On 3 November 2015 the Faculty of Law hosted its annual reception for Distinguished Professional Mentors. With the first intake of LLB students in 2006, the Faculty introduced the Distinguished Professional Mentor Programme in which each student is paired with a barrister, solicitor or member of the Judiciary who acts as mentor throughout the student’s undergraduate career.
Currently there are around one hundred and twenty mentors. Many of them have participated in the Programme for long enough to see some of their mentees graduate from the PCLL and enter legal practice. A few have participated continuously since 2006.
At the reception first year LLB students admitted in 2015 were introduced to their mentors for the first time. After this initial introduction, the onus is on each student to contact his or her mentor to arrange meetings at times convenient to the mentor. Many students report that their mentors have given them valuable insight into the work of legal practitioners and provided a bridge between their academic studies and careers in the legal profession.
The Faculty is grateful to all mentors participating in the Programme. Without them, the Programme simply would not exist.