Northumbria Law School blog shortlisted for prestigious teaching award

A blog created by academics at Northumbria Law School has been nominated for a prestigious teaching award.

Elaine Campbell and Victoria Gleason, academics and supervisors in the Law School’s multi-award winning Student Law Office, designed and created the blog, We Take Care Of Business which has been named in the shortlist for the Routledge/ALT Teaching Law with Technology Prize 2016, less than two years since its launch.

Based around company, commercial and intellectual property law, the student-led blog provides a valuable insight into what it is like to be a student working on a clinical legal education programme as well as practical hints and tips for businesses. The blog, which has proven to be hugely popular with students with over 35 entries from law undergraduates, has also been recognised overseas, with readers from over 45 different countries across the world.

Elaine said: “We Take Care Of Business was set up within the Student Law Office at Northumbria to provide students with a platform to write about whatever law related topic they chose. Northumbria Law School has one of the longest running business law clinics in the UK and the blog is a unique opportunity for our students to develop commercial awareness and digital skills as well as provide information to businesses. The success We Take Care Of Business has achieved so far is something we’re very proud of.”

Having expanded since its launch to include posts shaped by student’s interests and experiences such as the importance of a law firm’s reputation and raising commercial awareness through TED talks, the blog has provided students with a fantastic opportunity to boost employability and impress future employees.

James Warnock, a Northumbria Law School graduate and future Endeavour Partnership trainee, said: “Contributing to the blog proved invaluable in terms of boosting my employability. In interviews, I was able to demonstrate my business development skills by speaking about the client publicity that I had written. My blog posts showed firms that I was able to nurture client relationships, whilst providing added value and marketing services in an effective and client-focused manner.”

The winner of the Routledge/ALT Teaching Law with Technology Prize 2016 will be announced at the 51st Annual Conference of the Association of Law Teachers (ALT), of which Northumbria University are proudly hosting. This year’s event runs from 20th to 22nd March 2016. It is a major highlight in the conference calendar for academics with an interest in legal education, is set to attract law academics from across the UK, and will include a series of high profile lectures, some of which will be open to the public.

The Student Law Office has managed more than 3,000 enquiries, represented more than 1,000 clients and secured almost £1 million on their behalf since 2008. In 2014, Her Majesty The Queen presented Northumbria University with the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for the outstanding community work of the Student Law Office. To find out more about the range of courses the Law School offers, click here.