Member Article

Law firm partners with University of Lincoln

National business law firm, DWF, has partnered with the University of Lincoln to provide one of its lecturers with hands-on experience of work in a top 20 UK law firm.

Alison McGowan, a lecturer of property law and specialist in Environmental Law and Policy, spent a week observing this area of commercial law being applied in practice with the help of DWF Manchester’s Real Estate team.

She explained: “This experience has really helped shape my understanding of the realities of working in a commercial law firm today, and will enable me to further support our students at the University of Lincoln who are applying for employment opportunities at the country’s top law firms.

“I’ve had the chance to see some of the theory I teach come to life in practice, which will help give my lessons added context and really bring the law alive for my students. In addition to my time with the Real Estate team, I had the chance to meet and speak with a wide range of people from across the firm, including trainees, practitioners, and senior management.”

The placement was organised by DWF’s Simon Price, associate solicitor and BITC business connector. Simon commented: “We are committed to developing and strengthening collaborative working practices with our clients and local businesses.

“We carefully design each secondment to stretch those who take part to ensure we’re really adding value for them. The placements are also a great opportunity for us to keep on top of developments both within our clients’ businesses and their wider industries.”

Kerren Daly, head of the education sector at DWF, added: “It’s important to us to help develop the next generation of legal minds but these placements also provide us with a unique insight into the theory being taught today. This helps us to innovate and add value to our Education sector clients, by regularly bringing theory and private practice together.”

Professor Duncan French, head of the University of Lincoln’s Law School, concluded: “This placement has been a fantastic opportunity, not only for Alison but also for each and every one of our law school pupils who will gain something from her learnings at DWF. We hope to continue to grow this relationship in the future.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .