Students from the Law Society at the judging day

The University of Essex Law Society has been shortlisted in the Best University Society category of the National Undergraduate Employability Awards..

With a strong field of over 30 nominees, the Law Society has beaten fierce competition to reach the top five, which includes societies from other top universities such as the Oxford Guild Business Society.

The award includes a £1,000 prize for the winning society, which Law Society President Josh Gulrajani said will help the society immensely.

“We have plans for the prize money such as an Inter Uni Competition with Anglia Ruskin University and the University of East Anglia, debate hosting and subsidies for members to attend networking events across the country,” said Josh.

Professor Aletta Norval, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Education, said: “We are really proud of our Law Society. The Law Society offers many opportunities for our students to develop their practical skills and experience that is very valuable to future employability. Our student societies are part of the unique educational experience we offer at Essex. The Street Law project also makes a real difference to promoting the rights of individuals and good citizenship within the surrounding community.”

The results of the National Undergraduate Employability Awards are announced on Friday 12 February at an awards ceremony in London.

Of particular interest to the Award’s judging panel was the Law Society’s ‘Street Law’ programme. Street Law is a voluntary programme that invites all students to get involved in educating the younger generation about legal rights and citizenship. The programme, now in its 10th year, currently runs in Essex, but Josh has dreams of expanding further.

“We’re looking to introduce the programme to a school in North London. I hope that we can show the local council how well the programme is doing in one of their largest secondary schools, and that from there it will be able to grow further," said Josh.

The Law Society has just taken part in the University’s Click crowdfunding project and successfully raised more than £400 towards the Street Law project thanks to match-funding from the University.