North East Law Firm Savage Silk, which has an office in Stockton, has teamed up with Teesside University’s Law Clinic to provide ongoing support to its law students.
Teesside University’s Law Clinic offers free legal advice to members of the community. Working in partnership with lawyers, charities, and voluntary organisations, it provides students with real opportunities and practical skills in law while helping local people.
Savage Silk’s Emma Huscroft and her private client team are collaborating with the university to volunteer their time, resources and legal skills to law students.
Students in Teesside University’s Law Clinic focus on various areas, including employment, money claims, lasting powers of attorney, wills, civil disputes, housing, landlord and tenant, consumer, and family law.
The law clinic gives students exposure to real cases with real people while providing an insight into what local legal practices offer to clients.
The dual approach of legal and practical content is key as it gives the students a real insight into a career in law. It also opens avenues of communication to several different career paths within the legal sector.
Emma is a member of Teesside University’s Alumni Community, having studied law at the university. She joined Savage Silk in August 2020 and has 14 years’ experience of advising clients in all aspects of the private client legal field.
The partnership between Savage Silk and the Law Clinic also coincides with the 20th anniversary of Emma beginning her legal journey, which was also marked by her becoming a partner at the firm this year.
Emma will work with her friend and fellow Teesside University alumni, Emma Harbron, who is Lecturer in Legal Practice and Supervising Solicitor in the Law Clinic at Teesside University. Qualifying into family law, Emma Harbron spent ten years in legal practice before returning to the university to become a lecturer.
The pair, who have remained friends since university, both stayed in Teesside to progress their respective careers and are keen to share their journey and experience with future generations of solicitors, and to demonstrate the opportunities that are available in this region.
Emma Huscroft said, “I am really keen to encourage aspiring solicitors to consider studying locally and qualifying in the local area to progress their careers.
“The positive changes we have seen in the employment landscape in Teesside have opened up many opportunities for law graduates meaning that they no longer have to move to other parts of the UK to have successful legal careers. Personally, I have the university to thank for my path. I made a friend for life in Emma Harbron and it is important to me to continue the supportive cycle.”
Emma Harbron said, “Emma and I go back a long way and we have remained friends since meeting at Teesside University and embarking on our legal careers. We both share the same passion for helping young people understand that you really can make it to the top of the legal profession by taking up employment with a local company in Teesside, the opportunities are endless.”