Alana Neville

During my final semester at university, I partook in a clinical law module that provided me with a legal placement opportunity at the Law Centre NI. The Law Centre provides free legal advice and representation to clients needing support regarding social security law, employment law and immigration law. As a tier 2 organisation, the Law Centre deals with some of the most complex cases and has significantly influenced precedent and statutory reform in Northern Ireland. During my placement, I drafted letters for decision-makers, wrote written submissions advocating for clients, generated case summaries, reviewed case files, observed tribunal and Court of Appeal hearings, shadowed client meetings and participated in a legal research project on immigration law that will be used in law firms across the UK. Queen’s University Belfast also provided me with the opportunity to blog the journey of my placement on their QUB Law LinkedIn and Instagram profiles.

I was one of twelve pupils selected by Queen’s University Belfast to participate in their StreetLaw project. This opportunity allowed my collaborators and me to attend weekly sessions with pupils at a local secondary school to educate them on the issues surrounding the law and their digital footprint. The end goal was to create an informative presentation with them that explored the topic and would be presented at the Methodist College Annual Law Conference. This was an extensive project, and we covered a range of issues such as employment contracts, defamation cases, privacy and data protection regulations on social media sites, and upcoming legal reform covering online privacy laws.

Here, I participated in a three-day online virtual internship. During this experience, I: practised my communication skills and professionalism with various lawyers and managerial professionals. Presented presentations to leading lawyers, which pushed me outside of my comfort zone and developed my confidence. Heard from the firm’s commercial lawyers and gained invaluable insights into their daily tasks. Cleary Gottlieb’s lawyers helped us to understand the key skills necessary in within the legal industry by setting us tasks that promoted teamwork, communication, confidence and a problem-solving mindset. The tasks set included reviewing documents, participating in negotiations and conducting legal research. This internship gave me valuable insights into working for a top global, commercial law firm with high-value and cross-jurisdictional work.

As an administrative assistant, I provide comprehensive administrative support, including invoicing, preparing tender submissions, expense tracking, and payroll processing. I maintain accurate records through efficient data entry, employee timekeeping, and attendance management, while also preparing professional business correspondence. I communicate professionally with suppliers and stakeholders to deliver excellent service at all times and coordinate cost-effective procurement through purchase order management. In addition, I support effective internal communication and contribute to improving workplace efficiency by streamlining administrative processes and project management. In this role I regularly conduct research to support administrative tasks, source suppliers, and to better inform business decision-making.

During my studies, I worked part-time as a sales assistant in at Reiss and Ted Baker. I delivered exceptional customer service and enhanced my communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills. I enjoyed demonstrating my entrepreneurial mindset by learning about sales techniques. I consistently exceeded my daily sales targets by building rapport with customers, identifying their needs and recommending products tailored to their circumstances. This approach enhanced both customer satisfaction and sales. This required detailed product knowledge and the ability to adapt my communication style to suit various clients. I thrived in the fast-paced environment of peak hours/days, ensuring the quality of my client interactions, the efficiency of transactions and the organisation of the store were not jeopardised during this time. These experiences have made me resilient amongst significant pressures. Teamwork was essential to my role, I would regularly train and support new staff and collaborate on sales with other team members.

• During my studies, I worked part-time as a sales assistant in a Reiss and Ted Baker store. As a sales assistant, I delivered exceptional customer service and enhanced my communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills. I enjoyed demonstrating my entrepreneurial mindset by learning about sales techniques. I consistently exceeded my daily sales targets by building rapport with customers, identifying their needs or concerns and recommending products tailored to their circumstances. This approach enhanced both the customers’ satisfaction and sales. This required detailed product knowledge and the ability to adapt my communication style to suit various clients. I thrived in the fast-paced environment of peak hours/days, ensuring the quality of my client interactions, the efficiency of transactions and the organisation of the store were not jeopardised during this time. These experiences have made me resilient in the face of significant pressures, a skill that will undoubtedly benefit me during my legal career. Teamwork was essential as a sales assistant. I would regularly train and support new staff, and I would collaborate with other team members with a customer if I felt they had a stronger product knowledge of what the customer was looking for. I believe these experiences have prepared me well for client interactions in the legal profession, where identifying clients’ needs, tailoring communication styles, and delivering a professional and personalised experience are vital.
• Reference information: 07540190421

Waitressing instilled valuable skills such as time management and the ability to work efficiently under pressure. Time management was continuously at play during shifts, where balancing attending to a large array of customers, collecting orders from the kitchen and bar was vital. My ability to manage my time and meet deadlines was proven during this role. My active listening and communication skills benefited me daily whilst serving a wide variety of customers, adapting my approach to best suit each individual’s expectations. As well as communicating effectively with customers, I worked closely with my colleagues, to streamline service.

• Waitressing instilled in me valuable skills such as time management and the ability to work well under pressure. Time management was continuously at play during my shifts, where balancing attending to a large array of customers, collecting orders from the kitchen and from the bar was vital. My ability to manage my time and meet deadlines ensures that I can juggle competing deadlines across different time zones, exceed client expectations through a positive response time, and balance multiple tasks effectively. My active listening and communication skills benefited me daily as I served a wide variety of customers, adapting my approach to best suit each individual’s expectations. I will replicate this skill with clients during my legal career to maintain professionalism whilst tailoring my interactions to understand best what your clients are seeking out of their experience with the firm. As well as communicating effectively with customers, I worked closely with my colleagues, as helping each other to manage tasks was essential.
• Reference information: 07830941753

I worked as a launderette assistant for four years. This job entailed providing a service of washing, drying, and folding customers' clothes. This role developed my organisation skills by handling customers’ belongings and ensuring everything remained together throughout the process, demonstrating my commitment to ensuring accuracy. This role allowed me to collaborate effectively with the sales assistant in charge, as I assisted them and followed their direction. Taking initiative during each shift was also crucial, as busy periods often created a high-pressure environment where communication with the sales assistant was limited and customers actively sought assistance. Balancing collaboration and independent initiative will assist me in future legal roles. Serving customers during peak hours honed my ability to remain calm whilst maintaining professionalism. Committing to a job for four years whilst studying demonstrates my discipline and ability to balance competing priorities (work, academics and personal life).