Every one of our ULaw students has a unique story that sparked their ambition and led them to study with us. Today we’re talking to LPC student Nikita Maskevic from our Leeds campus. We catch up with him to discuss his time at ULaw and his ambition to become a solicitor in the shipping industry.
I chose to study at The University of Law because it offers various pro bono and work experience opportunities which have been invaluable. I took up most of them.
Ambition means having clear, achievable aims and the necessary knowledge and skills to achieve them. Also, to take advantage of every opportunity to reach those aims. My ambition is to become a notable solicitor in shipping.
In terms of my studies, I have completed most of my ambitions as I only have a few months of the LPC left. I also have quite a lot of professional experience thanks to the Pro Bono Team. Unfortunately, I have not secured a traineeship yet but eventually I will accomplish that too.
When I joined ULaw, I only knew that I had to study the GDL and then LPC to be able to practise as a solicitor. I was not expecting it to be much more challenging than my undergraduate degree; I was mistaken. I had to review my approach to studying and lifestyle to adapt.
I’m part of the ULaw mentoring scheme and my mentor helped me a lot with my traineeship applications, as well as other professional and personal queries. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, my vacation scheme in their company was cancelled.
Before joining ULaw, I was highly influenced by the University’s former alumni Andrius and Marius Vitas. I discovered that we completed the same undergraduate course and I have been following them ever since. They both work in the legal marine industry and that is why I want to follow in their footsteps.
I haven’t met anyone in person with the same ambition as me. However; there is a Shipping Society at the Moorgate campus.
In five years, I see myself as a shipping solicitor in either a shipping law company or in a large law firm with a shipping department.
I have two top tips for GDL (now PGDL) or LPC students:
- Easy times are over – treat your studies as a job and study for the whole working day.
- Workshops are everything – even if you came unprepared, take notes of everything. Exam questions are the same as at workshops but with different details.
Don’t postpone your dreams. Discover how we can support your ambition now.
