Isobel
Weston

I chose to study at NTU because it offered the opportunity to gain practical skills alongside your degree. I wanted to study at NTU because of NLS Legal, a teaching law firm which offers practical experience from a range of qualified solicitors. NTU also offers lots of academic support and the staff are always on hand and friendly.

Before joining NTU, I visited an open day in November/December time. I found NTU to be more organised than other open days and it had a friendlier atmosphere. The students were doing most of the talking, this gave me a true insight into the university and inspired me to be like them as I was very shy and reserved.

I started on the LLB Law full-time course and switched to the sandwich course in my first year. I found that studying the sandwich course was practical and offered more legal work experience.  The sandwich course is not offered at many universities and NTU also offers the Bar Professional Training Course which is what I would like to do after graduating.

Working in NLS Legal has taught me more about practical legal work. Practical legal work and academics are totally separate, so working in NLS Legal brings it all together.

The university offers lots of ICT facilities throughout the campus so there is always somewhere to study. I live at home and so I do not use many of the services NTU offers but they are always there as a back up.

The library staff are very supportive with my studies. We are not always given support by academic staff around referencing etc. however, the library staff offer one-to-one support.

As an undergraduate, I use NOW for resources that the teacher provides. There are learning rooms where you can access seminar work and lecture briefings. NOW is also useful for support as there is a wide range of resources, books and academic commentary that can be used in coursework.

I am going on my placement at the end of July at Bhatia Best in Nottingham.  I have worked in NLS Legal in my first and second year. I found the first year in the Centre tough as I was working on cases which I hadn’t necessarily learnt the area of law yet. The solicitors encourage you to do research and explain the relevant law to you. You are not working alone, you work as part of a trio, usually including a 2^nd or 3^rd year, so they will help.

On my first case, one of the members of staff sat with me for an hour to explain Land Law and rent charges as I did not understand from my research. In my second year, it was easier to work in NLS Legal as I knew the process of interviewing, researching and giving advice. I worked with a different team and developed new friendships as well as working on a wider variety of cases.

Before coming to University, I was very shy and reserved. I did not know anyone in the University and had no family experience of University. Also, living at home was difficult in the first couple of weeks as I found it hard to make friends, those who lived in accommodation on campus, already knew each other.  Once I started classes, things got a lot easier and I started to become more confident.

I have pushed myself to do extracurricular activities. I have worked in NLS Legal, I am a Student Ambassador and a Student Mentor, and my confidence and public speaking skills have grown. University has also taught me a lot of life skills, for example, how to keep on top of travel and finances.

Since starting University, I have wanted to become a criminal barrister as criminal law is the law that excites me. However, I am also open to other areas of law! I could not see myself becoming a solicitor as I do not like office work.

I would encourage everyone to study Law at NTU as they are supportive and offer experience that no other university offers. NTU fits everyone, including those shyer people, like myself and those more open and outgoing.

I find that students considering coming to NTU to study law always ask if the course is hard. I would say, you get out of your degree what you put into it. If you are not prepared to work hard and want an easy life, Law is not for you. You need to be committed and dedicated, as certain things will have to be given up in order to get the classification of the law degree that you want.