A Week In The Life Of A Lawyer Awaits Winning Student In 2020

A Rotherham student will experience a week in the life of a lawyer with a national law firm in 2020 after winning a legal competition concerning the use of facial recognition in CCTV technology.

Anthony Ioannou, 17, a law student at Thomas Rotherham College (TRC) won first prize of a week with Irwin Mitchell, after submitting the winning presentation in the TRC Annual Law Competition, sponsored for the last six years by Irwin Mitchell.

The competition challenges BTEC and A Level Law students to impress the judges, by delivering a winning legal presentation. This year, students had to address whether use of facial recognition CCTV technology should be considered a step too far in the fight against crime.

Anthony’s ‘engaging and insightful’ PowerPoint was praised by the judges for demonstrating a passion for the topic and excellent research skills. The submission of Megan Roper, 16, also impressed the judges, securing her second place and a prize of £50 in Meadowhall vouchers.

With a coveted work experience place at Irwin Mitchell for the winner, the competition always attracts a high standard of entries and this year was no exception. Irwin Mitchell’s Darren Wilson, Emily Mansfield and Ellie Taylor judged the presentations, with Ellie bringing a unique insight to the judging panel, being the winner of the competition herself in 2014.

Ellie Taylor, now a Paralegal at Irwin Mitchell, said: ‘’At Irwin Mitchell we are passionate about the law and honoured to be in a position where we can offer competitions like these, to help the next generation of legal talent during the formative stages of their legal careers."

Andrew Penney, Assistant Head of the Business and Law Faculty at TRC, said: ‘’We are incredibly grateful for the successful partnership we have built with Irwin Mitchell.

This annual competition provides students with a fantastic first taste of the legal profession and we are looking forward to working with the firm next year on a range of other exciting opportunities’’.   

Expert Opinion

"We picked Anthony's entry as the winner because not only did his passion for the legal topic really shine through, but he demonstrated a clear understanding of the contentious legal issue in a clear and engaging presentation.

Anthony will now come to our Sheffield office in April next year and experience a week in the life of a lawyer, which will hopefully help him as he continues his legal studies.’’ Darren Wilson - Team Leader & Senior Associate