Elena Meier

LLB, 2023, St Cuthbert’s Society

Studying Law at Durham provided me with an excellent foundation for both personal and professional growth.

I found that the breadth of knowledge across law courses allowed me to think more widely about different areas of law in practice.

The Law School also has a welcoming environment, which meant that I was able to seek advice from tutors, lecturers and professors easily. This allowed me to find out more about future legal careers and obtain guidance for my applications.

I also found that my involvement with various extracurricular activities at Durham helped me stand out. I was able to draw from these experiences and connect them easily to the trainee characteristics that law firms are looking for in their candidates (for example organisation, time management, creativity, resilience or emotional intelligence).

I undertook a few mock interviews with the Durham Careers Service which I thought were extremely helpful. My tutors, lecturers and professors at the Law School also provided incredible support. They answered many of my questions and were able to speak from personal experience to help guide me through making decisions about my future legal journey. Speaking to older students in the years above was also very helpful, as many of them had just gone through application cycles and/or secured their positions.

I am now a trainee solicitor with A&O Shearman, having secured my training contract in my final year through the winter vacation scheme at Shearman & Sterling at the time.

For students considering studying law at Durham, I would encourage you to find out as much as possible about course options, style of teaching (lectures, tutorials, seminars) and types of assessments (final exams, coursework, etc.). Durham has a great range of courses and offers students a wide range of optional modules in their second and third year.”