The TARGETjobs Undergraduate of the Year Awards is an annual competition aimed at finding the best undergraduates in the UK. Each award is partnered by a prominent graduate recruiter who provides a fantastic prize for the winner, including a paid internship, trips abroad and other exclusive opportunities. This year over 4,500 students applied for 13 different awards covering a range of academic subjects and skillsets.

Payal Shah who recently graduated from our three year LLB degree has beat off stiff competition to be named as a finalist for The Future Lawyer of the Year Award 2020 sponsored by Allen & Overy. Payal entered the competition because of the prize (a month worth of experience at Allen & Overy FUSE), who she describes as at the forefront of legal technology. She told us, “I had always been interested about the impact of technology in the legal industry.

“My interest in this area also led me to enter the Justis Law and Technology International Writing Competition 2020. My entry was shortlisted in the top ten for the category: ‘Technology & the future of legal practice’. It has been fascinating to see how a technological revolution has impacted the legal industry and has brought it to the 21st century. When I read about the competition in the Law School newsletter, I thought that it would be absolutely incredible to experience the work of FUSE first-hand.”

Making the final of the competition has Payal feeling a combination of excited and nervous. “Winning would mean that all the work paid off. I was lucky to have made it to the finals last year too, but unfortunately did not win. I decided to try my hand again this year with even more preparation, and it will be exciting to see what the outcome is!”

To make it to the final of the Undergraduate of the Year Awards students had to first complete an application, including essay style questions and online tests. Once passing that stage students were either invited to a telephone interview or to take part in an assessment centre. Allen & Overy were extremely impressed with Payal and have invited her along to the grand final taking place on Friday 4 September where winners will be announced.

Professor Andrew Williams, Payal’s personal tutor during her time at Warwick told us, “This is a wonderful achievement; Payal fully deserves this award."

When asked about her degree, Payal said, “My last three years at Warwick have been incredible, and it's a shame that it's ending so soon! I've had the pleasure to work with the most amazing people and have made life-long friends in the process.”

Congratulations on making it all the way to the final Payal and best of luck for September.