Few SCL members would doubt that a focus on the study of IT law is good for students, good for the future of the legal profession and good for society as a whole. So you are probably delighted to see that SCL is taking forward an initiative to promote a greater focus on IT Law, especially at undergraduate level. You can get involved and take this forward with just a small commitment of your time.
The method SCL has chosen to promote the study of IT law involves the involvement of prominent IT lawyers who are asked to raise the profile of IT law within their local university. We are trying to recruit as many SCL University Ambassadors as possible from within our membership. Their mission will be to raise the awareness of IT law as a speciality.
We already have ambassadors covering Bristol, Leeds, Southampton and Sussex but we have gaping holes in our network – Scotland, Wales and London spring to mind – and we are keen to see many more recruits from private practice. If you are able to give a little of your time to the scheme, you may very well find that you, your firm, the university and the local students all benefit. There cannot be a better way of keeping pace with the new than rubbing shoulders with students and it can do no harm to raise the firm profile in this way in centres of academic and research excellence.
If you already have a connection with a local university, perhaps as a guest lecturer or contributor on careers advice, then you are obviously ideal. Being an SCL Ambassador adds another string to that bow. If you don’t personally, it is likely that your firm does and a quick enquiry will reveal more and allow the relationship to clossom. More junior IT lawyers may find that this role suits them very well – and being termed an ‘ambassador’ cannot be bad either. But if you are really starting from scratch, SCL can help with a university contact and we can assure you that you will be met with open arms. (You don’t have to be available to go to the forthcoming meeting to be involved.)
Central to our existence is the aim of fostering the understanding of IT law and the universities ought to be giving the next generation of lawyers an awareness of IT law as a legal speciality. Of course, the SCL University Ambassadors initiative has a double purpose; it will contribute both to the increased awareness of IT law at our universities and it will increase the awareness of SCL among students and help the SCL to forge closer links with the universities.
More details on the SCL University Ambassadors scheme are available here
The first meeting of the SCL University Ambassadors will take place on Thursday 7 May 2015 at 12.30 pm at Bird & Bird in London. If you are interested in becoming an SCL University Ambassador and attending the meeting please contact Caroline Gould, the SCL General Manager at caroline.gould@scl.org
