OPPORTUNITIES FOR LAW STUDENTS AND LAWYERS IN APRIL 2021
CONTESTS AND COMPETITIONS
1. Dafe Akpedeye SAN Essay Competition
Compos Mentis Chambers has announced the 2nd Edition of the Dafe Akpedeye SAN Essay Competition. The competition is opened to all students of Nigerian Faculties of Law. The theme for the competition is “Drake’s 2018 ‘In My Feelings’, the Proliferated Shiggy Dance, and Copyright Considerations – The Nigerian Perspective.“
Submissions for the essay competition opens on the 4th of March and runs till the 11:59 pm on the 11th of April 2021. Winners will be announced on the 16th of May 2021.
Modalities
The organizers of the competition require that applicants meet the following requirements:
- Entrants should strictly be Law Students of Universities in Nigeria.
- Entrants must be enrolled in the undergraduate study of Law in any of the Nigerian Universities and must have commenced study as of the date of entry. Entrants will be required to upload evidence of studentship (Faculty of Law or Law students’ body Identity Card)
- Entries must not exceed 2000 words, and entries must be in Times New Roman and Font size 12. Exceeding the word count will result in an automatic disqualification.
- Entries must be written in the English Language, and all non-English language maxims and expressions must be italicised.
- Only one entry per participant is allowed. Once an entry is submitted, entrants will not have the opportunity to revise it. Please carefully check and improve your writing before submitting the final copy, and also ensure that all supplementary information is filled in correctly (name, contact details, etc.)
- The Firm maintains a strict rule against plagiarism.
- Final documents should not include the entrant’s personal details including name, age, school, or country. This information should be inputted upon entry.
- The final copy submitted for the competition must be the entrant’s own original work. This does not rule out input or assistance from others but does exclude group entries.
- Essays can only be uploaded as a Microsoft Word document (.doc or docx) or in PDF format (.pdf). The online platform does not accept Google Docs (.gdoc), Pages documents (.pages), or other word processor formats. Note: if the firm is unable to find or open your entry file (either through an incorrect format or upload error), your entry may not be considered in the competition.
- All entries must be written on and relevant to the supplied theme.
- All entries must be submitted by 11th April, 2021. Any entry submitted later than this date is deemed disqualified.
- All entrants retain their copyright for the entries submitted. However, by entering the Essay Competition, each contestant consents to the use of his/her name, and/or pieces or parts thereof in any advertisements, educational materials, corpus research or media and publicity carried out or produced by Compos Mentis Legal Practitioners.
- The organizers advise that entrants retain a copy of their original work as they are unable to return or provide copies of submitted entries.
Prizes
A total cash prize of ₦500,000 is to be won by successful applicants
To submit your entry, visit the competition page to fill an essay entry form and upload your submission.
3. SimmonsCooper Advocacy Development 2021
The SCAD is an initiative of SimmonsCooper Partners, a leading law firm in Nigeria. The bi-annual Advocacy contest usually involves an extensive brief-writing stage and an oral presentation round. It is open to undergraduate law students and law school students.
Interested law students are to download the Dispute Scenario from the SCAD Website, The top 10 candidates from the Brief Writing Stage will move on to the Oral Presentation at a time to be announced.
Deadline for submission of briefs is the 17th of April, 2021.
Prizes
1st Position: ₦1,000,000 + Internship at SimmonsCooper Partners
2nd Position: ₦500,000 + Internship at SimmonsCooper Partners
3rd Position: ₦250,000 + Internship at SimmonsCooper Partners
4th – 10th Position: ₦50,000 each
3. Integrity 25th Anniversary Essay Competition
Integrity Organization Limited Gte. is hosting an essay competition for Nigerian students across secondary and tertiary levels. The essay competition is to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Integrity and to enable Nigerian youths to translate their writing skills into addressing topical issues (corruption) in the Nigerian society.
The essay theme for undergraduates is: How to Reduce Corruption to the Barest Minimum in Public and Private Institutions.
To participate, students are to write an essay on the theme in not more than 2500 words. The essay is to be uploaded in .pdf or .doc format to the essay application form while applicants fill in the required details in the form.
Prizes
1st Place – NGN600,000
2nd Place – NGN300,000
3rd Place – NGN250,000
INTERNSHIPS AND JOB OPPORTUNITIES
1. ǼLEX NYSC Associate Recruitment
ǼLEX, a full service law firm located in Lagos is receiving applications for the NYSC Associate Role.
According to the role advert, ǼLEX prides itself as a firm that recognises that exceptional service is only possible if the right people are employed. ǼLEX, therefore, aims to attract individuals with the necessary skills, aspirations, and drive to excel in all areas of their lives. The firm looks out for young lawyers with strong academic achievements, confident legal skills, and excellent communication skills
JOB DESCRIPTION
- Applicants must possess an LLB & B.L degree with a minimum of 2.2 (Second Lower) grade class.
- Excellent communication & research skills, exceptional legal drafting skills,
- Highly motivated and willing to learn
- Must have graduated from the Nigerian Law School
- There is no requirement for prior employment experience.
Interest applicants are to apply on/before April 23, 2021 via the application link
2. WTO Young Professionals Programme
The Secretariat World Trade Organization calls on professionals, younger than the age of 32, to apply for its Young Professionals Programme.
The programme affords candidates from developing and least developed WTO member countries the opportunity to broaden their skills and knowledge on international trade issues. The programme also aims to widen the pool of professionals from these countries who can later be more competitive with respect to recruitment in the WTO and/or other regional and international organizations
Requirements
- Applicants must possess an advanced university degree in law, economics, or other international trade-related subjects relevant to the work of the WTO.
- Applicants are expected to possess general knowledge of the work of the WTO.
- Applicants are also expected to have good drafting skills in English. An ability to draft in French and/or Spanish is an advantage.
- Applicants must possess a minimum of two (2) years professional experience relevant to the work of the WTO.
The WTO also gives preference to nationals from WTO member states without or with low representation at the professional level in the Secretariat.
All applications must be accompanied by a cover letter of motivation which should indicate up to three areas of work, in order of preference, that the applicant is interest in.
For more information on the areas of work and application eligibility, visit the application page.
The application deadline is 29 April, 2021 and the duration of the program is one year. To apply, visit the e-Recruitment page of the WTO.
3. VAZI Legal Internship Program
VAZI Legal announced the opening up of its bi-annual six-week Legal Internship Program. The paid internship seeks offer participants practical experience into the frameworks that guide legal advisory in the innovation industry.
The internship program comprises of six tracks and interns are expected to rotate between two of the tracks during their internship experience.
The available internship tracks include:
- Fintech, Decentralized Finance and Digital Currencies.
- Investment Advisory and Compliance
- Technology and Human Rights
- Intellectual Property, Licensing and Digital Infrastructure
- Artificial Intelligence and Legal Tech
- Legal Research and Writing
Interns are expected to:
- Support the legal team and assist other members of the department as directed.
- Answer queries and redirects them to the appropriate department.
- Assist with the preparation of agreements and letters, ensuring execution, circulation and filing.
- Conduct research and assist the associates or partners wherever possible.
- Complete projects assigned to you.
- Take notes during meetings, compile reports, and make presentations to team members.
- Work with your internship mentor, keep a log of things learned
- Get evaluated at the end of the internship programme.
To apply, prospective interns are to meet the following requirements.
- Final year law student, law school student, or 1-year post-call.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to take responsibility and demonstrate a high level of professionalism with everyone
- Excellent research abilities, a willingness to grow and a positive mindset.
The internship is to run from the 15th of May, 2021 to 30th of June, 2021. Successful applicants will receive notifications of their application in the first week of May. For more information, visit the official career page of Vazi Legal.
DETAIL Solicitors Trainee Solicitor Recruitment
DETAIL Solicitors is an exclusive commercial law firm located in Lagos, Nigeria. The firm recently announced a vacancy for the position of a trainee solicitor.
Intending applicants must have graduated from the Nigerian Law School and be awaiting the next NYSC enrolment. Interested individuals are to send their CVs via mail to nysc@detailsolicitors.com. The subject of the mail should read Application for Trainee Solicitor.
Applications for this position closes on April 23, 2021.
Linklaters African Clerkship 2021
Linklaters runs an African Clerkship opportunity for law graduates, penultimate and final-year law students from universities in select African countries (South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana). The clerkship takes place for four weeks between November and December. The clerkship is fully sponsored (travel and accommodation) by Linklaters.
The opportunity closes on the 31st of May, 2021. Visit https://linklaters.apply.cappats.com/Jobs/View/57 to begin your application process.