Quiz prizes were generously contributed by our outreach partner CLIC Sargent, and £80 in proceeds generated through drinks sales for the night were donated to them, in return for the fantastic work they do for so many young people and their families affected by cancer every day.
Building an alumni network has been on the committee’s agenda for a number of years, and while it has slowly been progressing through the development of a contact database, this was the first time the Clinic has held an alumni event of any sort. Its purpose was to enable current Clinic members to meet former members, gauging how successful alumni have used their Law Clinic involvement to progress within their careers. And this proved extremely beneficial – while there are numerous opportunities at Bristol to ask lawyers and past alumni how their Bristol degrees benefitted their career direction and escalation, gaining an insight into the advantages of Clinic involvement towards this is a far more niche subject. Only a select number of students will have been involved with the Clinic previously, and so being able to gather this particular advice from current success stories is extremely valuable.
The event was held at The White Harte on Park Row. A number of alumni attended the evening, including several generations of past Directors. As well as therefore benefitting current members, myself as Director and my Vice Director counter-parts also gained from this, picking up tips and tricks based on their leadership experience. In addition, getting an external perspective on our current work and future plans was useful, as they were able to make suggestions we had not thought of.
All in all, 28 members attended, not including our alumni guests. We are of course extremely grateful to them for travelling and giving up their time to come and meet us, as well as our attending current members, who left the library during the start of a busy revision period to join in. Feedback however did show that the night acted as both a beneficial and enjoyable work break! 10 rounds of questions were fired at 8 teams composed of a mixture of current and former Clinic members, with prizes for the winning teams including a spa break, as well as cash prizes and champagne.
Looking forward, we are currently building our alumni database, and placing a large focus on alumni development. Plans for a termly alumni newsletter aimed at current and former members are on the agenda, as well as the possible development of a ‘mentorship scheme’. This would build upon the aim of our April event, which was to connect alumni and current advisors on a more interpersonal level, and understand how we can use the Law Clinic to make us stand out from the other fantastic law graduates. Watch this space!
Quote from an attending student member:
“Fantastic night of networking and quizzing. But more importantly, the event was a real testament to the strength of community and dedication to pro bono; that students and lawyers from across the country would turn out in force to support such a wonderful cause."
Written by Bethane Harland, outgoing Law Clinic Director.