For Natania Efeurhobo, who graduated in law from the University of Essex this summer, learning from the perspectives of those around her proved just as valuable as the knowledge she gained in lectures. “As lawyers, you need to be able to relate to different kinds of people, hear diverse views, and learn how others see the world,” she says. “In my class alone, there were students from France, Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and I learned so much from them.”
That diversity extends across the University of Essex, where students from more than 140 countries study together. At Essex Law School, in particular, encountering different cultures and perspectives can offer a valuable insight into how questions of justice, rights and regulation play out around the world.
“While studying, I learned a lot about other countries’ laws but also their different perspectives, which in a world of AI gives you a huge advantage,” says Efeurhobo. Rather than fearing AI’s impact on the legal profession, Efeurhobo believes future lawyers need to understand and embrace it. “AI will definitely change the world of law,” she says. “Quite a few law firms and legal departments have already implemented it into their processes, and as it becomes more developed and sophisticated it will be able to start proofreading and drafting documents. But a lawyer’s judgment, ethics, and the ability to explain a concept will always be relevant and required; AI will just make parts of their job easier. We shouldn’t fear it, but we must regulate it.”
For Efeurhobo, some of her most formative experiences at the University of Essex happened as part of the extensive extracurricular activities. She became involved with the Students’ Union VTeam , which offers projects in volunteering, leadership, and community outreach, and completed more than 150 hours of volunteering as a mentor for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. One of her proudest achievements was becoming co-project leader for the VTeam Maths Club, which ran after-school maths sessions for local schools. She also helped establish the Black Law Society. “It’s a place where Black law students, as an underrepresented group in the professional legal world, can come together, create opportunities and network with each other,” she says. The society runs speaker events with trainees and junior associates, networking and debate nights and study sessions, all designed to help members prepare for training contracts and other career opportunities.
“The extracurricular activities on offer at the University of Essex not only help others but also help us to build new skills and develop strengths as law students, ones that we hope to take into our future careers,” she says. “After all, the law sees everybody as equal. So I think it’s important that a lawyer knows we all come from different areas and backgrounds, with different advantages and disadvantages. When I qualify as a lawyer, for example, I would love to do pro-bono work for people affected by domestic violence who are not able to get legal help or leave a dangerous situation due to resources.”
That emphasis on law’s real-world impact extends into the curriculum. Alongside studying legal fundamentals, students are encouraged to question existing systems and consider how law affects people’s lives, with opportunities to work on real cases through the Essex Law Clinic and Human Rights Centre Clinic . From October 2026, for example, students in the Human Rights Centre Clinic’s new Right to Housing Unit will work alongside Dr Koldo Casla, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, researching and analysing real cases submitted to the UN, on issues ranging from forced evictions and discrimination to the destruction of homes in armed conflict.
The Essex Law School believes that in today’s climate a law education should do more than simply deliver knowledge; law schools need to produce lawyers who are globally minded and understand how laws impact society, especially one that has rapidly changed thanks to technological advancements and global conflict. Its law students leave with the ability to tackle complex legal dilemmas with confidence, clarity and a strong sense of social purpose.
Essex is ranked third in the UK for research power in law and is home to the internationally recognised Human Rights Centre, which received a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for its work advancing human rights globally. The Law School also has expertise spanning areas that include human rights, media law and online regulation.
It was media law that particularly captured Efeurhobo’s imagination, thanks to a module that allowed students to explore the subject as practising lawyers might, rather than simply learning material for an exam. “We had the opportunity to research and do a presentation on a topic of our choice, relating to what we were learning about different media sources and the legal side of media,” she says. “I had a really inspirational media law lecturer, Dr Elena Sherstoboeva, who made the material really engaging and got us thinking like actual media and entertainment lawyers. I’ve now applied for a master’s with a focus on the media.”
Looking back, Efeurhobo says Essex gave her much more than a law degree. “My time there was invaluable for the connections I made and the skills I learned both inside and outside the classroom. The lecturers were professionals at the highest level of their field, who helped us grow academically but also in confidence and wider thinking.”
It’s because of all this that the University of Essex helps its law students understand, question, and most importantly shape what comes next in the legal world. It’s a place where justice, human rights and challenges meet bold, empathetic, legal thinking – and the results, or rather the students, speak for themselves.
Find out more about studying for a law degree at the University of Essex
That diversity extends across the University of Essex, where students from more than 140 countries study together. At Essex Law School, in particular, encountering different cultures and perspectives can offer a valuable insight into how questions of justice, rights and regulation play out around the world.
This report is published with credit to theguardian.com. Full available text from the wire is above. Read on theguardian.com →
Source: theguardian.com · Maria Lally. Published 4 Sept 2026, 09:13 am.
