UKCLE Student Essay Competition 2010

How might a legal education enable students to contribute to the improvement of society?

The deadline for entering this competition has now passed. The winner will be notified by email on or before 19 April, and the winning essay will be available to read here.

We suggested that students might like to consider the following questions:

• What do you consider to be the key challenges facing society in the 21st century and how can lawyers contribute to meeting these challenges?
• Will law and the way in which lawyers are educated and trained need to change in order to meet these challenges in your opinion?
• Are there aspects of our society which you will be more equipped to improve as a result of having a legal education?
• What has your experience been to date - is there anything that has particularly stood out for you in your course that you feel has given you knowledge and/or skills to enable you to have a positive impact on society?

Successful entries should:

• be sensitive to cultural, contextual and institutional differences (ie do not expose particular individuals or openly criticise an individual department)
• provide an individual and honest account
• show awareness of others' viewpoints and provide potentially perceptive observations and helpful ideas for teaching staff
• be thoughtful and interesting to read
• pay attention to structure, grammar and spelling
• not exceed the 1000 word limit by more than 10% either way
• be submitted on the application form in electronic format

Previous competitions

UKCLE has previously held five student essay competitions - details of the winners and their essays can be found at the links below:

• How does the reality of studying law match your initial expectations? (2009)
• What advice would you give to students starting your course? (2007)
• Imagining law? (2006)
• What makes a good law teacher? (2005)
• Is legal education working? (2004)