Professional Development Workshop Organised by The University of Law, UK and UPES School of Law

In a University, it is imperative to exchange ideas, teaching pedagogy, and give students an overall exposure to make them professionally ready for the international market. University of Petroleum and Energy Studies [School of Law] in collaboration with University of Law, UK, with the aim to enrich students with a global approach to law, organized a two-week long workshop on the development of ‘Academic and Professional Skills’ of the students.

Two experts from ULaw, UK, Ms. Rachael Wright and Ms. Emma Taylor, organized the sessions. The workshop was organized with the support and guidance of Prof. [Dr.] Vijay Kumar Singh, [Dean, School of Law]Prof. [Dr.] Geetha Heggde [Dean, School of Business] and was coordinated by Ms. Charu Srivastava [Faculty Coordinator of the APS workshop and School Coordinator for International Affairs Department]. In total, 80 School of Law students attended and actively participated in the workshop.

Experts from University of Law

Ms. Racheal Wright is a senior lecturer at the University of Law, UK. With 12 years practicing as a solicitor, she specializes in commercial litigation, representing banks, companies and individuals in English courts.

Ms. Emma Taylor is a senior tutor and Program Lead at the University of Law, UK with 10 years’ experience as a practicing solicitor and holds a specialisation in commercial litigation. Working in Bristol as a Senior Assistant solicitor, she manages to take out time for art and exhibits them at local art trails.

Academic and Professional Skills Workshop

The first week of the workshop was conducted by Ms. Rachel and the second week by Ms. Emma Taylor. The workshop was beneficial, enriching in spirit not only for the students but also for the faculty members who were involved in the process.

The two week-long event aimed to hone the academic and professional skills of the law students to equip them with the skill sets needed to pursue and make a mark in the law career. The exercises included ‘Large Group Activities’ as well as ‘workshops’ offering an overall exposure in the skills needed for a legal practitioner, a corporate attorney, an in-house counsel among others. Client counselling, client interactions, note making, legal writing, effective communication, effective presentation, conducting effective conferences with the clients and use of technology within law are a few skills which were developed and polished through these exercises. These skills are important for ‘Academic and Professional Skills’.  The importance of the IRAC (Issues, Rule, Application and Conclusion) model during a client meeting was also explained to students.

Ms. Rachael Wright in one of the sessions gave a brief introduction of communication skills, both written and oral, which a good lawyer must possess. The session was very helpful for law students in learning the techniques, acquiring professional communication and listening skills which are essential for a lawyer. It was indeed a very informative session. She also conducted a seminar on “Knowledge Management and Technology use by lawyers” for the 2nd year School of Law students. The seminar focused on how technology as a tool can be used by lawyers in managing the client-lawyer relationship and how it helps the lawyers to collect evidence against the accused. 

Ms. Emma explained what legal writing is and how it is done. She taught the students the art of doing impressive and meaningful legal writing. Emma enumerated the activities leading to the wrongful act of plagiarism and how to tackle it. She further briefed students about the various forms of citations, the importance of punctuations and the concept of jargons. 

UPES is the only University in India to have an alliance with the University of Law, UK for exchange programs, workshops and post graduate courses. This tie-up proves to be a great initiative for both students, and the faculty.