Diversity, Inclusivity & Sustainability
As a student-run organisation, we help our diverse and mature students’ careers, education, and social needs in their path to a career in law.
ABOUT HHLS
The Hughes Hall Law Society is a student-run organisation in a college which is home to one of the largest cohorts of law students at the University of Cambridge, both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
As Hughes Hall is a mature college, a significant portion of our law students are career changers and often hold at least one other degree. They come from fields as varied as finance, medicine, STEM, international affairs, and journalism. Hughes Hall is also home to a sizable group of bright students pursuing a non-law degree with an aim of practising law in the future. Moreover, Hughes has the biggest law student intake of any college at the University of Cambridge. In 2021 we welcomed 71 law students. The median across all colleges was 34.
Hughes Hall is also uniquely diverse. Two-thirds of our students come from overseas and more than half of our students identify as Black, Asian and minority ethnic.
Hughes Hall is also proud to be a sustainability hub housing the Centre for Climate Engagement and claiming the Gold NUS green impact award five years running.
As a society, our goal is to reflect this diversity and embody it alongside sustainability and inclusivity – our core values. As such, we aim to create a space that caters for our diverse and mature students’ careers, education, and social needs.
HHLS members, 2024-2025
Diversity, Inclusivity and Sustainability
Hughes Hall in Numbers
14
2024 law undergraduate intake
21
2021 LLM/MCL intake
70+
Students (law and non-law) at all levels
50%
BAME
2/3
Total overseas students
21
Minimum student age
Home to
NUS Green Impact Laureate
Flagship Events
Each year the Hughes Hall Law Society organises a number of events alone or in partnership with other organisations.
HHLS MOOT – Michaelmas|Lent
HHLS has a long tradition of promoting public speaking and advocacy. Many of our law and non-law students, including those on a solicitor track, participate and advocate before the judges at the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom each year. In the past, our guest judges included Right Hon Lord Phillips, Lady Rose and Lord Carnwath, among others.
Charnley Law Dinner – Lent
The annualCharnley Law Dinner promotes law at Hughes Hall and gathers top professionals in the field including Supreme Court judges, solicitors, barristers and academics who interact and engage in discussions with students. Past honourable guest speakers included Lady Hale, Lord Sales and Lord Lloyd-Jones.
for women’s inclusion in Egyptian judiciary, 22′)
Fireside Chats – Michaelmas | Lent
In partnership with the Centre for Climate Engagement, the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law, and the Net Zero Lawyers Alliance, Hughes Hall Law Society is proud to co-organise and host the event to promote a dialogue between climate lawyers, students and academics.
Women in Law – Lent
Inaugurated by an award-winning Egyptian rights activist and our LLM alumna, Omnia Gadalla, the Women in Law roundtable takes place on the 8th of March each year to promote open and honest discussions among women in different fields of law to empower female students who want to pursue a career in law. Past speakers included, among others, Mahnaz Malik (barrister, Twenty Essex), Amita Riksen (CEO, Kingfisher Global), J. Jarpa Dawuni (founder, Howard University Center for Women, Gender and Global Leadership).
How we support our students
Since all of our students are 21 years old or older with the vast majority holding at least one degree and coming from some of the most diverse backgrounds, students’ needs and questions in regard to future careers tend to be different. As the Hughes Hall Law Society, our aim is to cater for our diverse students through:
PROMOTING LAW TO NON-LAW STUDENTS
Being made up of mostly career-changers, we recognise that not every great lawyer studied law as their first degree. That is why we are dedicated to promoting a career in law to all our non-law students who are equal members of our society. We are one of the very few societies that open every one of our events, including the annual moot, to non-law students.
Last year in a first-of-its-kind event, HHLS collaborated with 6 other college law societies to produce an exclusive event for non-law students. The event featured speakers from Twenty Essex, Ashurst, and Skadden. Following a lively series of speeches and Q&A, attendees networked with legal professionals, other students and enjoyed light refreshments including wine and cake.
CAREER SUPPORT
- Law firm office tours
- Dinners and networking events with firms
- Applications workshops (mature students)
- Alumni garden event
- Mentorship scheme
- Term card (includes career opportunities)
SOCIALS, WELFARE & ACADEMIC SUPPORT
- Law receptions
- Law formal
- Law cinema
- Stash
- Exams workshops
- Mock exam preparation
News
Read the latest news from HHLS and our partners
- HHLS application adviceApplication season is upon us, and the Hughes Hall Law Society gathered a few resources to help students in their first steps to a law career. Insight and Vacation scheme opportunities The best place to find opportunities is on aContinue reading “HHLS application advice”
- Meet the HHLSThe Hughes Hall Law Society is a student-run organisation in a college which is home to one of the largest cohorts of law students at the University of Cambridge, both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. As Hughes Hall is aContinue reading “Meet the HHLS”
Hughes Hall Law Society 