Innovation Competition winners share more about their time spent at Slaughter and May
Fri 27 September 2024
Earlier in the year, Edinburgh Law School and Slaughter and May co-organised the Slaughter and May Innovation Competition for undergraduate and postgraduate students at the Law School. Judged by Professor Burkhard Schafer, winners of the competition spent a week learning about various legal practice areas at Slaughter and May’s London office.
This year’s winners were Erushka Dias, Zoe Li, and Elsa Marin, who are all expected to graduate from the LLM in Innovation, Technology and the Law course in November 2024. About this achievement, Professor Schafer said: “I was particularly delighted when in discussions with Slaughter and May, we discovered a strong alignment in our ideals, values and approaches, and for the past two years, we were fortunate to bring our exchange to the next level, with the Slaughter and May essay competition that encourages our students to think boldly, ask the hard question, and imagine a future for law at a time where technology moves with breakneck speed. The inventiveness and originality of the approaches, the mix of legal and technical skills, and the ability to think bold and big on display in the winning contributions tells me at least “mission accomplished” – the new generation of lawyers will boldly go where none of us has gone before.”
Jane Edwarde, a partner at Slaughter and May and head of their real estate team, added: “It was a pleasure to host Erushka, Elsa and Zoe on their work experience placements in our Legal Operations team, following their success in the Edinburgh University innovation competition. I think they enjoyed learning about how a law firm functions and, in particular, how we approach tech, AI and innovation. We arranged for them to meet several Edinburgh alumni and make further connections across the firm, and we enjoyed chatting to the students and learning about their studies and career ambitions.”
The work experience at Slaughter and May is a great opportunity for students to better discern where their areas of interest within the legal profession lie. Slaughter and May’s Head of Client and Practice Solutions, Emily Lew, said: “We were pleased to host Erushka, Elsa and Zoe from Edinburgh University for a week’s work experience in our Legal Ops team. Highlights of the week included discussions with our lawyers and how they incorporate tech into their daily work; a demo of Leya, a generative AI platform; and attending our regular Innovation Network meeting with people from across the firm. We hope this provided Erushka, Elsa and Zoe with valuable insight into innovation and legal ops at a law firm.”
Erushka Dias noted that the highlight of her time at the firm was the session on the use of generative AI within a commercial firm. She added: “This experience deepened my interest in the use of technology, its potential across various fields, and its regulation. It also made me conscious of the uncertainties and the need for human oversight in decision-making when using technologies such as AI. Developments in technology should be embraced, provided they are guided by responsible innovation and used with an ethics embedded approach.”
At Slaughter and May’s London office, Elsa Marin got to spend some time in the firm’s Client and Practice Solutions team. She remarked: “While in S&M's London office, I had the opportunity to meet many people from different departments. Everybody was welcoming, and seemed eager to talk about their work. I particularly enjoyed learning about how the firm stays a leader in the legal tech area, and how AI can be a great aid to all professionals in the legal sector. Finally, me and the other two winners from the University of Edinburgh got to meet Alumni over tea. We met one solicitor and three trainees, who answered our - many - questions about the work and culture of the firm. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them again for their guidance and advice, as well as Pr. Burkhard Schafer, without whom none of this would have been possible. Thank you all for this incredibly enriching experience!”
Zoe Li found the competition incredibly engaging and it allowed her to further explore the integration of AI and law. She said: “Through specialised sessions and tasks organised by various departments, we gained unique insights from the firm’s operations, learned how General AI can empower the legal industry, and explored the coordination of cross-jurisdictional cases, etc. On the final day, a partner attended our alumni gathering and generously shared her experiences on transitioning from academia to practice, while also offering personal advice on solving our life doubts. From completing my project to participating in the internship, I expanded my understanding of the intersection between technology and law, prompting new considerations for my career development. I am deeply grateful to the University and Slaughter and May for organising such an invaluable competition.”
Edinburgh Law School would like to congratulate all three students for their exceptional performance in this competition. We would also like to thank Professor Burkhard Schafer and Slaughter and May for organising this opportunity.