Spike returns! New book from City Law School alumnus Tom Mogford – Emily Allbon
Tom Mogford, who completed his GDL at The City Law School in 2004, celebrates the publication of his second novel this week, Sign of the Cross. This continues the series involving lawyer Spike Sanguinetti, and kicks off with Spike attending the funerals of his aunt and uncle who police believe are dead as a result of a murder-suicide. Action takes place in Malta and Gibraltar and the loveliness of the Mediterranean acts in sharp contrast to the sinister and sometimes brutal developments within the novel.
Reviews have been excellent, with the US Library Journal describing it as follows:
Starting with a tortuous opening and rarely letting up, Mogford’s superbly plotted thriller (after Shadow of the Rock) is just as riveting as his debut.
Tom kindly did an interview for Lawbore last year in which he talks about his first novel Shadow of the Rock, as well as his work as a translator and how law has continued to play a part in his life. Here's what he has to say about his new book:
"In the second book in the Spike Sanguinetti crime series, probate is the aspect of City's law course that is ruthlessly plundered, as our lawyer hero, Spike, travels to Malta to execute the wills of his uncle and aunt, who have died after what appears to have been a domestic dispute turns bloody. All is not what it seems, and Spike finds himself mixing with the two extremes of Maltese society -- the Knights of St John, whose Order is making a comeback on the island, and the destitute African migrants whose boats are washed up on Maltese shores every week. The results are bloody, shocking and -- I hope! -- gripping..."
Margaret Hodge MBE MP to speak at The City Law School
City University London Honorary Graduate, The Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MBE MP (Civil Law 1993) will be the guest speaker at our forthcoming City Law Alumnae Network event (CLAN).
CLAN is our network for female City Law School graduates. The group meets twice-yearly and provides a unique opportunity for alumnae to meet like-minded solicitors, barristers and other law graduates from across the UK. However for this special event all graduates and current students are welcome. Please find out more and book via the Events Signup.
At this event, Margaret will speak on the topic of 'Women in Public Life' followed by questions from the audience.
Future Thinking for Future Lawyers: The Brief – Michael Kokkinoftas
“NOT a Barrister? NOT the end of the world!”
Michael and Thomas at Legal Futures event
On 30th January, four former City Law students discussed their career paths following graduation. The evening commenced with former City GDL and LPC student, Jo Joyce, who generously gave the audience an insight into her weekly routine at commercial law firm Shoosmiths. “Urgent corporate support, burning client problems, new customer checks” and so on all sounds quite orthodox in a life of an up and coming solicitor. Early starts to the Monday morning that don’t end until 3AM on Tuesday, did not really shock anyone. Neither did Wednesday’s exhausting off-peak journey to Birmingham for a pressing meeting!
But it was not until she mentioned her initial craving to become a Barrister that the audience was suddenly all ears. It was right then, in that specific moment, when the audience and undoubtedly I, myself started to panic. Is it not obvious that we spend a fortune on education and accommodation as students? Why should our careers take a completely different route to what we initially aspired? Still, our many questions regarding the justice of this remain rhetorical.
Nevertheless, she states that you have to be “prepared to let yourself be moved in different legal careers”. Explaining that it was through her work experience that she completed at Shoosmiths that opened doors and allowed her to excel. Although it was not what she initially set out to do, perseverance rewarded her as she was then offered a Training Contract in 2007 (when law firms were still capable of splashing cash!). She ended her talk leaving us spectators with a lot of food for thought:
“Think where you are going and keep yourself focused. Be prepared to embrace change because not everything follows through and you can’t plan everything.
City students – workshop series launched! – Emily Allbon
November Workshops - something for everyone! Image credit: Caro Wallis
This month we have a really excellent series of lectures and workshops for you to sign up for, featuring many of our alumni.
Some of the events are capped because the sessions are designed to be really interactive, so you'll need to get in quick. If something is really popular we can look to run it again the new year.
So...what's on offer?
Wed 7th November
5-7pm is Adam Ross's workshop, which offers an introduction to competitive debating for 16 students. Adam will look at the essential skills: public speaking, making arguments and responding to arguments and preparation. You'll then move onto the structure and rules involved before getting your teeth into a mini-debate. Adam will provide full feedback!
Adam won the Lincoln's Inn Debating Shield whilst at City and has debated/coached for the English Speaking Union and Oxford Union.
7-8pm is Rupert Wilson and Andy Campbell, who will be taking you through the secrets to fantastic mooting; acting out how to deal with different mooting challenges, and most importantly how not to look a fool!
You'll get the chance to quiz them at the end too.
Wed 14th November
6-7pm is Matthew Watson with his workshop on public speaking. Whether you're keen to get involved in mooting, debating or just looking for a way to increase your confidence for interviews and training days - this workshop is guaranteed to help. Matthew has coached debating and public speaking at Oxford in the past.
No experience necessary but the session will be very interactive, so be ready to get involved! Numbers capped at 20.
7-8.30 is Harry Adamson. Harry will be leading this workshop on the use of logic and how the application of it can help your mooting preparation. You'll take a look at what makes a good argument and learn more about the concepts of validity and soundness, as well as how arguments can be separated into distinct premises.
This session will be capped at 20.Harry completed a PhD in Philosophy at the University of Cambridge, teaching there until recently - he is now a pupil at Blackstone's Chambers.
The following 2 Wednesdays will be advertised shortly!
The surprise of the High Street Firm – Gulnaz Raja
As I was drawing closer to the end of my Training Contract I was pleased to be approached by Emily to write a piece on my legal journey from embarking on a Law degree at City in September 2004 to qualifying as a Solicitor in November 2010.
After obtaining average A-Level results I was elated to receive a call from Lynn Childs to confirm my place on the Law LLB programme was secure. As I went through the degree I was keen to explore what kind of law firm I wanted to work for. Initially I was drawn to working for a commercial law firm which seemed glamorous but I quickly realised this was not the path I wanted to follow. After undertaking some voluntary placements at local high street firms at the end of my second year I quickly realised I wanted to act for people and not commercial entities!
On completing the degree in 2007 I began the Legal Practice Course at the College of Law. I had decided that the Solicitor route would be best for me as I didn’t want to undertake Court work day in day out.
After the LPC I worked as a paralegal for the in-house legal department of Whitbread plc. At this point I was slightly disillusioned as drawing up legal contracts and franchise agreements was not the most exciting work in the world! I was therefore happy to leave and work as a paralegal for a local high street firm, Indus Solicitors.
City alumni edits new blog
Adam Wagner, who completed his GDL at City 05-06, is one of the editors on the newly-launched UK Human Rights Law Blog from One Crown Office Row.
The blog offers a lively round-up of human rights-related news and commentary. Postings are extremely comprehensive with links to full judgments, case summaries and other documentation where possible. Their regular case comments are excellent and detailed. Users can sign up for email alerts and RSS.
Had you guys considered blogging would be a part of your role within Chambers I wonder?
Interview with Craig Robinson
Craig's interview is wide-ranging; offering Future Lawyer readers an insight into how Craig's career in law has panned out, from his experience of studying at City, becoming a commercial lawyer, right through to his current role as author of The Ultimate Guide to Training Contract Success and creator of The Ultimate Law Guide website.
Craig has developed The Ultimate Law Guide to help students sketch their path out to a training contract - his website offers the following snapshot of his mission:
We are a team of qualified solicitors, who were the first in our families to go to university and come from backgrounds not traditionally associated with law. We beat all the odds to achieve our ambitions of becoming lawyers at leading law firms, and now want to give back - by helping to inspire the next generation of talented students to get-ahead and successfully forge careers in law.
Hot content in this interview includes Craig's tips for training contract interview, the most difficult question he's been asked at interview and some thoughts on demonstrating commercial awareness successfully.
To find out more about Craig - read the piece featured in The City Law School's In Law Magazine Spring 2009
Interview with Keith Abel
As a City Law School alumni, Keith Abel (of Abel & Cole organic fruit and vegetable distributors) is interviewed for City, the magazine for friends and supporters of City University London.
Find out how the business started, how his ethos developed, his views on higher education and what's he's been up to since selling the business 2 years ago.
Keith has strong words of advice for those graduates facing a tough jobs market.
Get inspired here!
See another piece on Keith from 2007 on thisismoney.co.uk
Interview with Alex Antoniou
Alex completed the LLM Media Law in 2008 and is now doing a PhD at City. His interview covers his thoughts on studying for an LLM and the experience of studying law in the UK.
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