Student profiles

Name: Philip Barratt

Course: LLB (Hons) and Diploma in Professional Practice (sandwich course)

Placement: Pinsent Masons

How did you hear about your course?
I was looking for Law degrees that had a similar scheme to the Business degrees, which have a year out in industry. After deciding how far from home I was prepared to move to go to university, I looked for universities that fitted the bill and after a discussion with my college careers advisor I was pointed in the direction of Nottingham Trent University.

When you first heard about the course, what was it that particularly appealed to you?
I was very aware of the competition in the legal profession and I felt a placement year would help in setting me apart from my peers. The structure, organisation and apparent success of the placement year was the appeal. The other universities I had visited that claimed students could do a placement year had no evidence of the firms they dealt with, a system of assessment or success stories like Nottingham Trent University.

What would you describe as the strengths of your course?
The placement year; brilliant, friendly staff; excellent facilities; and strong content in all the modules available.

What practical equipment do you have available to you?
The Boots library is an incredible source of legal text books, law reports and legal journals. Furthermore, both the library and other buildings have a high number of computers for students to access online resources such as LexisNexis and Butterworths.

What has been your greatest achievement as a Nottingham Trent University student?
Gaining a placement in London at a top 15 commercial law firm.

What are your career plans?
My career plans are to be a solicitor at a large commercial law firm, something I knew before joining University. My degree has shaped these plans because following my placement year I had some training contract interviews which resulted in receiving two offers from large commercial firms.

Does your course automatically include a work placement or is it optional?
You have the option to apply for the law degree with or without the placement year, however this doesn’t mean the course with a placement year automatically includes a work placement. You have to apply to firms and go through the interview process like a normal candidate for that job.

Who organised your work placement?
My placement was organised with support from the University. The firms I applied to have taken students in the past, therefore the University contacted these firms to inform them of my interest. This included a CV with my first year degree grades. Of the three firms from the University’s list I was interested in, I had interviews with two. I also did a number of independent applications to other firms I was interested in.

What kind of work did your placement involve?
A lot of the work involved preparation of bundles for disputes. This would involve managing and identifying key documents in relation to our clients claim as well as manually putting together the bundles. This work provided opportunities for contact with clients and counsel. Other work was more administrative, such as drafting letters to clients, delivering documents and instructions to counsel and travelling to clients to get important documents executed. Furthermore, I did have various opportunities to go to court hearings, many of which I was expected to make notes which would be word processed and sent to clients.

What support did you receive from your placement organisation?
The team I worked in were very supportive and made it clear that if I had any problems, I was to raise them immediately.

What support did you receive from NTU?
I had two visits from a member of staff at NTU, who would visit to check how I was, what work I was doing and how I was progressing with the assessment work.

What did you enjoy most about your placement?
I enjoyed learning about how a large commercial law firm works and the role of a commercial lawyer. One of the projects I was involved with was one of the most publicised construction projects in the country due to its delay, therefore it was very satisfying to be involved with such a matter. Furthermore, some of the perks that came along with working for this client were very enjoyable.

What was your salary on the placement?
£17,000 per annum, plus overtime paid at £14 - £20 per hour.

In what ways did your placement boost your career prospects?
My CV is enhanced because my peers may have only done two weeks on a vacation placement, whereas I’ve worked for nine months in a large firm. I found I had success with my training contract applications and in interviews, I found I had a lot more to talk about because I had experienced many things they were asking me, such as what do clients expect or what is a solicitor’s role.