Scott Scholarship awarded to DCU law student Orlaith Cullen

Orlaith Cullen is the latest recipient of the Scott Scholarship in association with Arthur Cox which supports students who wish to pursue a one-year Master of Laws (LLM) at DCU.

As a BCL graduate and a former DCU student ambassador, Orlaith has shared what it means to receive this prestigious award.

She said: “I want to become a solicitor and receiving this scholarship gives me the opportunity to focus on the specific areas I want to pursue during my career. The LLM provides a comprehensive legal education that will be invaluable to me throughout my career. I will be able to focus on corporate law subjects which will stand to me when I begin my training contract in 2022.”

The scholarship is named in memory of the late Frank Scott, a partner with Arthur Cox and it provides fees and a stipend for the one-year duration of the programme.

Orlaith added: “Receiving this scholarship gives me the financial security to allow me to focus solely on my studies and work to the high standards I am capable of. I’m looking forward to fully immersing myself in the LLM with a chance to develop new legal skills and knowledge to enhance my career as a solicitor.”

As part of her law degree with DCU, Orlaith completed an INTRA placement in Arthur Cox where she enjoyed first-hand experience of litigation and exposure across many different areas of law including medical and professional negligence, licensing, personal injury, environmental, property and tax.

Benefits of taking part in INTRA:

She said: “INTRA was without a doubt one of the most formative experiences I had during my degree. I loved the variety of cases I got to work on and the speed at which cases were opened and closed. I worked to the same level as the trainees in each department and this helped build my confidence in my abilities and in my work ethic. I was doing hands on legal work that helped move cases along, I was in the Courts for hearings and mediations, I worked on pro bono projects and internal working groups. It gave me an accurate sense of what life as a solicitor would be like and it helped me realise that it was what I wanted to do in the future. After completing my INTRA placement in Arthur Cox I would like to pursue a career as a Corporate Law solicitor.”

Tips for first year students embarking on the BCL 2020/21:

With the new academic year fast approaching, we asked Orlaith if she had any top tips for this year’s students:

• Go to all your lectures and tutorials. This is the best way to prepare for the exams and you’ll be able to ask questions about things you don’t understand.
• You do not need to buy books. Law textbooks can be very expensive but almost every book is available in hard copy in the library or through online data bases. (Check out our new ‘scan and send’ facility!)
• Have a look at past exam papers early in the semester, they will give you an idea of what topics to focus on and the way questions are asked. If you have these in the back of your mind as you attend lectures and make notes they will guide your study in the right direction and reduce your work load and stress come exam time.
• Join the law societies: DCU Law Society, ELSA (European Law Students Association) and FLAC (Free Legal Advice Clinic). These are a great way to get to know other law students and see what opportunities are available to you.
• Apply for internships, law start days, open days etc as soon as you can. These are really useful for helping you decide what areas you do or do not want to go into.
• Most importantly: ask for help if you need it. College can be stressful at times, especially around exams but everyone in DCU wants to see you be happy, healthy and successful. Remember that lecturers, classmates and the DCU physical and mental health services are there to help with any worries or stress you may have.

To find out more about what you can expect for this Academic Year see here.

 Adapting to online learning during COVID:

Like many students, Orlaith was completing her degree when COVID-19 broke out and lockdown restrictions were rolled out across the country, altering the student landscape overnight. As she now prepares for postgraduate learning with the LLM during the ‘new normal’ with COVID-19, she shares some practical advice from her experience in March:

-       Get into a routine that works for you. Find out if you work better in the morning or later in the day.

-       If possible find somewhere quiet that you can read, write or make notes, otherwise put on a study playlist to drown out the background noise.

-       Take regular breaks, go for walks and get fresh air. It can be very tiring staring at a screen but breaking up your day will make it easier.

-       Zoom study groups can be really useful. Study groups can reduce your workload and make harder topics more accessible. Get a few friends together and schedule in zoom calls throughout the week to go over different topics and make sure everyone is up to date.

 For more information about our Master of Laws (LLM) see here.