An academic from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has collected an award for an initiative which will provide support for graduates and local organisations.
Stephanie Jones, Senior Lecturer at the University’s Lancashire Law School (LLS) entered a paper into the Innovative Youth Incubator Awards, as part of her attendance at the International Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ICIE).
Entitled ‘Innovation and Enterprise for the Commercial Law Student,’ the paper outlines plans for the LLS:succeed Business Law Clinic. It was awarded joint first place with a submission from the University of Kwazulu, South Africa.
The clinic will employ recent UCLan graduates as interns who will experience commercial law in action, while learning about the entrepreneurial aspects of running a law firm including set up, administration, marketing and networking. It will also help undergraduate students develop essential attributes and is due to be operational from September.
SMEs, start-ups and not for profit organisations will also be able to apply for pro-bono legal advice relating to intellectual property, corporate compliance and commercial contracts.
Now in its sixth year, ICIE is attended by representatives from more than 80 institutions around the world. This year the conference was held in Washington DC and co-hosted by the University of the District of Columbia, Georgetown University and George Washington University.
Stephanie said: “Entrepreneurial skills are rarely covered as part of a law school’s activities, mainly for practical reasons, and commercial law clinics are few and far between. The Business Law Clinic will provide a rare opportunity for graduates whose ambition is to own their own law firm, practical supervision and real-world experience. Local organisations will also benefit from the services provided.
“The need to embed employability and entrepreneurship into curricula across the world was highlighted throughout the conference, and the fact the paper was awarded joint first place reflects how valuable and unique our offer is.”
The Lancashire Law School offers a range of law and criminology courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level, taught by internationally renowned research experts, award winning teachers and professionals with extensive industry experience.
