, Olivia Thurston as Treasurer and Nadia Aboushokka as General Secretary, looks back on what has been a tremendously successful year for the Law Society.
Well, what a year! The Law Society has enjoyed another hugely successful period, maintaining its status as one of the University’s strongest societies.
We started the year with a host of events welcoming new starters to the university. Our freshers quiz and social both had over 200 attendees each, whilst many more students came to chat with our committee at our freshers fair stall.
Members of the Law Society committee at the Freshers Fair.
After freshers week, the events quickly began to flow. The first semester is always the busiest in the Law Society calendar, with an average of one event taking place every day, whether that be one of our academic competitions, talks with sponsoring firms and chambers, or our social events.
One of the highlights from the beginning of term was our academic showcase. This event was held by Hannah Amiri (Mooting Secretary), Jonathan Zerlin (Negotiating Secretary) and Taymour Abbassi (Debating Secretary) and aimed to introduce members to the academic competitions offered by the society. Over 200 society members came to the event, which set the precedent for the fantastic engagement the society has experienced this year.
Members watch on at the Law Society’s academic showcase event.
Law’s Got Talent returned this year and was another success with a sell-out crowd. Money raised was in support of Leeds Children’s Charity, who have been our designated charity for the year.
Members of School of Law staff perform at Law’s Got Talent.
In total, the society has raised a tremendous £1,417.50 for Leeds Children’s Charity over the academic year. This could not have been done without the tremendous support of our members across our events!
The pinnacle event of semester one was undoubtedly our Annual Careers Dinner. This year, we increased the number of firms and chambers in attendance, offering the opportunity to more of our members than ever before. We also broadened the range of firms, ensuring that a greater range of practice areas were covered by the representatives. The feedback from both students and representatives was exceptional and demonstrates how valuable the opportunity is for gaining an insight into potential career options. Our Careers Secretary, Cara Maynard-Connor, should be very proud to have arranged the event!
One law firm representative had this to say:
It was an excellent event, really well planned and run and a testament to your hard work – well done.
Law Society members attend the Annual Careers Dinner.
In semester two, Law Society events continued to fill the calendars of many students. The term marked the culmination of our academic competitions, with the mooting finals held at the Herbert Smith Freehills office in London, the negotiating finals held in the Leeds office of DWF. Our partnerships with such firms are key to the success of the society in granting so many fantastic opportunities to our members.
Additionally, our football and netball teams travelled to Nottingham to participate in their annual competition for law societies across the country. Unfortunately, neither team came away with the overall prize, with the netball team falling short in the semi-finals and the football team losing to a strong Nottingham side in the final. However, it was a great opportunity to participate in a tournament after practising all year in the University of Leeds social sports leagues!
The Law Society football and netball teams after competing at Nottingham.
The Annual Law Ball is always the pinnacle event of semester two. This year, there were well over 300 students in attendance. It was a wonderful opportunity to get together to celebrate the successes of our peers throughout the year.
The second semester is also key to the future of the Law Society because it is when we hold our elections! After a superb election process with a very high standard across all candidates, we were delighted to announce our 2024/25 committee.
After another successful year, the Law Society has been fortunate to receive recognition through nominations for a number of awards! We were nominated for the LawCareers.Net ‘Best Society for First-Year Students’, ‘Contribution to Student Experience Award’ in the University’s Partnership Awards, Bright Network’s ‘Legal Leaders Award’ and the ‘Best Academic Society’ in the LUU Riley Awards! It is fantastic to have our efforts over the past year recognised through these nominations.
As always, we are incredibly grateful for the continued support from our sponsors, the School of Law and most importantly, our members. The strength of the Law Society comes directly from the eagerness of students at Leeds to make the most of our opportunities. Whether you joined a careers talk, participated in one of our academic competitions, played for our sports teams or came to a social, thank you.
Huge congratulations to our members who are graduating this year! It has been a pleasure to be part of your university experience and we hope to have supported your personal and professional development. If you are a returning student, we hope to see you very soon. And lastly to any prospective Leeds students, please do not hesitate to get involved with the society and contact us if you have any queries.
To keep up to date with the Law Society, please follow us on Instagram. Information on joining the society will be available through our LUU Engage page from September. Additional guidance will also be posted across our socials – stay tuned!
