October 15, 2024, by Joe

Sofia Solanki – Law in Practice Module Placement

From Classroom to Community

I learnt many things during university; how to balance a social life; squeeze student discount out of every purchase and find hidden gems and secret restaurants. Though I found a home from home and found my academic content intellectually stimulating, I didn’t know Nottingham itself and felt detached from the non-student population, so I jumped at the chance to volunteer for ‘Citizens Advice Derbyshire Districts’ as part of my ‘Law in Practice’ module. Through a 50-hour placement, I heard stories and struggles of people living a stone’s throw away, helping me escape the university bubble and see how the law in practice truly affects the people it seeks to serve.

The charity sits at the heart of the Derbyshire community acting as a support mechanism and confidant. My role involved offering advice and information about a range of social issues over the telephone. Empathy and professionalism were key skills and the role required compliance with data protection and safeguarding rules. After what seemed like mountains of online training, I was apprehensive about the enormity of my role as my actions had the potential to change the trajectory of a person’s life. I was pushed outside my comfort zone – I couldn’t rely on my usual hand gestures and non-verbal communication skills on the phone, so had to develop other ways to show I was actively listening.

 

 

The initial nerves were immediately quashed when meeting my wonderfully supportive supervisors. With each call, I learnt more about the importance of charities like Citizens Advice to vulnerable members of society. Seeing the bigger picture, beyond my own performance, I gained confidence in my judgement and honed a telephone response focussing on building rapport with the client to gather as much information as possible. I realised the role did not warrant a perfect, robotic approach. I learnt to put less pressure on myself and to prioritise having an informal conversation. This method proved successful with one frequent caller requesting I answer all his future calls! As I wanted to get to know the local community and help make a difference it was incredibly rewarding to hear that I had helped someone navigate a problem they were facing.

I came out of the placement a completely different person and learnt things about myself I wouldn’t have anywhere else. I went in admittedly narrow-minded with a preconception of what the calls would bring but could not have been more wrong. I spoke to some truly inspiring people often at their lowest ebb and in trying to find a solution, I found myself seeing the law and policy in a completely different light.

I grew frustrated for some of my clients and surprised at how inaccessible legislation was in real-life situations. Embarking on this placement gave me an alternative perspective – the ability to question the law and the confidence to criticise policy and propose reform. Learning from a law in practice perspective enhanced my academic ability. So, to anyone thinking of completing a similar placement… do it! Do it and be open minded, because you will learn things you didn’t even know there was to learn. It will teach you to be comfortable outside your comfort zone and will teach you more than you could ever read from a textbook.

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