Warwick Law Society President Maaya Sachdev won the award for the Best Law Society President at the Student Law Society Awards 2019, sponsored by Norton Rose Fulbright and hosted by LawCareers.Net, which took place on Thursday 14 March at Painter’s Hall in London.

The awards aim to highlight and celebrate the great work of societies up and down the country, and the fantastic events and opportunities they create for their members.

Each year LawCareers.Net invite the members of Student Law Societies to fill out a survey that asks them why they think their Law Society should be considered for an award. There are twelve different awards up for grabs, each relating to key aspects of Law Societies such as Careers, Pro Bono and Student Engagement to name just a few. Once the survey deadline has passed the judging panel from LawCareers.Net look through all of the submissions and decide both the nominees in each category as well as the winners on the basis of what members have written about their respective Societies. The nominees are announced in February and the winners in March!

Maaya beat three other university societies to be crowned Best President and we couldn’t be more proud. The Law Society is a huge part of Warwick and they continue to work closely with the School to make the law student experience the best it can be. We caught up with Maaya to find out more.

How do you feel about winning?

I feel so incredibly grateful! All of the nominees who were up for this award have achieved so much in their roles and were equally as deserving. It has been amazing meeting so many people this year in my role as President, and I am so touched that our members at Warwick took the time to submit responses explaining why I should receive this award.

Fundamentally as President you just want to be there for members and for your Committee and I have tried to do that to the best of my ability this year. The award was just the most amazing ending to an already incredible year.

What has it been like working as the Law Society President?

Being the President of one of the largest academic societies on campus comes with a lot of responsibility and I have to say when I was first elected I felt incredibly overwhelmed and daunted by the role. Despite my initial nerves, the experience turned out to be one of the best experiences that I have had to date. It has taught me so much about how to be successful as both a leader and a team member, how to build meaningful relationships with people and most importantly fundamental communication and organisation skills which are key to the role.

My experience as President was largely shaped by the Executive Committee 2018/19 which was made up of 26 hard-working and inspiring individuals. Each member of the Committee showed immense passion towards and dedication to their role, which made my job as President a complete pleasure as I helped them to realise their ambitions. Leading the Society this year along with Angela, our Vice President, and Curtis, our Treasurer, has been nothing short of amazing and that really is down to our wonderful team.

What were the awards like?

The awards are a highlight of all Law Society calendars, as it gives them a chance to be recognised for all that they have been doing over the year. This year we were thrilled to be nominated in four categories: Most Committed to Increasing Diversity, Best Pro Bono Activities, Best Law Society President and Best Law Society Overall.

Angela Utubor (Vice-President), Curtis Rose (Treasurer), Arwa Rahma (Pro Bono Officer) and Joshua Lam (Equal Opportunities Officer) and I all attended the ceremony in London. It was an excellent opportunity to meet representatives from other Law Society’s in the UK and to celebrate coming to the end of our respective tenures! It was great to see the awards being handed out and for individuals to be recognised for their hard efforts.

How do you feel about leaving the role and Warwick?

I am incredibly sad to be both leaving the role as well as Warwick – I wish I could go do it all again! I have had the most amazing four years here at Warwick studying Law and Sociology and have learned more than I ever expected. In addition I have had the opportunity to meet both students and staff from all walks of life and have developed lasting relationships with a whole range of individuals, whom I hope to stay in touch with beyond University.

Being part of Warwick Law Society, both as a member and subsequently on the Executive Committee, has been one of the greatest parts of my university experience. It gave me the opportunity to try new things, grasp opportunities and learn a great deal about myself and what I want to do in the future. I am so envious of all of the first year students I have gotten to know this year, as I know that they are just at the start of a wonderful experience.

What advice would you give to the next society president and cohort of students?

It gives me great pleasure to introduce James Smith who is the newly elected President of Warwick Law Society for 2019/2020. Having been on the Executive Committee since his first year at university as First Year Representative and acting as Careers Officer in his second year, I have complete faith in his ability to lead the Society and know that he will have an equally, if not more, successful year. He has an incredibly strong Executive Committee behind him and I can’t wait to see what they all achieve in their respective roles!

In terms of advice for the next cohort of students, I strongly believe that your first year of university is a great time to get involved in as much as possible and to try out new things. Warwick Law Society offers a whole array of activities to its members so there really is something for everyone. Don’t be shy and get involved!

Congratulations again to Maaya and the rest of the Warwick Law Society team.

Find out more about Warwick Law Society: https://www.uowlawsoc.com/