Nora, a final-year Law (LLB) student, talks about her extra-curricular activities with the Legal Clinic and the student Bar Society. They provided work experience and helped develop the skills that she used to support the causes she is passionate about.
Real-world experience with impact
I’m interested in human rights and humanitarian law issues that affect marginalised groups in society. Being an immigrant myself and a minority in this country, I wanted to be a person who would help people like me.
Opportunities outside of the course have made my Southampton experience unique. I’m a team leader and volunteer caseworker for the Death Penalty Casework Clinic. This was established by Southampton Law School in partnership with non-profit organisation Amicus. The clinic supports the legal teams of people facing the death penalty in the United States.
Our work ensures correct due process and access to justice for inmates. We take on document reviews, interview transcriptions and other tasks. I also review other students’ work to ensure it is delivered to a high standard – there’s no room for mistakes in this type of work.
In 2024 I was so proud to be among a group of students and academics invited to the Old Bailey in London. We received a Champions of Justice award from Amicus in recognition of the clinic’s work.
We’re contributing to people’s lives and that’s the most rewarding thing. But it has also developed skills that I’ll need for my career, like attention to detail, organisation, time planning, and being accurate and precise in my work.
Flexible learning, inspiring teaching
I wanted to go to a competitive university where I’d be able to make connections with lecturers and other students. The Law School’s relatively small size, as well as being a Russell Group university, with good league table rankings made Southampton the perfect choice.
The lecturers and tutorial leads have been wonderful. It’s amazing to be taught by industry professionals who are at the top of their field, and who are also genuinely interested in imparting their knowledge.
Nora Belkhiter, final-year law student
There’s a great range of optional modules and each year the Law School expands this to introduce new ones, based on feedback from students about their interests.
We have a Law student common room, which was designed and advocated for by students. The School listened and created the dedicated study and social space in the Law building.
A student society with national reach
I’ve also developed networking skills with the student Bar Society. We organise the Annual Southampton National Moot which is the largest student-led mooting competition in the country.
We invite universities from across the country to participate, and industry professionals such as barristers, judges and solicitors to judge the moot. It has been really enriching in terms of connecting with other students as well as boosting my organisation and professional communication skills.
In the future
I’d like to continue my research in the field of humanitarian law with a view to becoming an academic, after practising for a few years. I’d like to teach undergraduates and share my passion for law and justice with future students.
