Kent Law School Director of Lawyering Skills Darren Weir has been honoured with a ‘COVID Hero Award’ by Kent Law Society.<\/p>\n
The honour was one of a number awards made by Kent Law Society in recognition of legal professionals across the county “who have gone above and beyond over the last 12 months”. Award winners were announced by Stephanie Boyce, President of The Law Society, at an online ceremony held on Friday evening.<\/p>\n
Darren was recognised for his work in directing our innovative Lawyering Skills Programme at Kent. He said: ‘This programme, which had to largely move virtually, would not have been possible without the help and assistance of the very many legal practitioners and judges (too many to mention). Thank you to them and thank you to the hundreds of students who have been coping with all their studies this year and taking part in the programme. What a great evening arranged by Alexandra Gordon TEP CTA and her team and sponsors. So many worthy winners.’<\/p>\n
Under Darren\u2019s direction, capacity across all our co-curricular modules in the Lawyering Skills Programme at Kent Law School was increased and a new module created. As a result, approximately 400 law students have been able to develop their practical legal skills through their participation in the Programme.<\/p>\n
Darren Weir<\/a> was called to the Bar in 1998. For 12 years he specialised in criminal and regulatory law and practised from Stour Chambers in Canterbury following his London pupillage. Darren prosecuted and defended an array of offences from motoring to murder and appeared in all level of court including the Court of Appeal. He was the \u2018go to\u2019 local counsel for the Crown Prosecution Service at the time in cases of fraud and sexual offences. He was formally a member of the Criminal Bar Association and is a member of Middle Temple. Having previously been a pupil supervisor, he is undertaking further training to train pupil barristers in advocacy.<\/p>\n Kent Law Society<\/a> is one of the longest running Law Societies in the country (older than The Law Society<\/a>) and exists to promote the interests of the legal profession in Kent. This year’s Kent Law Society President is Law School alumna Alexandra Gordon<\/a>.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s Lawyering Skills Programme comprised five key elements: Mooting; Mock Trial Advocacy; Legal Argument & Oral Communication Skills (Debating); Client Interviewing; and Mediation and Negotiation.<\/p>\n Mooting:<\/strong><\/p>\n Mock Trial Advocacy:<\/strong><\/p>\n Legal Argument & Oral Communication Skills (Debating):<\/strong><\/p>\n Client Interviewing:<\/strong><\/p>\n Mediation & Negotiation:<\/strong><\/p>\n Looking ahead, there are plans to expand the Lawyering Skills Programme at Kent Law School even further once back on campus. Watch this space for news of more exciting opportunities for law students at Kent in 2022!<\/p>\n See also:<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Lawyering Skills Programme at Kent Law School in 2020\/21<\/h2>\n
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Looking ahead…<\/h2>\n
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