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NLS Legal secure second place at the HE Innovate Awards 2022

NLS Legal has been awarded second place for the most innovative approach to developing employability skills.

    Nottingham Law School’s multi award winning teaching law firm, NLS Legal, has been awarded second place for the most innovative approach to developing employability skills at the HE Innovate Awards 2022.

    NLS Legal was the first SRA regulated law firm fully integrated into a law school in the UK. The trailblazing firm provides pro bono advice and assistance to the local community across a range of service areas. They provide real life work experience opportunities to Nottingham Law School students, developing their employability skills in an innovative manner whilst also benefiting the community by providing access to justice.

    The small team of 14 members of staff, with the support of student volunteers and practitioner academics, provide a large number of individuals and organisations with assistance – last academic year they helped over 200 clients.

    We were delighted to be chosen as the runner up in this hotly contested category. There are so many amazing and innovative projects across the HE sector, so this recognition is hugely motivating. We are so proud of our students and how they develop whilst working with us. Our greatest reward is seeing our students secure legal roles as a result of the confidence, skills and experience gained during their time with NLS Legal.

    Laura Pinkney, Head of NLS Legal

    The drivers for the project are multiple, but enrichment of student employability by working directly in the running and delivery of the law firm service is key. Creating a flexible legal service delivery platform and enabling students to integrate their involvement in NLS Legal into their studies, vastly enhances a student’s employability and skill base.

    Many of the aims of the project are to address challenges in the wider legal sector, most notably in terms of employability, the lack of legal work experience opportunities for students who are aspiring lawyers and a lack of diversity in the legal sector.

    The HE Innovate Awards aim to recognise and reward the amazing innovation that academics and higher education professionals produce to teach and support their students. This award is the latest in a string of team and individual awards, including most recently Law Firm of the Year at the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2022; Best Contribution by a Law School at the LawWorks and Attorney General Student Pro Bono Awards 2021; and Best Contribution by a Small or Medium Firm at the LawWorks Pro Bono Awards 2021

    Find out more about the awards via the website

    Published on 15 December 2022
    • Subject area: Law, criminology and justice
    • Category: Nottingham Law School