On the 15th of March, students of Sheffield Hallam University had the fascinating opportunity to witness a mock Employment Tribunal carried out by BRM Solicitors. This hand on experience gave students who are eager to progress into the legal profession an insight in to the day to day role of an employment lawyer. The tribunal case centred around an individual who said she was discriminated against by being dismissed from work due to her borderline personality disorder and her mental health.
We watched as BRM presented the case through the use of cross examination of both the claimant and the respondent as well as other witnesses. This interactive experience allowed us to pre-empt what questions would be asked by the lawyers to the witnesses. It was engaging to come up with questions but also to hear the opinions of other people and see from their perspective how they interpreted the same witness statements.
Throughout this case, hearing all the witness statements and cross examinations it was hard to know what the outcome would be. We were gripped as the solicitors questioned us on what we thought the outcome of the case would be via vote before revealing the verdict. At this point it was a split decision half of the group thinking the claimant would be successful and the other half voting no.
The mock hearing was a surreal experience and felt as though we had just witnessed a real-life employment tribunal. Thank you to BRM for a fantastic and enjoyable afternoon.
By Charlie Reeder, Maddy Neves and George Waters – Sheffield Hallam University Second Year Law Students.