Law Magazine

DICTUM Issue 1 October 2010

The Student Magazine of London Metropolitan University Faculty of Law

A Message from the Dean

Westminster Sceptics: At a Glance

Legal Profitability conquers law Students

Solicitor or Barrister: What’s Yours?

Edwin Shorts: Up Close and Personal

Lesley Neenan Writes...

This month in Dictum

EDITOR’S NOTE

07 Westminster Sceptics A view of skepticism

09 Legal Profitability When Law Students become firm partners

10 No Immunity at Parliament The case of R.V Chayton

15 ELBA Legal Club Helping law students achieve their goals

20 What is a Lawyer, What is a Law Student? A straight-forward but witty and stirring confession of a barrister/lecturer

21 Behind the Smile Interview of Edwin Shorts

22 Law and DisOrdeR A book review

Thrilled. A word which probably sums up what I feel right now. I am thrilled, firstly, because of the fact that we finally have our own student law magazine. Secondly, I only have one year left in my calendar to endure having to listen hours of lectures, attending endless seminars and the mind-boggling exams that fry grey matters including mine.

Taking a huge leap forward, I imagine the whole class of 2011, me included, wearing huge smiles and heads held high because we have vanquished even the most excruciating challenge of a three year law degree. At the same time, the worryingly uncertainty of a career lies ahead.

We all have experienced the daunting training contract online application forms over the summer. If you have not applied yet, fear not, for you are lucky to be reading this first issue. Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to inform you that Dictum has a vast amount of help in store regarding advice on career, training contracts and a whole lot more about pro-bono that can surely add oomph on your CV! We have great columns and articles that will tickle your brains regarding various areas of law and maybe give you something to smile about. For all those who have an eye for news, we have the freshest, current events and recently published cases just for you. There will be a page to keep you updated of the events inside and outside the university that you will surely find beneficial in the long run. We are also proud to have interviewed Mr Edwin Shorts and found out why London Met is so special to him. We are also honoured to have Miss Lesley Neenan who wrote a candid, witty yet encouraging advice that you will really find helpful.

To the incoming freshers, I welcome you all. Make the most of your first year and enjoy it. To the sopho-mores, do not forget the timelines for both the barrister route and the solicitor route. Take note of the closing dates of vacation schemes and training contracts. Forget about sitting at home. Go and collect some legal experiences. You will thank me for telling you this, guaranteed.

Thank you and I hope you enjoy the first issue of Dic-tum.

Kristoffer James M CanlasChief Editor

Dictum Team 2010- 2011

Chief Editor: Kristoffer James M. CanlasAssociate Editors: Gordon Nixon & Steven RobinsonFeatures Editor: Kamila JafriNews Editor: Gabriel RubertoCareers Editor: Mohammed AkbarWriter: David BurtonMarketing & Promotions Director: Chloe FirmanPhotographer: Mohammed AkbarAdvisers: Lesley Neenan, Edwin Shorts & NIgel Toft

About the Magazine

Dictum, founded in 2010 by LLB students from London Metropolitan University class 2011 with the help of faculty members, is a termly magazine to be published which aims to provide views, guidance and opinions of those who study, practise and teach law and those who have a general common interest in the subject. It further envisages being an instrument of knowledge and awareness of the legal context.

The magazine presents an opportunity for students to harness their legal writing and research skills beyond the demands of classroom routine. It also highlights the importance of employability by putting an emphasis on advice on future career prospects by providing helpful tips and guidelines on how to succeed on their chosen career path.

One of the most important aims of the magazine is to showcase the schol-arly ideas and works of the students as well as to highlight the quality of learn-ing in the university. The idea is to promote the institution and the department on a wider context which extends to organisations including law firms and the voluntary sectors as one of highest regarded law schools in the country at the largest university in London.

It hopes that it will start a new era of academic excellence and leaves a legacy for the incoming law students of the university to pass on.

02 | Dictum October 2010

Dictum October 2010 |03

Message from the Dean of LMU Faculty of Law, Governance & International Relations

This month in Dictum

Join the official London Metropolitan University Mansfield Law Society

* Seminar Talks* Social Events* Annual Ball

Visit http://www.mansfieldlawsociety.com

As Dean of the Faculty of Law, Governance and International Relations, I am delighted to welcome Dictum - a new magazine produced by a group of Law students for our Law students. Dictum has an ambitious agenda, but at heart, it is all about opportuni-ties for you. It creates an opportunity for you to contribute to its pages by providing an outlet for your legal writing, research skills and knowledge of the Law. It addresses the issue of career opportunities, by covering a range of topics related to employability – a matter we take very seriously at LondonMet. Dictum also seeks to promote our Faculty, something which is in the common interest of all our students and staff. We have some great things going on here on the Law side of the Faculty. In the past twelve months alone, our staff have organised and hosted major confer-ences/workshops on International Child Abduction, Life and Death Matters and Constitutionalism, all of which featured some of the top international researchers we have here.

On the work experience- employability front, our colleague Heera Rajah arranges a host of activities designed to give you real life experience of the practice of Law and the opportunity to improve your non-legal skills, such as how to present yourselves in public life. The fact that the Dictum team has taken this initiative is itself an indication of the vibrant student culture we value at LondonMet.

So please join me in thanking the Dictum team and helping it to become a great success by active participation in its development.

Professor Bob McKeever, DeanFaculty of Law, Governance &International Relations.

Editorial Column


Straight from the Brief Case Kristoffer James M. Canlas

Ask every law student about who they think makes studying law very interesting and most will utter the same name: Lord Denning. Alfred Thompson Denning was a man of colossal influence over the development of English law, both in its substance and style. He is highly- regarded as one of the most influential judge in his time despite most of his rulings being dissentions and surely not very popular with his contem-poraries.

He was the first one to prove that judges indeed do make law. His morale to deliver justice and fairness in every word he says made him the most loved and the most hated judge at the same time. He lived his life as a subject of criticisms because of his controversial decisions but he was never afraid of these, in fact, he flourished with them. His choice of words, sensible and comprehensible proses in which he made them though exudes pe-culiarity, paved way for a whole new level of understanding what the law is, applying it the way it should be applied and say it the simplest possible way for the public to appreciate it. He believed that people will not be disposed to obey the law unless they are convinced that it is, on the whole, fair and fairly applied.

For us students, he is a legendary storyteller. He puts his judgment in both narrative and descriptive way that not only shows his deep sense of humour but also his flair on literature. Yes, just like Shakespeare! As Professor Gary Slapper said, “a consummate storyteller who has eased the pain of law school readings for millions”. This clearly shows on the case of Cummings v. Granger (1977) 1 All E.R. 104, 106 where he said:

“This is a case of barmaid who was badly bitten by a big dog.”

(I know I smiled too upon reading this.)

For us he is an amusing poet. He is the reason why reading a 100 page long and boring case still puts a smirk on our faces even though sometimes only his judgment makes sense to us. Perhaps, the beauty of his words is only a tip of the iceberg; it is in fact the purpose for saying it which makes up the rest.

For us, he is an excellent driver. He sees law differently where everyone would have gone the other way. He always finds easy short routes in dissecting the law and is daring enough to depart from precedents if he thinks there is an ample room for development. He said:

“What is the argument on the other side? Only this, that no case has been found in which

it has been done before. If we never do anything which

has not been done before, we shall never get anywhere. The law will stand whilst the rest

of the world goes on; and that will be bad for both.” - Packer

v. Packer [1953] 2 AER l27

He sees the future and contemplates to the possible emanation of new laws that will have a huge impact on English law, he said in H.P. Bulmer Ltd. v. J Bollinger SA [1974] 2 All ER 1226 1231

“…the Treaty is like an incoming tide. It cannot be held back…”

I could go on and on and on, the list is endless. Like you, like everyone else who burns the candle at both ends, reading Lord Denning’s judgment is like an obses-sive drug. It gives us pleasure by inviting us to unravel the secrets of the law and offers us guidance to be masters of it.

If you are brave enough to include Lord Denning’s judgment on your argument, be prepared to stand your ground for you are embarking on a bloody battle with the marker. This is in fact a good way of practicing on how to beef up and defend your argument. His judgment invited criti-cisms but earned respect and invaluable admirations. Upon taking his words, you will either emerge victorious or wane in oblivion.

No words can perhaps describe the amazing contribution of Lord Denning to English law. He has breathed new life into the dry bones of law, jurisprudence and justice. What is certain though that all his judgments be it controversial or not, a dissent or as part of the majority will always fascinate the minds and hearts of law students in the years to come.

“Rememberance of me in good works that is how I should like to be remembered”

-Lord Denning

Lord Denning: Why the great “Champion of the

Underdog” marked its place on the heart of every law

student.


Editorial Column

Prop 8- a vote by the ignorant to deny minorities rights guaranteed by their own constitution

Gordon Nixon

For the very few of you who are not in the know, Proposition 8 also known as Perry v Schwarzenegger, was an attempt by the unelected masses to deny the LGBT population of California a constitutional right to marry as guar-anteed by the Constitution of the United States. A right which the population was already guaranteed which was then revoked. So I know we are not in America, but equality in marriage is one of the hot-test topics around at the moment and the ruling in California will likely influence any change not only within English Law but laws in every country around the world. This is because of the fact that Califor-nia is one of the world’s most powerful economies.

For those of you who follow internation-al developments (which I hope is most of you), you will have seen the developments over Proposition 8 in the news. Proposi-tion 8 (California Marriage Protection Act) was an amendment to the Californian Constitution which outlawed gay mar-riage. Basically, saying that people who choose to have relations with those of the same gender are of lesser value. The proposed section reads “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

This ‘law’ was supported and enforced by 52% of the population of California. The abolition of equal rights was not left to the judiciary, but to the oblivious mass-es. It was left to those who were not fully informed or qualified to decide whether or not homosexuals deserved equal rights. Not just this, but why should some people get to vote on whether or not other people should have the right to marry the person they love? Does anyone else see something wrong with this logic? Not only this, but the vote was not only disregard-ing previous Supreme Court Precedent in other states such as Gill v United States and Massachusetts v United States. Here, Judge Tauro ruled that the Equal Protection Clause in the Tenth Amend-ment of the American Constitution which was used in Loving v Virginia in 1967 to strike down state antimiscegenation laws, invalidated any state ban on same-sex

The First Amendment not only provides for due process but

also for equal protection which is also provided for under the Tenth Amendment. It is inter-esting that this same section of the constitution also guar-antees freedom of religious

belief.

. But was in blatant contravention of the entire Constitution of the United States of America. The First Amendment of the American Constitution not only provides for due process but also for equal protec-tion which is also provided for under the Tenth Amendment. It is interesting to note that this same section of the constitution also guarantees freedom of religious belief.

The ruling was made even more con-troversial when Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker made his first ruling, overturning the ban. A judge who sup-ports equal rights for homosexuals didn’t go down to well with the supporters of Proposition 8. Those who voted against the rights just do not seem to appreciate that all he did was uphold the Constitu-tion of the United States of America and enforce equality for all.

However, the story unfortunately does not end there. The right wing of American politics is up in arms about the decision and now taking the ruling to the next level. They are incensed that a judge enforced the constitution and enforced equal rights for all! How dare he! What was he thinking? They just cannot seem to understand that equality of all types is enshrined in their Constitution. As Justice Anthony Kennedy elegantly wrote in the Supreme Court case of Lawrence v. Texas:

“Times can blind us to certain truths and later generations can see that laws once thought necessary and proper in fact serve only to oppress. As the Constitution endures, persons in every generation can invoke its principles in their own search for greater freedom.”

“Times can blind us to certain truths and later generations can see that laws once thought necessary and proper in fact serve only to oppress. As the Consti-tution endures, persons in every genera-tion can invoke its principles in their own search for greater freedom.”

Okay so why have I rambled on about a ruling across the pond for the better part of a page? As I said at the start, this progressive ruling will likely affect rulings across the world, including here. Yes we have ‘civil partnerships’ but we don’t have gay marriage. Homosexuals are refused equality for being themselves. It may seem a small thing, but to those it affects, it is massive. Groups such as Stonewall and even sitting MPs such as Nick Clegg, Tom Watson and Ed Miliband are lobbying the government to correct this. Time will tell whether or not the Con-Dem (nation) Party, truly is progressive or whether or not they will slip into the Conservative Party of the past.

Watch this space.....

Yes we have ‘civil partner-ships’ but we don’t have gay marriage. Homosexuals are

refused equality for being themselves.

“Times can blind us to certain truths and later generations can see that laws once thought necessary and proper in fact serve only to oppress.

Editorial Column


The Start of Something SpecialSteven Andrew Robinson

Welcome, to the first issue of Dictum, I figure what better way start the beginning of Dictum, than to give a short explanation of the beginning of the modern English legal system – the reason we are all here reading this. It may even come in useful with your studies.

Of course, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland con-sists of four countries which create three distinct jurisdictions, which each have their own court system and legal profes-sion: England & Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom formed in 1801 with the union of Great Britain and Ireland, but achieved its present form recently in 1922 with the partition of Ireland and the establishment of the independent Irish Free State (now known as the Republic of Ireland).

The UK then went on to join the European Economic Community (now the European Union) in 1973, when there has been an established requirement to incorporate European legislation into the UK law, as well as to recognise the juris-diction of the European Court of Justice in matters of EU law.

There have then been significant constitutional reforms since the Labour government came into power in 1997, which make any description of the UK legal system before then out of date.

The Labour government immediately instituted a process of devolution, i.e. devolving certain areas of government to the component countries of the UK: a separate Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly were established following referendums in the countries concerned. Ireland already had its Assembly, although this was not in operation. The context of these new legislatures means the English Parliament now gets referred to as ‘Westminster’. These devolved governments are dealt with in separate sections. The UK is a signatory of the European Convention of Human Rights, and this has recently been incorporated into UK law with the passing of the Human Rights Act 1998. This allows for the provisions of the Convention to be applied directly by the UK courts.

The UK has no written constitution. The Queen is the Head of State, although in practice the supreme authority of the Crown is carried by the government of the day. The legislature becomes the result of dual Parliaments, the House of Commons, and the House of Lords.

The UK has no written constitution.

The House of Commons consists of 659 Members of Parliament (MPs), elected by simple majority vote in a general election every five years, although the Government has the right to call an election at any time before then, and in practice usually brings the date forward to secure electoral advantage. The House of Lords consists of ‘life peers’ awarded the title of Lord for public services, and a large number of hereditary peers whose membership of the House of Lords depended on their aristocratic birth.

The constitutional law of the UK is regarded as consisting of statute law and case law, whereby judicial precedent is applied in the courts by judges interpreting statute law. A third element consists of constitutional conventions which do not have statutory authority but nevertheless have binding force, but you’ll learn more of this as you continue your studies. Much of the relationship between the Sovereign and Parliament has now become conventional rather than statutory.

* UK has three distinct jurisdic-tions.

* The UK joined the European Economic Community in 1973.

* Human rights was incorporated into UK law in 1998.

* The UK has an unwritten consti-tution.

* The Queen is the Head of State and the Prime Minister is the head of the Government

Photo Courtesy of andersontourshttp://www.andersontours.co.uk/uk/


Features

A Critiques View of Skepticism – by Frank Swain aka ‘The Science Punk’

Gordon Nixon

Since this is the first review, I feel I should give you a background as to what Westminster Skeptics is about.

Westminster Skeptics was set-up by a London Solicitor called David Allen Green. He is the writer of the acclaimed Jack of Kent blog, which was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for blogging in 2010, and also named as one of the leading innovators in journalism and media. After studying Modern History at Oxford and Law at Birmingham, he was called to the Bar in 1999 and became a solicitor in 2001. He is currently head of the media practice at Preiskel & Co. He is a key lob-byer for libel reform and has worked pro bono for Simon Singh, David Osler and Paul Chambers.

Westminster Skeptics meet once a month in a bar in Westminster to discuss developments policy, media and legal reform. The basis behind it is to an evidence based, critical approach of current issues. Each month we have a different guest speaker come to talk and then the session is opened to the floor for questions and answers. Talks in the past have included looking at a much needed review of libel law and how to stop libel tourism, looking into the practicality and the pit-falls of ID cards and the MMR scandal. This month, our guest speaker was the brilliant Frank Swain aka The Sci-ence Punk, or for those on twitter @SciencePunk, who was giving a sceptics view on scepticism. This was a look at the failings of scepticism and arguments and how to build a coercive successful argument that would appeal to both left and right thinkers; a tricky task with no definite answer.

Frank is a biology graduate with a Masters in Natural Resource Management. He started out writing a ‘zine’ (for those old enough to remember them) called ‘War on Error’, and has since written blogs for The Guardian and The Times as well as articles for Wired. Today he works for a non-for-profit organisation called ‘Guerilla Science’ (no that isn’t a spelling mistake). Guerilla Science helps production companies develop ideas for science TV such as Brainiac.

The session was based on the overall idea, that if you blog, debate, write, tweet etc, you’re a sceptic and why is it that simply blogging or writing rarely changes people’s minds?

Frank attempted to point out the main floors in arguments and debates which although may be slightly obvious, are things we all do. These are things that are applicable to everyone when trying to get a point across. The first part was know your audience and tailor your argument towards them. A key failing in scepticism is that a lot of the time, you are preaching to the converted. You think that your rant or argument will change people’s minds, when all you are doing it regurgitating stuff they already know. We need to bring evidence from both sides. We may already know what the conclusion will be but we still need to create a balanced argument.

For the students amongst us, this is Studying Law 101 but is still something that many of us fail to do. We get tunnel vision; we see our goal, our conclusion and then tailor our argument towards it, failing to bring in the other side, failing to create a balanced argu-ment.

We get tunnel vision; we see our goal, our conclusion and then tailor our argument to-

wards it, failing to bring in the other side, failing to create a

balanced argument.

The final point was about evidence. Many people have the view that just because they have evidence (graphs or statutes), they will win their argument. The view that ‘we have charts and graphs to back us up so f^*@ !^f!’. Well this does not exactly work as it has the same problem as above. Not only is this, but the arrogance of it likely to turn off the people you are trying to convince. To make them effective, we need to emo-tionalise them. We need to put stories behind them. So, in a legal context, this means stating the facts of a case and not just the ratio. We see this all the time in adverts for charities - they put a dead animal or emaciated child in front of facts to make it personal.

Although these were very good points, they were made through attacking scepti-cism, attacking bloggers and basically attacking anyone who writes what they think. Using the example of a small mi-nority and generalising about the whole. Using the examples of those who are arrogant, who do make incredibly biased arguments and those that have tunnel vision. Although it may be semi-effective in communicating and getting your point across, surely there must be a better way to do it than to alienate your audience.This may not have been the most exciting and interesting session I have been to but I still came away with some good points.The next meeting is on Monday 13th September and we have Heather Brooke on Freedom of Information and Evidence Based Policy Making. It is at a pub called The Old Monk Exchange on the Corner of Strutton Ground and Victoria Street (near Westminster and St James Park tubes). Do come along. Students, lecturers, politicians and the general public from all over London attend these sessions. A few London Metropolitan lecturers have also been known to attend.

If you want to find out more on West-minster Skeptics then check them out on twitter (@WestSkep), or on Facebook. David Allen Green is also on twitter (@davidallengreen) and I would recommend following him for those that have it.

Photo Courtesy of Jason Alveywww.flickr.com/lewishamdreamer


Features

UK IVY LEAGUE: A Critical look at Privatising Universities Kamila Jafri

The expected cuts on the education fund by the coalition government signalled a new revolution where universities are looking at the possibility of being privatised. This idea is on the government’s top agenda which was promoted during the election campaign. Because of the huge budget deficit, the coalition government plans to cut expenditure from child tax to educa-tion funding and further plans to increase the tuition fee from the current £3290 a year to £10,000 a year.

Professor Geoffrey Crossick, vice-chan-cellor of the University of London told the BBC: “We know there are going to be very significant reductions in public funding in higher education.” He also expressed his worry that the [cut] is being done at very high speed in the middle of an emergency spending review.

In 2007, BPP became the first privately owned, publicly traded firm in the United Kingdom to be granted degree-awarding powers by the Privy Council. This July, it was granted “university college” status, becoming the first private university in the UK in over three decades.

Until now, university college status has usually been reserved for publicly owned institutions that provide a limited range of degrees. Before BPP, the University of Buckingham had been the only official pri-vate university in the country, which was granted degree awarding powers in 1983. Universities minister David Willetts’ move to award BPP university status, has sig-nalled the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government’s desires to expand the number of profit-making private sector institutions in higher education.

It is possible that an increase in private universities could reduce the pressure on university places, therefore steps have been taken to privatise higher education.

Other than introducing private universi-ties, the government is also considering more options to cut costs. This would mean putting good quality education at risk.

It is expected that as a result of priva-tisation, there may be an escalation of inter-university competition in order to gut the remaining public provision of higher education. This will see England retreat from funding education and ask students in both higher and further education to pay more. It is likely that the Browne review may make England the most expensive place to study higher education in the world, in spite of widespread public opposition to making students pay more.

A letter published by the National Union of Students (NUS) and University College Union (UCU) both of which have jointly planned a national demonstra-tion which is expected to be attended by thousands of university students in England next month, states that “Cutting education is bad for society and bad for our economy. Yet all indications are that the Comprehensive Spending Review will deliver further budget cuts of 25% or more in colleges and universities. The re-ality of the cuts is that many thousands of people who would benefit from attending a college or university will possibly end up on benefits alongside the thousands of teachers and support staff facing redundancy.”

Other options involve converting three year degrees into two year degrees, as happening at the University of Buck-ingham and BPP. This would be accom-plished by either intensifying studies, which would be of a disadvantage to students who work to fund their studies or cutting back on what is provided in a course. Intensified courses would more likely intensify strains on the staff, which would be aggravated by job losses. Other methods also include both distance and online learning.

The UCU fears the new trend and the possibility of having UK Ivy League Uni-versities will see a wave of interest from other commercial institutions. According to some academics, privatisation will force struggling universities to close. The UCU has warned that if more commercial institutions are allowed to gain university status, it will put education standards at risk and that encouraging the growth of private universities would damage the United Kingdom’s international reputation and would raise serious questions about the professional education standards of the country.

EDUCATION?Fund our Future: National March & Rally: 10 November 2010

Will YOUstand up for

Grandadstood upfor peaceand love

Assemble 12pm: Horse Guards Avenue, Westminster SW1A for 1pm startRally speakers: l Sally Hunt, UCU General Secretary l Aaron Porter, NUS President

l Frances O’Grady, TUC Deputy General Secretary5pm: after-demo event at the Bread and Roses Pub, Clapham, London SW4

(http://www.breadandrosespub.com/finding-us.aspx)

Photo Courtesy of UCU

“I really enjoyed the simulation. When I came

there, I did not know what to expect.”

When I came there, I did not know what to expect. When we started and the concept was explained to us, it sounded a bit confusing at first. However, Nigel Downing, the Managing Director who facilitated the simulation, explained eve-rything clearly and was very friendly and patient throughout.”

At the beginning you are given sum of money which you need to spend at your own discretion. You need to use the money to buy furniture for your firm, train your staff, recruit trainees and paralegals and bid for your contracts. If you need more money you can borrow from the bank, but with interest being applied.

James recalls, “We were given playing boards with plastic chips as our money and papers for bidding contracts. It was like playing Monopoly, except that here you need to use your brain and plan every move you make because one mistake could bring your law firm down in an instant.”


Features

“How one day in the summer turned

law students into potential Managing Partners” Kamila Jafri

The first Legal ProfitAbility®

Open Programme for students was held on the 23rd of July at the Col-lege of Law London. It was attended by law students and law graduates from universities across the UK. The simula-tion shows how a law firm works from a business perspective. Participants learn how money moves through the business with every decision they make, and the competitive nature of the simulation provides a perfect learning environment. ProfitAbility® has successfully run the simulation in law firms such as DLA Piper, Clifford Chance, Pinsent Masons and McGrigors. The simulation is like a game with three rounds in which students are divided into groups of four. The aim of the game is to achieve a high profit per part-ner at the end of the contracts. The group with the highest profit per partner wins. It is a combination of strategy, business acumen and understanding of how a law firm works.

The event was attended by our editor Kristoffer James M. Canlas, a third year LLB student at London Metropolitan University. James said, “I really enjoyed the simulation.

“It Tested not only our mental capabilities and organisational skills but

also our ability to play our respective roles in a team.”

The facilitator presents contracts and everyone will try to bid it. You can bid for one or several contracts - the more con-tracts you have the stronger the chance you get a higher profit. However, bidding for many contracts has its downside - if you did not manage to finish the contract by the end of the round, you will incur loss of profit for time wasted.

The simulation did not only highlight the business aspect of a law firm but “also emphasised the importance of how good you are in a team.” James said, “It tested not only our mental capabilities and organisational skills but also our ability to play our respective roles in a team. I had the privilege to work with Graham Coombs from Cardiff University and Sophie Dowden from University of Birmingham who I have made good friends with.”

To be given the chance to be a partner of your own law firm, for James “was probably the highlight of [my] summer experience.” He continues, “The fact that we made history by being the first ever group of students to do the Professional Legal Simulation for law students is amazing. It has given us experience of what could be described as the closest thing to managing a law firm. Aside from the business facets, it also taught us how to become rain makers!”

ProfitAbility® Business Simula-tions are global leaders in experi-ential learning and development. With headquarters in the UK, they have a worldwide presence in over 30 countries in 18 different languages. Legal ProfitAbility® Open Programmes are being scheduled all the time.

For more information you can visit the events page on their website

www.profitability.co.uk or contact the ProfitAbility® Team on 01491 821900.

There are plans for future events to be held.... so watch this space!


In the News

No Immunity within the walls of ParliamentGabriel Ruberto

The Court of Appeal, Criminal division, has ruled that Parliamentary privilege did not attach and “has never attached to ordinary crimi-nal activities by members of Parliament”.

The case R v Chaytor and Others [2010] EWCA Crim 1910 relates to last years’ expenses scandal, which involved numerous members of Parliament taking advantage of the allowances scheme which was designed to enable them to carry out their public functions.

Three Labour MPs - Elliot Morley, David Chaytor, Jim Devine - and one Tory peer - Lord Hanningfield - were criminally charged with false accounting, contrary to s.17 (1) (b) Theft Act 1968. The defend-ants allegedly submitted fraudulent claims for the payment of expenses to compensate them for expenditure in-curred in carrying out their public duty.

In order to avoid the criminal prosecu-tion, which was due to start at Southwark Crown court, they subsequently tried to rely on the Bill of Rights 1689, claiming that they were covered by Parliamentary privilege. The defendants argued that they were not trying to take themselves above the law, but just attempting to ensure that they were adjudicated by the “correct law and the correct body”. The reasoning was based on the belief that filing an expenses form was part of a parliamentary procedure and therefore members of parliament were covered by the privilege.

Article 9 of the Bill of Rights states that “the freedom of speech and debates or proceedings in parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parliament”.

The original aim of the legislation was that of eliminating the interference of the King, in a time when the law was subject to the influence and the will of the sovereign.

However, due to the decline of monar-chy, Parliament has been able to surren-der some of its jurisdiction to the courts. In particular, MPs charged with criminal offences have no longer been dealt with by the House of Commons, but by ordi-nary courts. Since 1979, more than 10 MPs have been sent to prison - the major-ity of these cases related to MPs refusing to pay fines whilst conducting protests in Northern Ireland.

Article 9 of the Bill of Rights states that “the freedom of speech and debates or proceedings in parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parlia-ment”.

In fact in modern times, the interpreta-tion of Article 9 has related to immunity from litigation for words spoken within the walls of parliament. MPs could not be sued for libel in relation to their speeches in Parliament. However this concept extends beyond that, and covers the no-tion that courts should not interfere with parliamentary proceedings. This is where the law was not entirely clear.

The Court of Appeal clarified the inter-pretation of the law and stated that the submission of claims for expenses did not amount to taking part in proceedings as defined within article 9.

The court emphasised that in their judgment “no question of privilege arises and the ordinary process of the criminal justice system should take its normal course, unaffected by any groundless anxiety that they might constitute an infringement of the principles of parlia-mentary privilege.”

The four parliamentarians are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court, which would give a final ruling on the matter. However, it seems that the Court of Ap-peal has given a decisive contribution in clarifying the law on parliamentary privilege. Moreover, it has made clear that MPs are to be treated as any other citizen when facing a criminal charge.

For those interested in reading the full judgment, the citation of the case is: R v Chaytor and Others [2010] EWCA Crim 1910.

“No question of privilege arises and the ordinary process of the criminal justice system should take its normal course, unaffected by any groundless anxiety that they might constitute an infringe-ment of the principles of parlia-mentary privilege.”

Photo Courtesy of PinkPaper.comhttp://news.pinkpaper.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=2016

Photo Courtesy of picsicio.ushttp://www.estatesgazette.com/blogs/property-planning/British_Houses_of_Parliament.jpg


In the News

One year on... A True Separation of Powers?David Burton

October 1st 2010 marked the first anniversary of the creation of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom sitting in the former Middlesex Guildhall on Parliament Square; this location symbolically reiter-ates the courts desire to appear separate from the legislature and its creation came with an estimated price tag of £56.9Mil-lion. The Supreme Court Justices hear appeals on points of law that are of public importance being both the highest civil court in the UK and the highest Criminal court in England, Wales and Northern Ire-land. Issues on devolution were also con-solidated into the courts duties after their transference from the Appellate Com-mittee of the Privy Council. The Supreme Court was established to promote greater awareness and transparency between the judiciary and the legislature from an ob-jective perspective, subjectively however the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords was acting separately from the legislature long before the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 created the Supreme Court.

The House of Lords judicial role evolved over 600 years culminating in the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 which was passed to regulate how appeals were heard. The act also formed the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary whose role was to concentrate purely on judicial matters. Although the Law Lords maintained the ability to vote on legislation in practice they rarely did so. A further evolutionary step for the Law Lords came with WWII as the sitting location changed from the Lords chamber to a committee room which proved so successful and cost ef-fective the format remained the same un-til October 1st 2009 when the Law Lords became Justices of the Supreme Court.

The courts creation was not born out of criticism of decided cases or alleged bias but for the apparent lack of independ-ence and impartiality as the current President of the Supreme Court Lord Phil-lips pointed out, that the old position of the court was confusing to the public and gave the appearance of an unapproach-able and inaccessible appellate court.

A further argument for the creation was that under the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords the UK was com-promising her obligations set out in the European Convention on Human Rights, specifically Article 6 – right to a fair trial.

Fear was expressed by some that the new court would become too powerful however this appears to be unfounded as a separate Supreme Court can only strengthen the UK’s constitution as the Justices can be seen to be separate of party politics. The UK’s Supreme Court still has con-stitutional limitations such as the ability to strike down a law as unconstitutional and the ability to decide on European is-sues which may be taken a stage further by referring questions to the European Court of Justice or to the European Court of Human Rights respectfully. However these limitations aside, a transparent and accessible court system is vital for a democratic society and the Supreme Court although not the final brick in the organic British constitution its placement was necessary and long overdue.

The Supreme Court is open to the public Monday to Friday, 0930 to 1630. However booking in advance is advisable due to limited public gallery space.

For more information visit www.supremecourt.gov.uk/visiting/opening-hours.html

Recent Judgements of the Supreme CourtDavid Burton

R (Electoral Commission) v Westminster Magistrates Court & UKIP [2010] UKSC 40

Abstract: UKIP accepted a large donation from a source that although entitled was not on the electoral regis-ter. The donation made was in breach of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 s.54(Type of Donor), s.58(2)-s.60 (forfeiture of dona-tion by impermissible donor)resulting in a very strong presumption that UKIP should forfeit the donation made. At first instance a district judge ordered forfeiture of a small amount; commis-sion appealed. The Court of Appeal found in the commissions favour on application for Judicial Review of the de-cision on grounds amongst other things that an order for forfeiture had to reflect the full donation; UKIP appealed.

Appeal allowed – s.58(2) permitted UKIP to forfeit less than the total dona-tion, on the ground that the Act’s objec-tive was to prevent foreign donations to UK political parties, thus full forfeiture found not to apply as the donor was eligible for the UK electoral register.

O’Brien v Ministry of Justice [2010] UKSC 34

Abstract: O’Brien (O); a recorder (part-time judge) was remunerated a fee each day he sat and was not entitled to a pension. ‘O’ commenced proceed-ings in the Employment Tribunal relying on the Part-Time Workers Directive and clause 2(1) European Framework Agreement – seeking to prevent less favourable treatment for part-time work-ers. ‘O’ argued under EU law recorders fell within the autonomous definition of ‘workers having an employment contract or employment relationship’. Questions referred to the European Court of Justice; (1) definition of worker (2) ability to discriminate between type and role of judges and provision of pensions.

The act also formed the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary whose role was to concentrate purely on judicial matters.

Are you a student living and studying in East London? Then this could be your fi rst step to a job in the City

The East London Business Alliance (ELBA) works with company recruiters in fi nance, law and insurance. Contrary to popular belief, the companies will and do recruit locally. The ELBA Training Opportunities and Networking (ETON) programme will help you get on their radar. This series of fi ve very different, focused training and networking events will help you look and feel like the consummate professional.

What can the club offer you?

— High quality training in areas identifi ed as useful by employers — Networking opportunities at major businesses in the City and Canary Wharf — Information about the range of jobs available within those businesses — Help with CV and job applications

What do we need from you?

— You must be studying at one of the following: University of Greenwich, London Metropolitan University, Queen Mary University of London or University of East London and you must live in East London

— You must be able to attend every session — You must be interested in working in the City / Canary Wharf

The fi ve sessions

The sessions will be held on Wednesday afternoons from 3.00pm-5.00pm during the autumn and spring terms.

if you wish to register onto ETON, please send your CV together with a covering letter outlining “why we should choose you” to: [email protected]

www.elba-1.org.uk

Designed and printed by CMS Cameron McKenna

Companies involved in previous years included:

— Linklaters

— Credit Suisse

— Thomson Reuters

— CMS Cameron McKenna

— Canary Wharf Group

— Societe Generale

— News International

— Six Figure Career Management

E .T.O.NELBA Training Opportunities and Networking


Careers Section

Legal Career ExplainedMohammed Akbar

When starting out on your legal career the first decision that you must make is whether you want to be a barrister or solicitor.

In essence a barrister appears in court, gives specialist advice and drafts court documents. They must display the skill and clarity to make complex legal arguments accessible to lay clients, juries and the judiciary. The amount of time that you will spend in court depends on the type of barrister that you are. Criminal barristers are in court most of the time, often with only one or two hours notice of the details of the case, whereas a commercial barrister may spend most of their time writing opinions and advising their clients on complicated legal points in conference. This detailed knowledge of the litigation process and the ability to assess the merits and demerits of a case are extremely valuable. Of the UK’s 12,000 or so barristers, over 8,000 are self employed.

After the LLB or CPE/GDL the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) is the next step that must be completed to qualify for the bar.

Solicitors provide legal services directly to lay clients, who could be individuals, com-panies (private or public) or other bodies. In a nutshell, clients come to solicitors for guidance on how to deal with legal matters which could be personal in nature or relate to business interests. This could be anything from defending a murder charge to advising on a multi-million pound class action law suit. The role of the solicitor is similar to that of a project manager, advising on the process and then managing the case until conclusion. A barrister will be brought into the equation if a second opinion or special-ist advocacy is required. Solicitors can also train to become accredited advocates and, therefore, can have rights of audience in the higher courts.

There are over 112,000 solicitors in England and Wales with the majority being employed in private practice, although many thousands work in-house for companies. After completing the LLB/CPE the next stage to qualify as a solicitor is to take the Legal Practice Course (LPC).

Whether you choose to be a barrister or solicitor the competition for both pupillage and training contracts is fierce and it is this hurdle that most will fail to overcome; the present climate being tougher than ever. The current state of the UK economy, mainly due to the collapse of the banking system, has made life more difficult for all graduates with many firms deferring recruitment for the foreseeable future. The Legal Services Act 2007 has changed the legal profession by allowing non-lawyers to own and operate law firms for the first time. The implications of this are that supermarket chains are now able to provide legal services.

Whatever path you choose there are many ways that you can improve your prospects of success. Your degree result will probably have the most impact on your CV. Get a first and you will impress everyone; with a 2:1 your path to employment will be a smooth ride; however, ending up with a 2:2 will re-quire a great deal of extra activities to secure an offer. At London Metropolitan University there are a wide range of extra curricular ac-tivities, including societies and social clubs. Participating in these provide experience and can add an extra dimension to your CV. Legal experience is crucial, for all candidates, since you need to convince prospective employers that you are serious about and committed to the legal profession. This could be done thought vacation schemes, mini-pupillage, pro-bono work or even shadowing a family friend who is a lawyer.

Being a lawyer is a thorough-ly rewarding profession but notoriously difficult to enter

into. Therefore, study hard and get as much legal

experience as possible.

Being a lawyer is a thoroughly rewarding pro-fession but notoriously difficult to enter into. Therefore, study hard and get as much legal experience as possible.

GOODLUCK!

Photo Courtesy of: Laurence Winramwww.flickr.com/photos/laurence_winram/

Get a first and you will impress everyone; with a 2:1 your path to employment will be a smooth ride; however, ending up with a 2:2 will require a great deal of extra activities to secure an offer.

14| Dictum October 2010

Careers Section

Careers Services helping you with your Law CareerMohammed Akbar

The London Metropolitan University Career Development and Employment Service team are here to help students make the transition from university studies to the next stage. The aim is to help you to make your own decisions about your future. There are a range of services which aid career planning and although they are available for up to three years after you graduate they should be used as soon as possible, as many firms start recruiting two years in advance. A view expounded by Senior Career Consultant Neelam Thapar ‘I would encourage law students to be aware how early everything needs to begin’.

https://intranet.london-met.ac.uk/studentser-vices/careers/experience-matters/

Services provided include:

Career Advice drop-in sessions are run throughout the week. Simply turn up on the day and book-in for a 20 minute slot with a Careers Consultant. These sessions can be a valuable resource when starting out, helping to plan what experience will assist you and your career prospects. Applications can also be reviewed before applying for essential work experience, the all-important training contract or the elusive pupillage. Employment Service sessions are where you can register with Employment Online for part-time, graduate full-time, work experi-ence or placement opportunities. You can also seek advice and tips for applying for jobs and, furthermore, find out about your employee rights relating to: working in the UK, National Insurance and Income Tax.

‘I would encourage law students to be aware how early everything needs to begin’ says Senior Career Consultant Neelam Thapar.

Employment Service sessions are where you can register with Employment Online for part-time, graduate full-time, work experi-ence or placement opportunities. You can also seek advice and tips for applying for jobs and, furthermore, find out about your employee rights relating to: working in the UK, National Insurance and Income Tax.

The Career Development and Employ-ment Service also deliver events such as workshops and seminars to help develop your confidence in job-search, writing CVs and cover letters, completing application forms and developing interview skills. Students are advised to keep a regular eye on the website where they can also book a place.

Don’t forget, that volunteering can be a valuable way of finding work experience. Volunteering advice drop-in sessions are run by Student Development and Activities Service (http://reach.londonmet.ac.uk/) Here you can sign up for projects listed on the website.

The Career Development and Employ-ment Service website also has a law student section which has a comprehensive introduction to a career in law. Therefore, it is probably the best place to start your research with its 12 easy to understand sections which provide cogent advice to law students.

Home provides a general introduction to the website, stating its aim and providing an overview. As well as informing the reader of some home truths about a legal career there is an extremely helpful link to Neelam Thapar’s (Senior Career Consultant) email address.

To find information about both regular and one-off events (see above) see Events, where there is also the facility to book. These events provide the cornerstone of your career development, which should be a reiterative process.

The careers option section lays out all the relevant information to make an informed decision about your future. As well as con-cisely explaining the roles of barristers and solicitors it offers a host of possible alterna-tive career options, such as publishing and media roles, you probably never thought of. It also has many points to consider carefully before embarking on your chosen path in law.

Work experience could be classed as the most important. Firstly it demystifies what different types of legal experience are avail-able. Then it offers uncomplicated explana-tions of their possible content, structure and value and lastly, how and when they should be applied for.

The main attributes and qualities that a successful career in law de-mands are listed in the skills section.

* It goes on to explain how to identify the ones that you have and how to illustrate them to a potential employer. Getting in continues this theme but in addition maps out a structured framework for success. As well as asking you to analyse your own abili-ties and attributes the targeted assistance sets out numerous tasks that will help you to be successfully with the application process, such as how to tackle the online application process (used by the majority of city law firms).

Understanding what is required to qualify as a lawyer can be an overly complex and, therefore, a frustrating task. The training and qualifications section addresses this common issue providing useful information on the various routes that are available to qualify as a lawyer. With funding advising on how to receive financial help during your chosen route towards these qualifications.

Personal profiles of successful London Metropolitan University graduates are contained in the Personal experiences section and offer current students a mode of inspiration. Furthermore, Links provides numerous connections to various organisa-tions that can help with your career.

The feedback and help CDES sections are necessary for the continuing develop-ment of Student Services and its work therefore, all students are encouraged to participate.

Hopefully all this information will provide you with a starting point from which you can plan a long and successful career. Remem-ber that it is never too earlier to start getting legal experience and planning out a pos-sible route to employment.


Careers Section

ELBA: On Creating OpportunitiesKristoffer James M. Canlas

Dressed in a nice office suit with sweaty palms and wobbly hands I entered the revolving doors of Mitre House in Barbican which houses one of the top leading city firm in the country CMS Cameron McKenna. There I was having what could possibly be the closest thing to a training contract and yes, it was all because of East London Business Alliance (ELBA).

The ELBA Training Opportunities and Networking (ETON) programme is designed to provide undergraduates with access to free high quality training on key competency skills as well as unique networking opportunities within top corpo-rate companies. The programme requires students to attend all five sessions, all held on five consecutive Wednesday afternoons, giving students the chance to familiarise themselves with the corporate environment whilst providing them with a unique support network with ELBA and the other students. Not only that, you also get to speak to current trainees and throw any questions that you might have.

Over the past three years, ETON has supported students largely with key skills that employers look for as well as their confidence and goal setting. The network-ing opportunity provided them with direct access to employers and in the past, many students have been invited to apply for internships through networking alone. Furthermore, ELBA provides on-going support to students through the ELBA Employment Team and other methods.

Rohima Begum, project manager of ELBA said, “If you are considering whether to apply to the programme, my advice would most definitely be ‘go for it’. Having grown up in East London and graduating from Queen Mary University four years ago.” She said “I struggled with the job hunting phase because of my lack of experience both in practical skills and in the industry.”

“I strongly believe that ETON opens doors; it gives you exposure to an

environment you may not have been in before and gives you great opportunities to market yourself to

potential employers.”

One of ETON’s aims is to provide stu-dents with practical skills and sets them on their way to furthering those skills. Moreover; one of the key successes of ETON is the support network students leave with. Begum said, “I strongly believe that ETON opens doors; it gives you exposure to an environment you may not have been in before and gives you great opportunities to market yourself to potential employers.”

Notable companies involved in the past includes: Linklaters, Credit Suisse, Thomson Reuters, Canary Wharf Group, Societe Generale, News International and Six Figure Career Management.

The scheme was a definite success having earned positive feedbacks from the partici-pants from London Metropolitan University, Queen Mary University, University of East London and University of Greenwich. Diana Deju, a student of Queen Mary University said “I found the scheme really use-ful, even if just to be able to walk into some of these companies and to interact with their employees in a so-cial, relaxed atmosphere. The sessions gave us good knowledge of the working atmosphere of the companies, and per-sonal insight into what they are looking for from their applicants. Along the way we met some great people, who we would not have met otherwise.”

On a personal note, because of the very insightful sessions, I did not even notice that 5 weeks had gone very fast. Not only the scheme equipped me with the understanding of the legal environ-ment, it also provided me the first hand practical skills of a professional career I wouldn’t get from anywhere else. Opportunities like these are very rare; ELBA serves an amazing platform of which we need to take advantage of. Never mind the sweaty palms or getting wobbly hands, just be yourself and always have a positive spirit. As someone who had been there, I advise you to apply and start widening your career horizons.

ELBA will be running four different clubs this autumn (October-December) so to find out more about applying, please contact [email protected]

“I struggled with the job hunting phase because of my lack of experi-ence both in practical skills and in

the industry.” says project manager of ELBA Rohima Begum.

to find out more about applying, please contact [email protected]


Careers Section

Street LawMohammed Akbar

Street Law, an innovative clinical law programme, informs communities about the laws that affect their daily lives. It was originally started by a pro-fessor and four law students at Georgetown Law Centre in 1972. Sessions have been a regular occurrence at London Metropolitan University for a number of years. Director of the Pro Bono Unit, Heerah Rajah runs the sessions to allow law students the chance to interact with the local community by participating in public debates on topical law related issues.

In March 2010, sixth-form students from an inner-city London school came to our law department to debate whether ‘stop and search is the most effective measure in reducing knife related youth crime’. Law students from the LLB and CPE courses gave interactive presentations on the topics, some drawing on personal experiences, such gang violence and peer pressure, and also cross border perspectives provided by international law students from the USA and South Africa. Also, contributing to the de-bate was the City of London Police, provid-ing a valuable insight into the controversial Terrorism Act 2000 s. 44 powers, to arbi-trarily stop and search (which has recently been ruled unlawful by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg).

Although demanding, Street Law is a rewarding scheme which offers a range of benefits to all the participants. Researching a topic independently and presenting the findings are key skills required in industry, especially in the city firms where new busi-ness is expected to be won. Critical analysis and the ability to think on your feet are es-sential when participating in a public forum.

The scheme earned positive comments from participants:

‘It was great to hear the unrestricted opinions of the sixth formers and to give them something to think about in return.’ Joanne

‘There’s no better reminder of the relevance of law in society than participating in the Street Law programme. And there’s no better test of your knowledge and beliefs than being questioned by a group of lively sixth-formers. I would recommend Street Law to anyone – it’s an education for pupils, but also for the participating law students.’ Helen ‘The Street Law experience has further underlined for me the social responsibility which comes with a career in law.’ Grace

‘To be able to take part in the Street Law sessions was amazing and should be a regular occurrence in the university. To be able to get together and look into the legal elements of everyday ethical issues and then to present them to younger individuals and receive their input was highly rewarding. A must for any individual doing a law degree. Not only does it enhance your research skills but it provides an opportunity to exercise ones pres-entation, debating and listening skills.’ James

‘This was the first type of discussion group I had participated in and to be fair I was a bit reserved as to how much it would help me in the long term, how wrong could I have been! It helped me develop a much greater understanding of the subject area, whilst also allowing me to learn the skills needed in a discussion group. Sean

Even now, a month after the session was held, I still find myself running over the argu-ments and opinions expressed by the students, so without doubt the benefit Street Law Project provides is most certainly a two-way street. Tim

So be a part of something worthwhile and signup for the next Street Law session.


Careers SectionSolicitor/Barrister Time Line

First Year

1. Join your university law soci-ety. This would enable you to obtain valuable resources you need for your study. Our very own Mansfield Law society conducts various seminars and events throughout the year so watch out for notices!

2. Join mooting or debating club, participate with Pro Bono activi-ties. It is becoming more important for law students to equip themselves legal experiences in their first years.

3. You can also look for other non-legal experiences either during term time or during the summer. Prospective employers especially law firms and chambers would want to see that you have done something differ-ent and that you can make the most of the transferrable skills you have learned.

4. Sit back and relax but do take your first year study seriously. Remember, when you start applying for Vacation schemes and mini-pupil-lages in your second year, what you will need to show are your first year results so it is very important to start your degree quite well.

5. For aspiring Barristers, start your research about work place-ment known as mini-pupillages. Most chambers do not take future barristers without any experiences on their first year. REMEMBER: The early bird always gets the worm!

6. Develop your networking skills by talking to higher years! The shy type will always be the one to hear news last so get out of your shells and make the most of your university life!

Second Year

1. You should start researching the type of firms and chambers you are planning to for training contracts and mini-pupillages.

2. Attend university law fairs and pupillage fairs and sign up or apply to law firm open days. You can always visit their website to gather information regarding these.

3. Start building up your CV! If you ever need help, do not hesitate to pop in to the Students Careers Advice Centre, they are there to help you, so make use of them!

4. Research and apply for vacation schemes and mini-pupillages.

5. Research the firms and start applying for training contracts. (Two years in advance) REMEMBER: Applica-tions for Training Contracts opens in November each year and closes in July. Do not leave it at the last month. You have 8 months so you have no excuse!

6. Start and plan your Bar Vocational Training Course (BVTC)

7. If you haven’t noticed, you only need to remember the basic rule for applying. It is the 3Rs: RESEARCH! RESEARCH! RESEARCH! One application to a law firm would normally take you 2-3 days at least. So plan everything.

Final year

1. Pull out all the stops for your exams. You will likely need an impressive academic record in order to shine through the applica-tion stage.

2. Attend pupillage fairs. The National Pupillage Fair is normally held in March.

3. Apply for a place on the LPC.

4. Apply for a place on the BVTC. Make pupillage applications. Apply to non-Olpas (online pupillage application system) sets individually. Apply to inns of court.

5. Start thinking about how to fund your LPC/BVTC study. If you managed to secure a training contract, most firms will pay for it. If not, there are always alternative sources. The same goes with BVTC.

6. Enrol as a student member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority; you need this to be able to start your LPC!

7. Attend Pupillage Interviews

8. Attend the “12 dinners” qualifying sessions.

Training Contract

2 years of hard work and then you QUALIFY! Congratulations! You are now a QUALIFIED SOLICITOR!

PupillageFirst six

1. Your first six months, impress your pupil master/mistress by working hard. You know the drill!

Second Six

1. You are likely on your own. Attend court hearings, represent your own clients. It’s all in your hands.

2. Apply for tenancy and get it!

Photo Courtesy of Corbis Imageswww.corbisimages.com

Kristoffer James M. Canlas


What’s On?

Thursday 14 October 2010The Fiction of the Constructive TrustUCL Londonhttp://ucl-clp-swadling.eventbrite.com/

Thursday 14 October 2010 2nd Annual Player Issues conferencePlayer Issues: Contracts & RegulationsHammonds LLP, Londonhttp://www.e-comlaw.com/playercontracts/

Tuesday 19 October 2010 The Rule of Law by Lord Bingham of CornhillLondon School of Economics, Londonhttp://www2.lse.ac.uk/publicEvents/events/2010/20101019t1830vSZT.aspx

Tuesday 19 October 2010 Careers Group London Autumn Graduate FairBusiness Design Centre, Islingtonhttp://www.londongradfair.co.uk/autumn/Lincoln’s Inn, Londonhttp://target-events.co.uk/upcoming-event/target-jobs-national-pupillage-fair

Monday 25 October 2010UCL Centre for Law and Governance in EuropeThe EU After Lisbon Debatehttp://www-server.bcc.ac.uk/laws/events/index.shtml?all

Thursday 28 October 2010 Prospects Autumn Graduate Recruitment FairExCel, Londonhttp://www.autumngradfair.co.uk/

Tuesday 10 November 2010 A legal analysis of the external relations of the EU after the Lisbon TreatyUniversity of Cambridgehttp://www.law.cam.ac.uk/press/events/2010/11/a-legal-analysis-of-the-external-relations-of-the-eu-after-the-lis-bon-treaty/1296

Saturday 5 March 2011TARGETjobs National Pupillage Fair

What’s on Page

Pro Bono UnitPro Bono work is free legal advice and assistance given to those who cannot afford to pay for it. The work is worthwhile and satisfying, and develops many of the skills vital to a successful law-yer. It also looks excellent on your CV. To get involved, either contact the organisations directly; contact one of the London Met students already involved; or see the Pro Bono Director, Heera Rajah, in room 2.24, 16 Goulston Street, London E1.

AMICUS: Assisting lawyers for justice on Death Rowwww.amicus-alj.org

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: Campaigns worldwide for Hu-man Rights020 7413 5510 APEX TRUST: Telephone legal advice to ex-offenders and their employerswww.apextrust.org.uk: 020 7920 0317

BID/ BAIL FOR IMMIGRATION DETAINEES: Works with asylum seekers and migrants to secure release from detentionCelia Clarke <[email protected]> CITIZENS’ ADVICE BUREAUX: Free advice on law, housing, employment, immigration etc.www.citizensadvice.org.uk: 08451 264 264

FREE REPRESENTATION UNIT: Free advocacy for Social Security and Employment Tribunalswww.freerepresentationunit.org.uk LAW CENTRES: Free legal advice and expertisewww.lawcentres.org.uk

RELEASE: Legal advice concerning drugs and human [email protected]: 020 7749 4034 WITNESS SERVICE: Help and support at magistrates’ courts for witnesses giving evidence020 7735 9166

YOUTH JUSTICE SYSTEM: Working within the Youth Justice Systemwww.yjb.gov.uk/en-gb/yjs (click YOT)

The first national conference of its kind, aimed at creating a forum for African, Caribbean, Asian and ethnic minority law students to network with each other, share experiences and highlight the challenges as well as the opportunities that exist for those seeking to pursue a career in law.

Saturday 6th November 2010 9am-6pm

Birkbeck College

University of London

CONFERENCE TOPICS

• The future of the legal profession • Life & debt: the political economy of legal education and training • Expanding your horizons: the global market for legal services • Qualifications are not enough: gaining legal experience & enhancing your employability • A national law student network: the value of building alliances and self-organisation • Human rights & social justice: why the law matters • A career in corporate and commercial law?

CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS

• What kind of lawyer do I want to be? • CV Surgery: review your resumé • The art of advocacy • Against all odds: Improve your chances of securing a pupillage • Signing on the dotted line: Securing a training contract

ADMISSION & REGISTRATION DETAILS

This conference is FREE to attend. Register online: www.legalfutures.eventsbot.com For further information, email: [email protected] or [email protected]

JOINTLY ORGANISED BY

Law Staff Section

What is a Lawyer, What is a Law Student?A straight-forward but witty and stirring confession of a barrister/lecturer

Ladies and gentlemen, this article is the result of the classic error you are always warned about. Do not volunteer. “I said, of course I can write.” I am a barrister I can write to the size of the cheque you will be sending me, although of course today the writing is here but the cheque won’t be. So what did I volunteer to say?

I had this great idea that I would tell peo-ple what a barrister is and what a solicitor is and other qualifications such as ILEX. Many will have heard me point out that barristers are the hard working, usually less well paid branch of the legal world although we do get to wear a wig and gown for work. Not bad. But we get work only when it is sent to us by solicitors and then usually because there is a problem and it arrives the day before court needing to be read, prepared, and written before court the next day. No sleep that night. And we are self-employed so tax, national insurance etc. is down to us. There are the continuous training costs which can easily be a good £600 + a year and insurance and membership of groups which together with paying £300+ per month for a desk in chambers somewhere. In total, it goes into four figures.

But it is not just us. Solicitors get called out at night to do police station visits or travel miles to prisons or immigration deten-tion centres. According to some solicitors, they are normally the first point of call and get the first anger, grief, panic or violent out-burst of the clients. They also do conveyanc-ing, which is worse, than Administrative law and Property law added together. The idea is team work. You go to a solicitor who can then pick the best (cheapest?!!) barrister for you. It is not quite that bad. You can get a barrister who will charged hundreds of pounds an hour just to look at you or you might get someone who will do a fee you can afford because you need help and they want to help. That may explain why I lecture as well as practice. I am one of the gullible ones who will sometimes go into court for a cappuccino and croissant.

That was a very brief comment on the legal world and it is a comment many people will make. But studying law is more than being a lawyer. You can also go into the academic world. You could become a lecturer. You could also be a Personal Academic Adviser. I bring that possibility in because many of you will know that I spend a lot of my time in the Undergradu-ate Office in Calcutta House trying to help and advise students and get them through their studies. I have been looking at the class of degree third year students will get after their studies and there are lot of very, very good students with very good degrees. But, the degree comes after three years of hard work. Hard and sometimes boring and depressing studies and I see a number of students who are not going to achieve their goal and some who don‘t even know what their goal is. This time of the year when subject marks for first take and the retake/resists are out and finalised, sees students being told they cannot get a QLD, which is, qualifying law degree. Some will and can move on to BA law but again that is not suf-ficient if they want to practice. Some have been told that they cannot continue with their studies at this University. They have been kicked off the course for a number of reasons.

Non- attendance, bad marks, not engaging with the university are the com-mon reasons why students fail. That last point means that the students have not only failed subjects but have not been to see anyone. The student might have had issues, problems which impacted on their time and ability to study but that haven’t told anyone and if you do not tell us you need help, we can’t help you. I have to make a full and frank confession here. I was really surprised at the number of students who have been to see me who do not know what a QLD is, or if they do know, they are not aware of its significance. This is what lead me to think-ing, what is a law student and what do you need to do to survive. You can look up on the internet or in a dictionary what a barris-ter or solicitor is but not what a student is. A quick definition might contain the words such as: eager, enthusiastic, crazed, drunk, asleep, lazy, hardworking, shifty, dedicated, hardworking, scared, nervous, pompous, broke, skint, tired, overworked, keen to suc-ceed, dedicated, determined.

This list did not come from Roget’s Thesaurus but from what I remember from life as a student and from things students at London Metropolitan University have said to me. The overwhelming image I have is of people who are working and trying really hard at a time in their life when they are pushed to the limit of what they can do.

Students have a tough life because they are working three years full time. They may be part time; they may have a family to look after. They still have to pay for the privilege so that in the future they might be able to earn enough money to pay enough in tax. But students can do it. They need to arm themselves. Be aware of their options. Be aware of what we can do to help. Prepare, plan and communicate with us. We have a great bunch of people in the Undergraduate Office, and sometimes you can even find a PAA who is not drinking cappuccino and playing solitaire on her computer. Whoops that’s me. We have people to help with ca-reers and a range of lecturers with an amaz-ing range of knowledge and experience so use it. Use all the help we can give and go out there at give the Hell. Whoops again. What I mean is keep working and, be aware of what you need to succeed as a student to go onto get the career you want for yourself and your family.

Keep working and, be aware of what you need to succeed as a student to go onto get the career you want for your-self and your family.

Students can do it. They need to arm themselves. Be aware of their options.

Lesley Neenan (Senior Lecturer/Personal Academic Adviser/ Barrister

Prepare, plan and communicate with us.


Law Staff Section

Behind the Smile – Edwin ShortsGordon Nixon

Edwin Shorts is a senior law lecturer at London Metropolitan University, teaching the LLM, the CPE and the undergraduate law programme, specialising in civil liberties and human rights.

Edwin was born in Ireland to a Polish mother and an English father. Educated at Trinity College Dublin where he read Philosophy, Economics and History. Talking about student life and his time at university, he said the main thing he misses and en-joyed the most was the sense of a ‘student lifestyle’. Something which many universi-ties of today lack due to our busy lifestyles, to the detriment of all of us.

Edwin was very active within university life and made the most of it. When he wasn’t debating, writing articles for the Trinity News (equivalent of ‘Dictum’) partying, or studying, being a member of Trinity Theatre Players, he was also chairman of the bridge club and was All-Ireland Universities boxing champion in 1971 (in the UK University Championships 1972 he was knocked out in the second round!) Personally, I’d quite like to see boxing at London Met!

Sitting back in his chair as he started to relax, he explained that his inspiration for law came mainly from his love of puzzles, paradoxes, games and such like and the fact that there is logic and reasoning to them with a need to be able to understand and decipher both sides in order to successfully complete them. Having passed his Bar Finals at the Inns of Court School of Law, Edwin moved to Paris where he was offered a teaching job at the Ecole Profes-sionnelle des Barreaux de Paris. Here, he taught lawyers and judges English and American Contract law.

For the following 7 years, he returned to Paris for 2 months each year to continue this very enjoyable work. The picture he paints of life in Paris is very different to what we know here. The students sat in classrooms for 6 hours a day every weekday for a month, whilst holding down their cur-rent jobs.

But that’s the past, what about the present? Edwin specialises in Human and Civil rights and has written 4 books on the subject with 2 more in the pipeline. He has even written an ‘Express book’ – those small revision books that all the lecturers hate. So why those specialities and why stay in teaching? Both Civil Liberties and Human Rights were both very new areas of law 20 years ago. This enabled him to do vast amounts of research into the area fo-cusing on domestic as well as international human rights. As for the teaching, he said that he enjoys seeing students reaching their full potential, and he especially takes interest in assisting students to achieve their goals. After teaching at various uni-versities around London, he explained that he finally settled on Guildhall (London Met before the merger) due to the reputation of the law department and its students. Even then, it was one of the most diverse universities in London which is something he admires.

So, enough with the serious stuff, every person involved in law has humorous or bizarre stories to tell, so what are Edwin’s? Bizarre cases, he said “would have to be those involving extradition which at first seems slightly odd to [me].” He went on to explain that it is because there is no con-sistency. You can have 2 people with very similar circumstances but with completely different outcomes. It entirely depends on the judge and his mood. The funniest he said with remarkable clarity, was when he was completing his pupillage. His pupil master was cross examining a claimant in an insurance case who was claiming £120,000 for severe whiplash. So severe in fact that she couldn’t move her neck. The lawyer spent the next 15 minutes asking completely irrelevant questions about what she liked, clothes, travel etc.

Bizarre cases, he said “would have to be those

involving extradition which at first seems slightly odd to

[me].”

When she started to relax, the whiplash miraculously disappeared and she moved her neck freely. The judge (and everyone else in court) noticed this and said that it was time for lunch and that he expected a settlement when the parties returned afterwards. Unsurprisingly she ended up settling for only £15,000. So, tips for students! Let’s face it, we need all the help we can get don’t we? So what does Edwin think is the most important thing students can learn from taking a law degree? The 3 R’s-reading researching and reasoning, he announced with remarkable gusto. Students may manage the two, but appear to forget about ‘reasoning’ i.e., the ability to construct arguments, to learn how to express, articulate and structure debates. What about the key to an essay? ‘Structure, structure, structure!’ again, without any hesitation. Some people will pick the basics of this up quickly, for others it will take years, but for all students, it is a continuing process that develops as our reasoning de-velops. So don’t expect to be proficient in it straight away. Finally, what is the most com-mon thing that students take for granted? Another apparently easy one to answer as he answers time management, or rather lack of it! Most students don’t think they need to work anyway near as hard as they do, especially for seminars. They need to do around 5 hours preparation for each seminar. This is researching, reading and preparing answers because in the end it will save us time and effort when preparing for exams and coursework.Most students and lecturers have a lawyer who they follow with particular interest, so who is Edwin’s? Pausing for thought, he mentioned a man called Professor Conor Gearty, a Human Rights lawyer and Director for the Study of Human Rights at LSE. Edwin continued that it is to do with the way he constructs arguments and the way he writes his books which are very easy to read. This, I’d like to mention, is not something that is easy to find in a legal text.

So, last question, at which point he exhaled a sigh of relief. If he could do it all again, would he and what would he change? He would do it all again, with the exception of correcting the work/life balance. He freely admitted that he spent too much time socialising and not enough time studying. This I find surprising considering how bril-liant he is and where he is. It only proves how hard he worked after to get where he is now and also that lecturers once had lives as well.

Edwin is a lecturer who is never too busy to see students and help/chat to them. If you have him as a lecturer, count yourself lucky!

Time is hair’s worst enemy!



Book Reviews

Law and DisOrdeR: Confessions of a Pupil BarristerBy: Tim Kevan

Reviewed by: Kristoffer James M. Canlas

“T he curse of lawyers is that they’re trained to foresee problems in everything and so nothing can ever be simple.” This among others explains why BabyBarista, a pupil who comes across as smart, timid and suave, will do everything just to get that life-changing tenancy. Armed with Sun Tzu’s “Art of War”, he embarks on a battle against other pupils who are just as blood thirsty as he is.

BabyB who realised that litigation is like war, vows to get the only tenancy in order to save her mother from being put behind bars and himself from being bankrupt. However, it seems that the only way he can have it is to get rid of the other pupils who have no doubt have their own ways of securing the tenancy. The book is written in a diary-like man-ner complete with dates so the flow of the plot is never confusing. Characters are presented inimitably that most, if not all of them are easy to remember. Tim Kevan’s words are as light as feather which can easily tickle every student lawyer and even those who are not. The plot is packed with pure British humour that even the use of Catherine Tate’s famous “bovvered” is as funny as hearing it the first time.

Although in a true legal sense, perhaps some of the elements of the plot are too farfetched to be true, in which the main protagonist uses every underhand tactics to outclass his fellow pupils, you won’t help but admire his tenacity rather than loathe him. That is what makes this book success-ful. The characters especially BabyB swiftly moves in an ocean of candour which will make the readers feel they are “part” of the story rather than merely reading it. The con-cept is well-defined and the bits and bobs that make up the story are well- thought out. Like any other novels that are written like diaries, this one is not so predictable. It will make you guess until the last pages whether BabyB will get that much-coveted tenancy or be screwed for the rest of his life.

Read this if you want to know why chocolate biscuits are always treated as great delicacy during tea time, why sneez-ing is your worst nightmare during a court hearing and why you need to master the art of coffee-making.

Tim Kevan successfully painted a perfect canvas of a pupil’s life inside a chamber. Just like lawyers’ unrelenting search for truth, which itself is a noble endeavour, this book is the perfect companion to your thick law books for you to get inspiration from. If it is a crime to make people laugh, Tim Kevan would have been guilty on all counts. Superbly entertaining, a laugh out loud (just don’t do it while on the tube if you don’t want to catch everyone’s attention like I did) and legally genius!

Catch BabyBarista at http://www.babybarista.com/

Tim Kevan at http://www.timkevan.com/

“It’s love that makes us real, BabyB. Carries us through the difficult times. Without it, we

are nothing but shadows. Empty vessels trudging

through life”.

Photo Courtesy of Slawwww.slaw.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/BabyB_col-

Blog Page

The Human Cost of a Degree TF

I ’m the one that sits in the back of lectures, quietly watching the world go by, silently making notes, watch ing you all. Silently judging and always, always watching! Who am I? I am a writer for Dictum. Only at the end of the year will I reveal myself. My anonymity allows me to write more that I could get away with if my identity were revealed. Until then, keep guessing and remember I will be watching… ALWAYS!

Okay so I’m coming home from work the other night and manage to get the last central line home. It’s 10pm and it was the last tube! Why you ask? Because of the bloody tube strike! It was the start of their first 24 hour strike and they were starting to disrupt the network. I tend to support strike action, but only when it is being used as a last resort. The RMT and the TSSA how-ever seem intent on using it as a first resort action, sort of saying ‘well we don’t like these decisions so we are going to strike! Screw the lot of you’. Somehow I doubt I’m the only Londoner who feels that way.They are striking over money and non-com-pulsory job cuts! At a time when thousands in London are out of work and looking for jobs, at a time when we are still coming out of a recession, the greedy, money hungry RMT and TSSA are demanding more money and opposing cuts. Every area of the economy is having to make savings and cut backs, transport is no exception! THEY SHOULD ACCEPT THIS AND STOP THINK-ING THAT THEY KNOW BETTER BECAUSE THEY DONT!

Okay so why am I ranting on about this in my first blog? Well firstly, for those of you who have just moved to London; get used to the tube either going down or going on strike! It is rare that the network runs smoothly. Secondly, because I want to talk about money – those pieces of paper that actually do make the world go round. Wel-come to the world of student debt. By com-ing to uni, we have all decided to challenge and push ourselves, however to do this, we have to accept the huge amount of student debt that comes with it.

To survive in London now while at univer-sity, the vast majority of us will need jobs. I managed to survive in first year without one, most of us did. The rent is cheap, there are no bills or council tax and most of us have savings. That all changed though in second year. I moved out and now have to pay rent and all the bills that come with moving away from home. I had to get a job and then try and balance work with university AND still try and have a social life. It is not an easy balance. We spend around 12 hours in lectures a week, add on to that around another 25 hours for private study, 6 hours a day for sleep (if you are lucky) 1 hour a day for travelling and we get 103 hours! This leaves us around 65 hours a week to see friends, sleep in, and do chores, exercise and the all important work! Unfortunately in London at university, you have to work to live. Unless you are rich or have massive savings! So a big portion of those 65 hours will be taken up with work.

I’m lucky in the fact that I work for an agency where the hours fit around what I can manage that week. Not everyone is that lucky though. Many of us will have to work very unsociable hours and survive on little sleep some nights. But that is the price we pay today for a degree.For the first years that are reading this, thinking your loan will see you through; trust me, it won’t. You will need to have a very tight budget to make it last in London. Often it won’t and you will need to get a job or call on the bank of mum and dad. It’s something many of us have had to do. The cost of food (and alcohol) adds up!

To survive in London

now while at university,

the vast majority of

us will need jobs.

Many of us will have to work very unsociable

hours and survive on little sleep some nights. But that is the price we pay

today for a degree. Photo Courtesy of Flickr: rivenexuswww.flickr.com/photos/rivenexus


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Copyright © 2010. No part of this publication may be reproduced or altered by any means including photocopying without prior consent of Dictum. This is subject to the exception of photocopying by careers adviser or lecturer. All items so used should be fully acknowledged.

The views expressed in articles are those of the authors and their publication does not necessarily imply that such views are shared by the Faculty of Law or by London Metropolitan University. Whilst every care has been taken in the compilation of this pub-lication, the publishers cannot accept responsibility for any inaccuracies, or for consequential loss arising from such inaccuracies, or for any other loss, direct or consequential, arising in connection with information in this publication.

For comments or suggestions, please email [email protected]

To join Dictum on Facebook visit http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=153976581283562

Dictum Team would like to thank Dean Professor Robert Mckeever, Judy Hopkinson, Heerah Rajah, our advisers Lesley Neenan, Edwin Shorts, and Nigel Toft and the career services for their unwavering support to make Dictum Magazine possible.

From L-R: Chloe Firman, Kamila Jafri, Steven Robinson, Kristoffer James M. Canlas, Gordon Nixon, Mohammed Akbar, (Not in the picture) Gabriele Ruberto, David Burton

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