Kung Yu
Teoh

My undergraduate degree is in engineering, I then embarked on the GDL (Graduate Diploma in Law) with Nottingham Law School at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) before progression on to the LLM Bar professional Training Course (LLM BPTC).

Before starting at NTU, I did a lot of research online and Nottingham Law School appeared to be highly reputable for law studies outside of London.  The profile of the Legal Advice Centre intrigued me and I liked the idea of having the opportunity to handle actual legal cases.

The key feature that attracted me to the LLM BPTC were the legal clinics which offer a wide variety of legal services compared to other providers, some providers do not even provide pro bono services. I believed that these opportunities would provide me with early exposure into the legal world.

My best experience at NTU and one of the primary reasons I stayed here after my GDL was to get involved with the pro bono activities at the Legal Advice Centre. During my time here, I have completed multiple cases with the Legal Advice Centre and the Free Representation Unit (FRU). I have enjoyed every single case, instead of feeling overwhelmed by the volunteering work; I have felt more motivated to complete my revisions earlier so that I can take on pro bono cases.

The Legal Advice Centre supervisors were amazing; they gave me the necessary guidance and confidence. I represented a client in front of an employment tribunal, going against a very experienced solicitor made me nervous at the beginning but I had a satisfied client at the end of the trial.

There is a good student community in Nottingham, the people on my course are amazing and we support each other very well. In my spare time, I play badminton with some other Malaysian and international students, who I met in induction and welcoming week and we have become very close friends.

I am impressed with the mock courtrooms, which look very authentic. They have provided a realistic practice experience during my studies. We have used the courtrooms for our advocacy classes and mooting competitions.

The City campus is very convenient, the library is open 24/7 and when I need a break from studying, I can just walk around the city centre or head to the gym, which is just opposite the library.

There is a wide variety of student accommodation choices available for NTU students. I chose to live in private student accommodation, which is about a 15-minute walk away from the City Campus. This allows me to exercise every day and save some money.

During my time at NTU, I have joined mooting competitions. On my GDL I have managed to get into the semi-final and on my BPTC, I have finished third. These competitions have been a good learning experience where I have been able to moot in front of legal professionals.

I would advise anyone thinking about coming to NTU to try to make use of all the opportunities available, including mooting and volunteering in Legal Advice Centre. It will be an experience you will never forget.