Law firms forge partnership with Yorkshire university
LEGAL students are being given a head start in their careers following a partnership between the University of Huddersfield and five Yorkshire-based law firms.
The university has invited DLA Piper, Eversheds, Hammonds, Pinsent Masons and Walker Morris in Leeds to become its 'partners in law'.
The partnership will offer Huddersfield students mentoring opportunities, the chance to attend guest lectures, and give them the opportunity to visit the practices and see the lawyers in action.
Three of Huddersfield's leading law firms – Armitage Sykes, Eaton Smith and Chadwick Lawrence – have also been invited to join the partnership to expand the programme in the university's home town too.
The man pioneering the initiative on behalf of the university is Huddersfield businessman Michael Woodhead who is also member of the university's governing council.
Mr Woodhead said: “This initiative helps meet the need for excellent, well-prepared graduates to enter the legal profession. It will ensure that our students have an early introduction to the modern legal world, which now operates in a global context, and assist them in making the best possible start to their careers.
“For our partners, the scheme offers an important opportunity to contribute to the development of future legal professionals. As one of them said 'quite simply, as law firms, we have to put something back into universities, because that is where we all had to start'.”
Professor Bob Cryan, vice-chancellor of the University of Huddersfield, said: “This initiative demonstrates our continuing commitment to keep abreast of developments in the legal world and ensure that our students receive real-life input to their academic studies.”
