A law firm set up by a De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) alumnus is offering members of the Bold Leaders Attaining Culture and Knowledge (BLACK) Law Society guaranteed work experience at his professional practice in the city.
Pardon Tapfumaneyi, who came to Leicester from Zimbabwe and graduated from DMU in 2005, has already welcomed the first of many members of the BLACK Law Society, Haja Fatu Sesay, for a weeks’ work experience at his immigration law firm, PT Law & Associates.
Pardon Tapfumaneyi (credit Pardon Tapfumaneyi)
Founded in 2018 by Melica Martin, a law lecturer at DMU, the BLACK Law Society is open to all DMU students who are interested in law. Earlier this year, Melica and students from the society met with Pardon to discuss a potential partnership and work experience opportunities.
Having experienced the difficulties of securing legal work experience in the UK, Pardon felt that this was his opportunity to give something back to DMU and its students.
“I was so impressed with all the good work that the BLACK Law Society was doing for DMU,” Pardon said. “I wanted to help in any way I could and I felt that I had a social responsibility to open doors for the next generation to come through.
“Law can be a particularly difficult industry to break into. I watched my daughter, who also studied law, struggle to find any volunteering opportunities at legal firms across the country and it reminded me of my struggles breaking into the sector. I gave her some work experience with PT Law and it has helped her secure a job.
“For those from a disadvantaged background, who may need to work to fund their studies or families, finding work experience may seem unachievable. The Covid-19 pandemic has also severely hampered students' chances of getting office experience and understanding how law firms work day-to-day.
“Having just that first sample of work experience and something on your CV can make a big difference when applying for those first jobs out of university.”
Pardon and DMU student Haja Fatu Sesay
Students arriving at PT Law will be guided through case studies and will provide research for Pardon and his team on active cases.
There may also be opportunities for BLACK Law Society members to secure work experience with criminal and property law specialists in Birmingham, Coventry and London through PT Law,
Wiktoria Pulka, president and chairperson for the BLACK Law Society, is among the students set to undertake work experience with Pardon.
Pardon meeting with Melica Martin and Wiktoria Pulka, Rachel Addai and Nurcan Nas Nas of the BLACK Law Society
She said: “This is a very exciting time to be part of our society. We do a lot of studying around the theories of law and include practical elements across our course and as a group, but we don’t see how that is applied in the real world or the day-to-day workings of a qualified law professional.
“Partnering with Pardon is a fantastic opportunity for any student hoping to get a better understanding of what it’s like being a lawyer. We’re now looking at ways we can secure more partnerships with organisations to offer our members even more opportunities to broaden their legal understanding.
“As a society, we’re very welcoming to newcomers and meet every fortnight as a group for discussions or host workshops on new legislation and regulations such as General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).”
Since its inception, the BLACK Law Society has hosted a summit on tackling knife crime with its partner DMU Street Law and the Leaders for Tomorrow Programme, which is based on the NHS Leadership initiative, as well as mock court trials where members are divided into the prosecution and defence to replicate real-world trials. The society is also partnered with the DMU Homelessness Society and children’s social change charity Frontline.
Melica said: “When we created the BLACK Law Society, I was very keen to set up a stepping stone project to give students who are struggling to secure work experience that first insight into the practical side of law.
“This is not based on merit or how strong your CV is, the only criteria are that you have to be a DMU student, a member of our society and genuinely interested in securing legal work experience.
“We’re trying this on a rotational basis, where three or four students will go to Pardon, or one of PT Law’s partners, for varying times. The logistics are being finalised and, in the future, we may have students going in one day a week when their timetable permits, but having Haja Fatu working with Pardon is a fantastic start for this partnership.”
Posted on Friday 25 February 2022