Everyone recognises that joining a committee is good for your CV, but is it really as cut-and-dried as that; are there other benefits?

Let’s here from 4 members of the current City University Law Society organising committee:

Sheikh Shahamat Hassan (VP), Georgia Dimick (Comms Officer), Zain Ismail (President) & Tomas Jankauskas (Finance Officer).

Zain Ismail (President)

It has been an absolute pleasure leading the Law Society Committee this year. I have developed my communication and time-management skills through organising events, liaising with law firms, barrister chambers’ and other organisations such as charities in order to improve the society experience overall.

Two desirable qualities I have found key to this role are to listen and be patient. By feeding ideas back to the Committee and then discussing further definitely helps keep everyone motivated and everything works smoothly from then on. Also, it can take some time in order to get things organised and patience is certainly a virtue when it comes to this.

So far this year, the society has managed to put on a number of social events which includes meet & greets and party’s. We also managed to organise ‘A step towards Commercial Law’ series with the aim of improving students’ confidence and application technique. This was a huge success and we are hoping to put on a second series next term, with a slight twist!

Going forward, we have managed to secure sponsorship for our City Law Society Journal from a number of leading law firms, organisations related to the legal profession and The City Law School itself. We are also working closely to put on exciting events for the second term, along with a 2016 Law Ball. Please do have a read of our event reviews and get in touch if you would like be involved more, it would be an absolute pleasure to have you on board!

Mahmuda Firdawsi (VP-Social)

Being a committee member of City Law Society is a very exciting and gratifying role. The ideas and opinions you bring to the society are always valued and taken on board, which makes working with the committee members enjoyable. If you face any challenges within your role you can always turn to the members of the committee for guidance and support. One of my tasks was to hold a meeting with the social committee to discuss upcoming social events and gather ideas from the committee as to how we could improve our law society socials. The meeting concluded with an effective plan for the Law Society Christmas party which ultimately was a very successful event. Overall I believe being part of the Law Society is an invaluable experience where you gain many transferable skills whilst playing a vital role in the success of the society.

Tomas Jankauskas (Finance Officer)

This year I was elected to be the Finance Officer of the City University Law Society. The role has been both enjoyable and challenging. I am in charge of everything finance within the society, the basic activities include providing constant updates of the society balance, claiming back expenses and allocating funds for Society activities i.e. socials.

Being a part of the committee, I feel that we have developed a bond and communicate between ourselves efficiently and effectively. This has made my role very enjoyable due to the fact that we have a great team working together. Furthermore, the social events that we have been able to put together have been an absolute blast!

Georgia Dimick (Communications’ Officer)

Having been elected as Communications Officer I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting a range of people through the law society, in particular, the committee members as we have not only learnt to work well which other but also became great friends. I have also enjoyed the challenge of building the society up into one of the largest of its kind at City. It’s a great sense of achievement when there is fantastic feedback from attendees at both our academic and social events, such as the ugly Christmas sweater party and the ‘A step towards Commercial Law’ series. It has been a great year for the law society and the committee, I hope this continues into next term and the next academic year.

Christianah Babajide (Secretary)

Being a Secretary is more than just taking notes and making tea for everyone. It is an active role that requires a set of skills. My role requires me to organise events, manage time well and have strong communication skills. This role is worthwhile as it teaches you to work well, collectively with a team of six.

The Law Society have liaised with magic circle giants on several occasions to arrange quality workshops for our members. It is amazing to be able to network with Graduate Specialists from Clifford Chance and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Upon attending, I have received some useful application tips from many Graduate Specialists. This has equipped me with knowledge of how to make my applications for vacation schemes or training contracts stand out. I am extremely privileged to write articles on Lawbore of the things I learn from events. On the committee, we are aware people will not always be available, so we provide them the luxury to read about our events online.

Being a Secretary is very rewarding as I am responsible for providing great opportunities to our members. Ultimately, as a student, my degree comes first but I have had no problem balancing this role with degree workload. That being said, I would definitely encourage students to apply for similar roles within their societies.