Surrey Junior Lawyers Division

Surrey Junior Lawyers Division Report

As the Surrey JLD term nears its end, with the last day of this being 31st August 2024, it is now time for the annual SJLD election and for enthusiastic junior lawyers in Surrey looking to support and network with their fellow junior lawyers, increase their own skillset outside of their workplace and grow their own personal brand to apply to be part of the SJLD committee!

Who is eligible to apply? Well, if you are a junior lawyer in Surrey, then you are eligible! That means that you could be a 0-5 years PQE Solicitor or Barrister, a Pupil Barrister, a Trainee Solicitor, a junior In-House lawyer either qualified or training, a CILEX member or trainee, a Paralegal, a Legal Assistant, a University student – the list goes on! You also do not need to have any prior experience.

What roles are available? Surrey JLD is looking to do things much differently next year, for the benefit of both its committee members and its standard SJLD members, and so the following roles only are available. That said, if you see a role that is not available that you feel you would like to propose to us, then we very much welcome your creativity and encourage you to submit a nomination for the same, setting out why we should consider voting for such a position and ultimately voting for you to fill said position. This is how I started out on the SJLD, when back in 2021 I proposed the new role of Universities & Colleges Representative when I applied to be part of the SJLD committee myself and, after the committee voted by majority to accept this proposal and elect me to fill this role, I was in and have never looked back since!

• Vice Chair

• Sponsorship Representative

• National JLD Representative

• Surrey Law Society Representative

• Secretary

• Digital Marketing Representative

• Charity Representative

• Events Representative x2

• Diversity & Inclusion Representative

• Universities & Colleges Representative

How do you nominate yourself? To nominate yourself, all you have to do is email sjldelection@gmail.com by Friday 16th August at 17:00 with your application, setting out which position(s) you would like to nominate yourself for and why you would be the best fit for the Surrey JLD committee and the particular role(s) in question. There is no word count, so feel free to expand on what is relevant to you and to the position(s) in question. We will consider your application in full, regardless of length. To help your application stand out, it is very helpful to mention what it would personally mean to you to join our committee, since that helps bring applications to life. Applications also shine when you state any ideas for initiatives and how you plan to go about them, so that we, as the committee, can foresee exactly what you will bring to the role(s) you have applied for over another applicant.

Why should you apply? Surrey JLD is one of the most active local junior lawyer division committees in England and Wales and is a fantastic organisation to be a part of. So, if you are a committed, hard-working and passionate junior lawyer wanting to throw yourself into the Surrey junior lawyer community, then joining Surrey JLD is for you. Not only do you meet inspiring committee members and standard members alike through meetings, networking events and other initiatives, you will also grow as an individual yourself and help those around you to grow too. Firms look favourably on those who go above and beyond just their fee-earning responsibilities and at those who are showing/have shown that they are able to forge new, long-lasting relationships that may, in the future, even materialise into bringing in new work and referrals for your team. We have also seen personal success stories of past and present committee members, with Martin Whitehorn having won a Legal Hero award at the same Law Society awards ceremony in 2023 and Bethany Walker having been shortlisted for Rising Star of the Year at the Surrey Law Society Awards in 2022 for her work, including that on the SJLD committee. The more you know, the more you grow and joining our committee is an excellent opportunity to benefit in more ways than one and support your fellow junior lawyers and yourself all at once.

What time commitment is involved? Depending on the role and how much you put into it, no more than 1 to 3 hours per month to 1 to 3 hours a week, would be a good indicator. We are all supportive of one another and all help each other out and are understanding of our fee-earning roles taking the utmost priority and SJLD being a voluntary position. We have regular hour-long committee meetings on the first Tuesday of each month via Teams between 19:00 and 20:00 where we meet to discuss our initiatives and work on upcoming projects.

The SJLD committee will then review all nominations, which shall remain anonymous to the committee, and will hold an election on Tuesday 20th August. You will be informed either way of whether or not you have been elected following the election. Handovers will then take place by 30th August, with the new term, as above, starting on 1st September 2024.

Should you have any queries about being involved on the SJLD committee, then please do feel free to get in touch with me, Bethany Walker, or another member of the committee and we would be more than happy to chat with you. If you would prefer to email us your query, then please do so at surreyjuniorlawyersdivision@gmail.com. You can also reach us on Instagram, LinkedIn and X.

We look forward to receiving your applications!

If the above is not enough persuasion to get involved, then perhaps these photos will give you an insight into all that we get up to here at Surrey JLD and the fantastic relationships forged between committee members and SJLD members alike!