Congratulations to our recent QUB Law Graduate, Khaula Bhutta, who has won a share of the £100,000 investment prize from Queen's University Belfast as part of its new 'InQUBate' initiative.
Ms Bhutta's project, "Inclusive Law," is an online platform aiming to connect vulnerable individuals from marginalised communities with legal professionals.
Khaula expressed her gratitude for the support, stating, "I am absolutely thrilled to be selected as one of the winning Queen's start-ups. This support package will greatly value me as I begin to grow my business. I look forward to working closely with university experts and local businesspeople to build my knowledge and understanding of what makes a successful company. I'd encourage anyone who might even just have a great idea or is working on a side hustle and not yet thinking of themselves as an entrepreneur to get in touch with the InQUBate network and see how they might be able to support you. I'm really excited to see what the future has in store, and I can't thank Queen's and its staff enough."
Khaula's project exemplifies the entrepreneurial skills nurtured at Queen's School of Law and the potential for law graduates to innovate within the legal field. This recognition aligns with the School of Law's commitment to integrating entrepreneurial education into its curriculum and providing extra-curricular programs for developing entrepreneurial skills.
This November, Darren Toombs (Partner - Carson McDowell) was appointed as President of the Law Society of NI. A Warrenpoint native, Mr Toombs heads up the insolvency and restructuring and debt recovery teams in Carson McDowell, specializing in insolvency litigation.
Mr Toombs graduated in 1998 with a LLB Law and Accountancy from Queen’s University. He was admitted to the roll of solicitors in 2000 and joined Carson McDowell three years later, becoming a partner in 2010. He was first elected to the Law Society Council in 2015 and has served on a number of its committees, including the business committee, professional conduct committee, the contentious business committee, the future of the profession committee, etc.
Commenting on his appointment Mr Toombs said: “It is an honour and privilege to become president of the Law Society of NI, especially at a time of great change facing the whole legal sector. Whilst there are many challenges ahead, I believe that there are many more opportunities to build a more diverse, accessible, and welcoming solicitor profession fit for purpose and responsive to the needs of local business and our community. Our future is very much about investing in the next generation and as someone who has been passionate about the education and training of solicitors, I am committed to identifying ways to improve access to the legal profession and supporting those wishing to become a solicitor.”
It is great to see another QUB alumnus achieve such success, and we wish Mr Toombs every success in his Presidential role.
A common question asked by law students is “who are the top legal employers, and how can we learn more about them and what they have on offer?”
Legal employers fit into a variety of different categories such as magic circle firms, US/transatlantic firms, national firms, regional firms, high street firms, in-house legal teams, etc. Our School of Law partners with a range of leading companies and stakeholder organisations, around shared agendas. Our employer partners offer a range of value-added opportunities for students, including work placements, work-based projects, research opportunities, graduate employment opportunities, etc.
To assist students, on our School’s website we have detailed short profiles of 50 leading legal employers/organisations, the majority of which are based in Northern Ireland*****. From these profiles, students can directly link into the ‘Careers’ sections of company websites, to find out more about current opportunities. Should a student wish to get in touch with a specific employer about the possibility of undertaking a work placement/internship, or have a query about the recruitment process or a job opportunity, then the below document details specific staff contact names (typically Human Resources staff, or Talent Managers):
December 2023_Company profiles_Staff contacts