REUTERS/Andrew Winning
Tips, Tricks & Tactics
THE ESSENTIAL STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE TRAINING GUIDE
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THE LEAGUE TABLE
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INGREDIENTS FOR A GREAT CLINIC & TRAINING SESSION
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GOOD TRAINING TACTICS
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ADVERTISING
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INCENTIVES
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SOME IDEAS TO GET YOU STARTED
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YOUR WINNING QUALITIES
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SAMPLE SWEET & SOUR TACTICS
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IMPORTANT CONTACTS
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THE LEAGUE TABLE Our league table acts as an incentive for you to go above and beyond the call of duty in promoting and marketing our online services, and in helping our Academic Trainers achieve high attendance at their training sessions. The Table is updated each week after the weekly report is received and we give regular updates to let everyone know how they are doing. The winner of the Table will be the “Student Representative of the Year�. Previous winners have also received iPods, and vouchers. *New* For 2014/2015 we are also offering additional opportunities for those near the top of the Leader Board.
Get points for arranging training with Academic Trainers and promoting those sessions
Win student rep of the year!
Get your weekly report and FGRF in on time
Activity on Social Media will get you points
Collect points for your clinics
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INGREDIENTS FOR A GREAT CLINIC & TRAINING SESSION Getting a good turnout at your clinics and at the external training sessions are key when doing your job and for collecting points. Here are a few tips and tricks to ensure high attendance.
Advertising
TRAINING Tactics
INCENTIVES
Good interest and attendance at Clinics and Training Sessions
Remember that students have a lot to deal with during term time and any ‘downtime’ is precious. You have to ‘sell’ the clinics you offer to get students interested in coming along. Give them a compelling reason to turn up!
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GOOD TRAINING TACTICS
Catch them early MAKE IT RELEVANT
• Demo on Westlaw UK & Lawtel during Freshers week • Attendance at Freshers Fair • Free goody bags for Freshers
• Module specific sessions • Certification Training • Produce Powerpoint of sessions to support students - distributing it will earn points
TIMING IS EVERYTHING
• Target training before essay & dissertation deadlines
GIVE THEM A REASON
• Use statistics and scare tactics to make students see the benefit
• Target during training contract applications & offer pre-training contract refreshers • Offer evening workshops for part-time students
• Bring out the competitive streak in people • G ood Research Skills are a vital part of legal practice - look at the long-term career vision
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ADVERTISING
SHOUT ABOUT IT GET THEM INVOLVED POST IT, FLY IT, LEAF IT!
SOCIAL MEDIA
• Announce clinics and training times after Lectures • At Law Society & Mooting events • Library Events (including inductions/tours)
• Staff & Lecturers endorsements/recommendations means better attendance • Law Librarians • Other Student Reps/Mentors
• Posters in public areas (libraries, lifts, coffee shops, receptions, notice boards) • Hand out flyers after lectures & law events • Post on electronic noticeboards, LCD screens and as desktop screensavers • Weekly/Monthly email shots with FAQ & Latest Developments
• Facebook groups for questions & queries • Advertise on other Facebook pages (societies & University pages)
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INCENTIVES
GOODY GOODY
LUCKY DIP
• Subconscious marketing for promoting brand awareness • Give out goody bags during clinics, events and Freshers weeks
• P rize draw and Raffle for students attending Clinics & Training (or completing quizzes) • Prizes can include vouchers, Nutshells, Hoodies & champagne • If you have an idea - just ask!
CERTIFIED
• W estlaw UK, Lawtel UK, Westlaw UK Advanced & Lawtel certification available
IT’S A SKILL
• C linics are a great way to develop good research skills for Assignments, PLR and Dissertations
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SOME IDEAS TO GET YOU STARTED
How to impress at tutorials Certification shout-outs
For your studies Using Practitioner sources - if it’s good enough for them...
Go wider how to find related reading materials
For your career
Commercial Acumen - the new requirement
Analysing the law Prepping for an Training Contract Interview
Time is Money - making your research effective
Current Market trends
Practical application finding forms and guidance
IDENTIFY A NEED, AND BUILD A SOLUTION....
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YOUR WINNING QUALITIES We think you have all of these qualities, that’s why we recruited you!
Approachable Easy to talk to Loves to talk Loves to help people
Good training skills Clear, confident & informative Good eye contact Answer questions & problems effectively and courteously
Hard working Gives it 100% Ability to multi-task
YOU
Organised Organised & well prepared for clinics Good time management Timely responses to requests Start/finish sessions on time
Enthusiastic Demonstrate a passion for Westlaw UK & Lawtel Display good energy by interacting with students, asking questions and informing them about training
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SAMPLE SWEET & SOUR TACTICS
SWEET
Incentives to get students into training
Scare tactics to get students into training
Message 1 Top legal professionals in all areas of the profession use Westlaw UK:
• A ll of the Top 20 UK law firms • 9 6 of the Top 100 UK law firms • M inistry of Justice (providing access for every fulltime member of the judiciary) • 1 34 barristers’ chambers, including all of the Bar’s Magic Circle • 150 local authorities • 1 00% of universities in the UK with law faculties • 1 00% of GLS (Government Legal Service) Departments (policy decision makers) • M ajor non-governmental bodies such as the CPS, UK Parliament, Welsh Assembly, Scottish Parliament, Audit Commission, Charity Commission
Sour
Message 2 Legal research is a valuable skill
We recently ran a research workshop for LPC students. The Workshop was organised by a top 10 law firm as they were concerned the students due to join the firm as trainees in September didn’t have the desired research skills. The workshop lasted 2 hours and was focused on researching a legal issue on Westlaw UK. These are some of the comments received from the students as part of the formal feedback process following the training: “Most of all I now feel like I’ve got a bit of a heads up on everybody at Kaplan for the research exam. I don’t think it’s an understatement (nor a slur on my Law School) that the day probably left me with a lot more valuable material and knowledge than the LPC or my undergrad course in this area”
Message 3 Are you competing effectively against your peers?:
• C ompetition for Training Contracts and Pupillages is fierce so are you missing out on vital skills? • S ince September 2013, over 8,000 students have successfully been certified in using Westlaw UK and over 2,500 have been certified to an Advanced Level. • C ould being certified make the difference to your CV?
“I think one way in which the day might be improved would be to spend a bit more time on the case study exercise as this was the part of the day I found most useful. I usually find the best way to learn is through practice.” “The final session with the case study was interesting and useful - it was good to end the day with an opportunity to apply what we had learned so this was a highlight for me.” We also survey everyone who attends a training session. We received feedback from over 450 trainees in 2013: • 9 9% of these said that they’d learned something new from the session • O ut of those, 96% said that felt more comfortable with legal research problems following the training, and 94% said they felt it made them more effective. • W e ask for additional comments and over 65% of the respondents made some comment along the lines of “I wish I’d learnt that at University/Law School”.
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IMPORTANT CONTACTS Here are the details for some useful contacts that you may need during the year:
Jessica Brown Head of Training Contact for all Student Rep enquiries except invoicing. Please see below for invoicing
Contact via: student.representatives@thomsonreuters.com
Harmeet Ryatt Customer Training Team Leader Contact to arrange for an Academic Trainer to visit
Contact via: trainingrequest@thomsonreuters.com Please be sure to include the University/Institution name
Invoicing For all invoice/payment queries
Contact via: tlrapinvoices@thomsonreuters.com
Customer Service Westlaw UK For Westlaw UK queries
customer.service@westlaw.co.uk Telephone – 0800 028 2200 Customer Service Lawtel For Lawtel queries helpdesk@lawtel.com Telephone – 0800 018 9797
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