Mosaic and Edwin Coe LLP have just completed the second year of our innovative Legal Ambassadors programme, in which we jointly support a group of undergraduate law students to benefit from a focused set of sessions.
The programme, piloted in 2010/11, was run successfully again this year. It is designed to boost participants’ aspirations and enhance their prospects of pursuing a successful legal career. The programme consists of practical workshops, advice, support and feedback for budding legal professionals during the academic year. As part of Mosaic’s wider work, the programme also aims to instill in the students an appreciation of voluntary charitable effort, both in terms of personal satisfaction and skills development. Participants were also encouraged to act as mentors themselves to younger students.
Over the two years, the programme has supported 30 students from eight different Universities. A group of those students from the first year’s intake have progressed immensely and have in turn become mentors for Mosaic, with two students becoming lead mentors in the secondary school mentoring programme. Saad Minhas (2011/12), lead mentor this year said: “I’d like to thank you so much for the incredible experience I’ve had with Mosaic these past few years. The programme and your team have been a fulfilling highlight of the time I spent in London.”
This year,15 fifteen students from Middlesex, City, Westminster and Thames Valley Universities, as well as the University of West London came together to benefit from the programme. A partner, Ali Zaidi, and two solicitors at Edwin Coe, Zahira Butt and Amir Ali, led them through sessions covering CV writing and interview skills before providing tailored feedback and advice, as well as bespoke mock interviews, designed to test their learning on the programme.
Ali, who is also a member of Mosaic’s London Regional Leadership Group and who pioneered the programme said: “It is both humbling and richly rewarding to support Mosaic with this unique programme. We have the opportunity to make a difference to students by inspiring and motivating them to realise their potential by offering them practical tips and teaching them soft skills that will enhance their career prospects.”
The impact on participants has been particularly striking. Zahira said of one participant: “It was wonderful to see this quiet and initially retiring young lady come out of her shell and impress us in her mock interview. The candidate proved to be measured, confident and polished.“. Ali commented that another seemingly shy and quiet girl had “impressed me more in the five minutes I spent speaking with her in private than most Russell Group trainee candidates I interview.”
The feedback from participants has been equally positive. One participant wrote to Edwin Coe to say: “I am really inspired with the way you deliver your speeches and…I want to speak with confidence the way you do and think your an excellent role model. Thank you very much.”
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