Activities and events at Birmingham

It is vital for all lawyers to understand how businesses work and be commercially aware, whatever your intended field of practice. 

With this in mind, we organise a programme of events and activities to assist you in developing your commercial awareness. The Corporate/Commercial Awareness Programme will provide you with an insight into the commercial realities of working as a lawyer, which will prove invaluable both when attending interviews for training contracts or pupillages and also when commencing work.

The Corporate/Commercial Awareness Programme has two key components. Firstly, a series of commercial awareness presentations and secondly, the Business Game.

Corporate/Commercial Awareness Presentations

A range of leading lawyers will be visiting the College during the year to give presentations. These will focus both on key issues affecting lawyers and specific areas of commercial practice.  Presentations planned for this year include:

  • The Solicitors’ Firm as a Business
  • Client Care
  • Commercial Awareness
  • Life as an Employment Lawyer
  • Risk Management
  • Life as a Corporate Finance Lawyer

Business Game

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to run your own business?  Then why not find out in this year’s Business Game?

You will take on the role of a member of the board of directors of a company in this realistic business simulation.  Examples of the decisions you will make include deciding on market image, price and marketing strategies, dividends, initiating or defending legal proceedings and dealing with troublesome employees! Teams of students will be mentored by College staff, lawyers and other professionals.

The Game provides an excellent opportunity to have fun, meet and discuss strategy at the evening sessions and to work as a team with some of your fellow students.  It also provides a useful addition to your CV and will help you to appreciate and understand the application of your studies in the commercial world.

Other extra circular activities include

Mentoring

The Careers Service organises a popular and successful Mentoring Scheme for all students. Contact with a mentor who works in the legal profession can help build self-confidence and self-esteem through familiarity with legal practice.  The Careers Service in Birmingham has a wealth of Mentors, across a wide range of law firms and barristers chambers in the Midlands region. If you are successful in gaining a place The College of Law will offer to match you, where possible, with an appropriate mentor to your career interests. You would be expected to attend the social event which will be arranged to facilitate your initial meeting with your mentor and to communicate regularly, with your mentor

Employer day

The Careers Service organises two dedicated "Employer Days" - one in the Autumn and one in the Spring.  This will involve a fair of Midlands firms who are actively recruiting for Training Contracts, along with a small number of Chambers who are seeking to fill their pupillage vacancies.  As well as the stands a series of presentations held by recruiters is arranged.

Careers will also be holding dedicated Careers Days during the start of term, tailored to each course.  This will be a series of interactive workshops covering Strategy, Making Effective Written Applications (CVs, cover letters and application forms) and Preparing for Interviews and Assessment Centres. 

French Exchange

Birmingham and Lyon have been twin cities since 1951.  Twinning delegations from the cities visit the other city regularly.  As part of one visit shortly after the College had opened in Birmingham, it was decided to establish a programme which would involve students from both cities working in the twin city.

A partnership has been created between the Birmingham branch of the College of Law and the Ecole des Avocats in Lyon.  Both colleges exist to provide post-graduate legal education. 

However, it was always intended that the exchange programme should not be akin to a traditional university exchange scheme.  Clearly, university exchanges have existed for many years and are nothing new – they involve a reasonable number of students travelling to the other university and studying there for usually a year, as part of their overall degree programme.

The main difference between the traditional exchange scheme and our exchange programme has been that students from each city will work in law firms of the other city.  You will therefore be able to experience both professional and personal life in the other country and perhaps for some of you, the programme will open up the opportunity to work in the other country when you qualify as lawyers. 

The programme is designed to be fairly small.  This is because both sides have insisted that the students must be fluent in the other language – only with this requirement will the students and the firms participating in the programme benefit.  You should, however, note that fluency or near fluency is expected in conversational French – not business French.  As a very rough guide, we would expect you to have a good grade at A-level (or equivalent) in French.

Pinsents Lecture

Leading law firm Pinsents sponsor a regular high profile speaker event held at the College of Law, Birmingham. In previous years we have heard from Cheri Booth and Lord Goldsmith (the ex attorney general) These lectures involve the speakers presenting on a topical subject and after which the audience can ask questions. Students are invited to attend these events along with local legal key figures.

Law Society Careers Conference

The National Law Society Careers Conference takes place at the College of Law, Birmingham. This event will focus on opportunities in the legal profession for those student groups that are currently under-represented including students from ethnic minorities, mature students and those with disabilities. A range of high profile speakers from leading law firms and organisations such as the Black Solicitors Network, the Association of Muslim Lawyers and the Society of Asian Lawyers will be in attendance to give a variety of presentations and run workshops.

Local Law Society Events

As Birmingham Law Society is very active being the largest outside London they regularly hold events at our lecture theatre inviting guest speakers in to discuss issues effecting working in the law. Students are offered the opportunity to attend these events along with high profile legal figures form the Midlands.

Interested in a career at the BAR?

We hold various events especially for those GDL students who are interested in a career at the bar and also those already on our BVC course. The main event is called Day in the Life of a Barrister  - This event comprises an evening of talks and Q&A sessions lead by local barristers and a local judge who are all from different areas of law and at different levels of career. There is ample time for students to ask questions on an informal and informal basis.

Court Visits

We arrange visits to the various courts in the region including the Magistrates’ Courts and the Crown Court. You’ll also arrange your own visits to other courts that reflect your areas of interest.

Mooting and Negotiation Competitions

Lawyers negotiate and moot in all types of situation, whether it is the fine detail of a contract, or the terms of settlement of a dispute. Like any other skill, the more you practise, the better you get.

We hold in-house competitions and also assist students wishing to take part in national events.

Practitioner evenings

These allow you to demonstrate your advocacy skills in front of practising barristers and receive feedback.

Mock trials

You’ll be able to participate in mock trials staged in front of sitting judges and senior barristers.

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