Northumbria’s Royal appointment for Queen’s Anniversary Prize Award

Five Northumbria University students are due to meet The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh as part of a prestigious presentation ceremony.

Northumbria University was recently awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for the outstanding community work of its Student Law Office.

The award is the highest form of national recognition open to a UK academic or vocational institution, and is given in recognition of work judged to be of outstanding excellence and with positive impact.

And in what is likely to be one of the highlights of their university experience, five law students from around 200 who currently work in the Student Law Office, have been chosen to accompany the University’s Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor to receive the Royal accolade.

Ben Crystal, Oliver Lovett, Monika Fortuna, Lauren Hayes and Alice Carr will attend the event at Buckingham Palace.

As part of their law studies, around

200 students a year undertake supervised work on real legal cases through the Student Law Office in areas such as employment, family, crime, housing, civil litigation and business advice.

Since 2008 they have managed over 3,000 enquiries, represented more than 1,000 clients and secured nearly £1 million on their behalf. Through its casework and partnerships with leading charities and law firms the Student Law Office aims to improve access to justice for the North East community. At the same time it develops students’ professional legal skills through real work-based learning that can significantly enhance career prospects.

Oliver Lovett, who will be attending the presentation on behalf of the Student Law Office, said: “I think we are all slightly nervous about meeting The Queen and representing the University on such a high profile occasion, but we are also really looking forward to what is bound to be an unforgettable experience. While it is a huge honour for us to be there, the award is a recognition of the hard work, dedication and commitment from all the students, lecturers and support staff involved in the Student Law Office – past and present. I hope this award will raise awareness of the invaluable experience law students can gain through clinical legal education and continued on page 2

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