The Student Experience

Full commitment to office hours and an appetite for learning from the best prepare our trainees for the work environment. Contact hours, the amount of time our trainees experience direct teaching, are designed to reflect real life and to provide intensely positive learning. Do not be alarmed by this as trainees quickly adjust and grow closer as a result. The shared experience makes the Institute an intimate and supportive body where academic, pastoral and general support is provided willingly and professionally. The levels of encouragement are a hallmark of the Institute's operating method.

The social aspect of student life cannot be underestimated as the Institute actively supports participation in many extra-curricular fields including moots. These competitions, performed in Dublin, London and internationally, are the perfect teambuilding exercises which can bring huge personal rewards. We encourage as many of our trainees as possible to take part in these to learn the finer skills of negotiation, client counselling and advocacy, and also to broaden their horizons through foreign travel. Ultimately, our success at competitions underlines the quality of the legal tutoring our trainees receive and serves to uphold the Institute's widely recognised reputation. 

The location of the Institute means close proximity to Queen's University Belfast's many services, libraries, leisure facilities and social activities. A short walk from the main campus, the Institute is also close to the award-winning PE Centre, the Queen's Film Theatre (QFT), the One Elmwood Student Centre which provides support to all students and trainees in times of stress, and the Students' Union building which lies at the heart of student life.