On 25th November, 2024 the Law School was delighted to welcome Hill Dickinson lawyers Andrea Proudlock and Lucy Probert as speakers at an Employability Course talk on “What law firms are looking for in trainees and how to develop your commercial awareness”.
Andrea is a Durham alumna, a Partner in Hill Dickinson, Head of the firm’s Newcastle Office which she set up, and a Founder Member of the Durham Law School Alumni Association. Her colleague and fellow Durham alumna, Lucy Probert, is a Senior Associate at Hill Dickinson.
The talk was organised by the student Non-Law into Law Society. Huw Edwards, Chair, and Kate Sheppard, Secretary, ran the talk as a panel session with Andrea and Lucy which included a discussion about their respective pathways from Durham to Hill Dickinson as well as their advice for current students hoping to do likewise. Of particular note were Andrea’s thoughts on the implementation of legal technology and generative AI tools into workflows and Lucy’s insights into how the NHS procures legal services.
The Law School was represented by Dr Can Eken who hosted a dinner after the talk to thank Andrea, Lucy, Huw and Kate and to give two first year Law undergraduates, James Shilton and Anjaneya Singh Shekhawat, the opportunity to talk in more detail with Andrea and Lucy.
The organisation and running of the talk was a further illustration of the Employability Course being a collaborative effort between the Law School, the Law-related student societies and Durham University students with an interest in a career in Law.
This was Andrea and Lucy’s second visit to Durham this term. On 18th October, 2024 they presented second-year first-generation scholars with their textbooks funded by a very generous gift from Hill Dickinson- more here. Hill Dickinson has long been an advocate for the widening of access routes into the law. The firm, which employs more than 1,000 people across 12 UK and international locations, recruits annually from a wide pool of applicants.
On behalf of the Law School and those students, Dr Eken took the opportunity to present Andrea with a framed Thank you note from those students.
More about Andrea Proudlock here
More about Lucy Probert here
More about Hill Dickinson here
More about Dr Can Eken here
More about the Non-Law into Law Society here
More about the Employability Course here
More about the Durham Law School Alumni Association here
