Wednesday 22 January saw the official launch of the CCLS 40th Anniversary Celebrations with the Postgraduate Law Professional Mentoring Programme, organised by the Queen Mary PG Law Careers Team for postgraduate students.
The Scheme, now in its 5th year, has more than doubled in size with over 80 students paired in one-to-one relationships with mentors from a wide range of prestigious firms and companies, many of whom are Alumni. Mentors include professionals from across the industry including partners in law firms, solicitors, CEOs and judges. The event was a fantastic opportunity for mentors and mentees to meet for the first time and engage with others from the programme and the wider CCLS community.
Professor Ian Walden, Head of CCLS, started the event by saying: “We’re incredibly proud of this mentoring scheme… the scheme is central to our strategy and the founding principles of CCLS as it brings together academia and legal practice and that was the founding vision of Professor Sir Roy Goode.
As we celebrate our 40th year and the mentoring scheme is core in giving the opportunity for our students to mix with practitioners who have started their careers and completed careers, in midst of careers a chance to talk to student who are currently studying and are embarking on the start of their lives.”
Mentor, Martin Sharkey – partner at Dentons commented, “I think for a lot of people, as you advance in your career you want to give something back and mentoring is a way of doing that. Also it’s great to work with young people, it gives you energy and enthusiasm for the law again”.
Mentee, Beatrice Marinoiu, a Technology, Media and Telecommunications Law LLM student said “The mentoring scheme is a great way to build my network in the legal market in London. You can meet legal practitioners in the legal area you want to work, get advice, learn from their experience and what steps they took to build their career”.
Another mentee, Akanksha Apte, Technology, Media and Telecommunications Law LLM student noted; “I don’t have any work experience back in my home country and this is a programme that can actually provide me with insights for going into the professional world and how to go about the process”.
Dyann Heward-Mills, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of HewardMills and current mentor, said in her speech;
“I didn’t know what to expect from the programme but I was surprised by how enriching the whole process is. It really is a very rewarding experience, the connections are so invaluable and to actually be able to marry the theoretical experience with practical experience is incredibly valuable.
I’ve learnt so much, my mentees are exploring cutting edge topics such as AI, facial recognition and biometrics and that’s incredibly valuable to have those insights as a practitioner.”
The scheme provides CCLS student mentees with first-hand insight into the workings of businesses and law firms. It gives them a better understanding of a law professional’s career journey, helping them to plan their professional goals.
If you would like to find out more about the mentoring scheme and how to get involved, please contact: j.steinmetz@qmul.ac.uk – Career Mentoring and Work Experience Coordinator