Alumni profile
Carly Moore-Martin
Carly Moore-Martin graduated from Newcastle Law School in 2010. She went on to complete her Legal Practice Course (LPC) at the College of Law in London before successfully qualifying as a solicitor.
For me, choosing the university and city was as important to me as choosing the specific law school I went to. Newcastle immediately stood out because, despite requesting pretty much EVERY university brochure off the UCAS website in alphabetic order, the law school was the first one that I received. I took that as an initial sign and then after attending an open day, visiting the law school and making my way around the city, I just knew it was the university for me. I especially loved that we had our own library in the basement.
I am a Londoner born and bred and so the distance from my family and friends was not ideal but I very quickly settled in, enjoying how close everything seemed, how friendly and welcoming the university and the locals were and the structure and support given by the law school – it genuinely felt like a family away from family for me. I am very fortunate to have found and formed such close bonds with a number of friends during my time there and to have grown up with them over the last 16 years. We have been through many ups and downs together and I cannot imagine my life without them.
I chose law because it is a solid academic degree and I thought that whether I was going to pursue law as a career or not (my preference at that time was to be an investigative journalist) it would stand me in good stead. I had not studied it before starting university (my A-level subjects being history, politics and English literature with religious studies at AS-level) and so I was genuinely quite apprehensive about the choice but it turned out to be the perfect mix of all of them. As I moved through the degree, I started to think that perhaps investigative journalism and a career in law were not too dissimilar. I started looking into vacation schemes and training contracts, and by the end of second year I had made my mind up on my future career as a solicitor.
I loved the closeness of the law school, the library, having our own lovely receptionists (some of whom I caught up with recently at an alumni event), the lecturers who really cared about us as students, and how we were to develop and prosper. The work ethic of the students in the law school was also fairly unique. We all wanted to do well and would support one another, both in terms of studying and spending time in the library, attending seminars, participating in extra-curricular sports and events, and looking for work experience.
I grew both academically and in confidence whilst at Newcastle and when I left with my degree I genuinely felt as though I could do anything.
I was involved in publishing the ‘All Rise’ magazine which was a once-a-year law school publication. It was a great experience, obtaining sponsorship from a number of law firms, interacting with people across the law school to give feedback and articles for it. I was also the law school captain of the netball team for 3 years and regularly attended the matches, training and socials. I also created a ‘naked’ calendar for Cancer Research UK although I am not sure that would have been sanctioned by the law school these days!
I can’t pick a favourite memory as there are so many but some highlights include:
- Ashley Wilton (head of the law school at the time) giving another epic speech at the end of year law school ball, only to have teed up the music to invite us to the dance floor, asking the question ‘Are you human or are we dancer?’ as the song ‘Human’ by ‘The Killers’ blasted out.
- Finishing the ‘naked’ calendar which has been embraced by the whole law school (including the receptionist staff) to raise money for a good cause.
- Richard Mullender’s lectures (I really enjoyed tort and I love a good slide!) and our meetings as my dissertation tutor. I learnt so much!
- Field trip to York Minster with the Religion and the Law class.
- The Amsterdam Law School Trip.
- The hundreds of fun nights out, starting in Sinners drinking 3 trembles for only £5! Whilst I couldn’t handle that anymore, I still miss the prices…
I graduated in 2010 and went straight on to do my LPC at what was the College of Law in London on the Bloomsbury campus. I then obtained a training contract to start the following September and so I started on the path as early as I could have. Looking back now though, as grateful as I was and still am about securing the job, I do wish I had taken a year or two out to travel and perhaps do paralegal work to experience a few more things and gain a bit more life experience before starting what is likely to be my career for life as a solicitor.
I really used my time at Newcastle wisely, got stuck into all the opportunities that were presented to me, bulking out my CV but also having a really good time doing so. I would encourage current and future students to do the same. There is so much to do so grab all of it with both hands. I grew both academically and in confidence whilst at Newcastle and when I left with my degree I genuinely felt as though I could do anything.
