Over drinks and canapés, the open evening reception will provide an opportunity for business professionals and students to meet lecturers, current and past students and discuss the benefits of studying at one of the south’s best business schools.

The open evening is from 6.00 – 8.00pm in Richmond Building at the Portsmouth Business School.

Please register online at www.sharpenyourcompetitiveedge.com. Any questions, please contact Becky Miles on becky.miles@port.ac.uk or +44 (0)23 9284 4323

A Portsmouth School of Law student who always dreamed of becoming a barrister is now one step closer after winning a prestigious scholarship from the Middle Temple.

Matthew Champ has beaten over 400 applicants from universities across the UK, including Oxford and Cambridge, to win £7000 which will help him financially when studying for the Bar professional training course next year.

The Harmsworth Scholarship is provided by the Middle Temple, one of the four Inns of Court which have the exclusive right to call men and women to the Bar. Matthew is the first ever Portsmouth student to win.

Middle Temple has been awarding scholarships since 1877. Its primary purpose is to ensure that those of real ability are not precluded from coming to the Bar by a lack of financial resources. All scholarships are awarded on merit.

Matthew said: “Going to the Middle Temple was a fantastic experience – it’s like a Hogwarts for barristers! I felt inspired by the calibre of talent I was mingling with.”

The 21 year-old was interviewed by a panel consisting of a barrister QC and two senior criminal barristers.

He said: “The panel really grilled me but I managed to stay confident. One of the questions they asked was ‘if I put through any law reform what would it be?’ I talked about undertakings regulations, which is a notoriously complex area of law. The QC happened to be a practising commercial barrister so this was an area he was familiar with. We ended up having quite a thorough discussion.”

The four key criteria the panel look for in an applicant are intellectual ability, motivation to succeed at the Bar, potential as an advocate and personal qualities. The barristers were impressed by the amount of work experience Matthew had arranged while at university.

“I’ve managed to get a great deal of work experience and have sat with a Judge twice, which is very fortunate. I wrote to him and begged him for the experience and was amazed when he wrote back to say yes,” he said.

Matthew has also been heavily involved in the University’s employment law clinic, a free service offering employment advice to members of the public. The clinic advises on unfair dismissal, various forms of discrimination, redundancy, harassment, the national minimum wage, working time regulations and work permits for migrant workers.

“It has given me a great opportunity to gain some ‘real-life’ experience under the direction of tutors and practising solicitors.”

Matthew completed his LLB Law and Criminology undergraduate degree and his LLM Law masters at the University of Portsmouth School of Law. He now has a place at Bristol to study the Bar professional training course, the next step to becoming a barrister.

Head of the School of Law, Caroline Strevens, said: “Matthew has been an outstanding student and we’re very proud that he has won this scholarship. He has aspired to be a barrister from day one and his commitment to clinical work has been superb. We are delighted that his participation and enthusiasm has been recognised by the Middle Temple – this is fantastic for Matthew and for the School of Law.

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A free clinic offering employment advice to members of the public is being run by law students at the University of Portsmouth Business School.

The students interview clients before researching the law and procedure under the direction of tutors. They then send clients detailed written advice, which is supervised and signed by a practising solicitor. All work is done confidentially.

They advise on unfair dismissal, various forms of discrimination, redundancy, harassment, the national minimum wage, working time regulations and work permits for migrant workers.

The Employment Law Clinic aims to meet a need for free legal advice in the community, while also providing a ‘real-life’ experience for the law students.

Dr Michael Bennett from the School of Law said: “This is an excellent opportunity for students to maximise their learning, while also seeing significant benefits to the community. The students gain experience of how law works in practice and members of the public gain greater awareness of their legal rights and responsibilities.

“Free detailed legal advice on employment law is rare, but unfortunately problems at work and the loss of jobs are all too common. This new initiative helps people in need and strengthens our law students’ learning experience – it’s a win-win situation.

“Allowing students to interview clients and work on real situations develops their legal skills and exposes them to ethical dilemmas. I strongly believe that they benefit hugely from becoming involved in the local community and by trying to make a difference.”

Law students can also work on investigating miscarriages of justice through the Innocence Project, an extra-curricular pro bono clinic which works on real cases of prisoners who maintain they are innocent, as well as undertaking work with the Citizens Advice Bureau, the Trading Standards Service or the Portsmouth Mediation Service.

Head of the School of Law, Caroline Strevens said: “The employment law clinic is a great way for students to gain practical experience under supervision. It’s vital in today’s competitive job market for law students to gain realistic overall experience before they graduate. We also aim to develop a consumer advice clinic next year too.”

Anyone looking for employment law advice can contact the clinic by telephoning 023 9284 4080 or emailing penny.jones@port.ac.uk.

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Students from the University’s new School of Law will use it to practice court hearings and stage full blown mock trials. It will also be available to schools and colleges and for training professionals involved in the criminal and civil justice systems, such as solicitors, local magistrates and expert witnesses.

Caroline Strevens, Head of the School of Law, said: “The mock courtroom will be as close as possible to a real court of law. ‘Clients’ can give video testimony via audio visual facilities while court proceedings can be filmed and simultaneously fed into nearby teaching rooms or recorded for future use and analysis. The jury retiring room is also fitted with video equipment so that the jury deliberations can be recorded and analysed for educational purposes. There are even two separate entrances so that the jury can remain separate from those involved in any criminal trial.
It represents an all round excellent teaching and learning facility.”

The courtroom will also be used by students studying forensics, who will be able to take a scenario from an incident room in the Forensics House through the laboratories and forensic analysis right through to the court room and the testing of the evidence in trial. This facility could be used to train police officers, social workers and forensic accountants and as a possible location to anyone making documentaries or films about the legal system.

Other future plans include an Employment Law Clinic for members of the public needing advice about employment law. A limited number of clients from local not-for-profit organizations would be referred to the clinic for advice and highly trained Masters level students will represent them at tribunals.