2 minute read
Surrey Junior Lawyers Division
REPORT
Surrey Junior Lawyers Division
With a packed programme of events, it’s a busy summer for Surrey JLD. With July almost over it’s prudent to think to the end of the current committee’s term on 31 October 2021 and give clarity on what we look for in prospective committee members.
We were delighted at the positive feedback received on our Murder Mystery event on 20 May organised by Events Representatives Kate Lewis and Adele Edwards and kindly sponsored by Chadwick Nott Legal Recruitment. It was such a joy to see everyone get stuck into their roles.
In June and July, Martin Whitehorn’s Cocoa with the Committee took on a careers focus with guest speakers. The last of these is on 21 July at 18:30-19:30, and will be a Developing Yourself talk on junior lawyer careers and well-being with Eloise Skinner, run in partnership with the Junior Lawyers Division for Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. You can sign up for this and other events via the Surrey Junior Lawyers Division Eventbrite page, and catch up with the Career Cocoa recordings on our website.
On 10 June we had the first webinar of the People and Communication Skills series within the #Supporting Surrey initiative, which is run collaboratively by Surrey Law Society & Surrey Junior Lawyers Division. Look out for Jayne Constantinis’ helpful talk on Public Speaking and Presenting along with other useful webinars on the Surrey Law Society’s Vimeo page.
Common misconceptions about becoming a Surrey JLD committee member
As we’re more than halfway through the current committee’s term, we address common misconceptions about joining our committee to assist those interested in helping us support aspiring and junior lawyers.
As a committee made up of junior and aspiring lawyers, we readily appreciate that everyone has to start somewhere, so previous experience on a similar committee, for example at university, is by no means required. Asking for previous experience on a committee of junior lawyers is rather like asking for previous law firm experience for an entry-level job: contradictory.
Perhaps the most important thing we look for in prospective committee members is heartfelt appreciation of our events and a consequent desire to contribute to Surrey JLD’s success. You’d be surprised how many try to join our committee without having attended a single event. In short, if you’re passionate about helping, we would love to have you.
At their peak, no role apart from perhaps Chair of our committee takes up any more than 1 or 2 hours a week. You can always ask another committee member for help.
Our committee expanded from 7 to 15 in November last year precisely because new committee members had not restricted themselves to applying for existing roles. As a result, we now have Wellness, In-House, Career Changer, CILEx and Sponsorship Representatives on the committee, so if you can think of a role that would be a great fit, for example a SQE or Bar Representative, then do apply.
For more information about what we look for in committee members or just to sign up to our mailing list, email us at surreyjuniorlawyersdivision@gmail.com. ■
