Lawyers and Lloyds Banking: Students Put Theory into Industry

Our Law students recently took part in a multi-day, structured work experience with Lloyds Banking Group. This incredible week introduced them to what it’s really like to work as a legal professional in financial services.

Experiences like this are particularly valuable because access to professional environments can sometimes be uneven, especially for students from backgrounds where opportunities to engage with the legal or financial services sectors are limited. We facilitate collaborative programmes like this placement with Lloyds Banking Group as we aim to help address that gap by providing a structured and fully supported week of industry engagement. Through activities ranging from employability workshops and collaborative projects to discussions on emerging technologies such as legal AI, the programme helps students build confidence, develop professional skills, and gain insight into the realities of graduate-level careers in legal and financial services.

Law in action

The week began by asking students to explore how the law operates within a major financial institution. They went through:

• how governance frameworks support accountability,
• how regulatory structures have evolved following the 2008 financial crisis,
• and how legal teams work collaboratively across departments to safeguard operational integrity. 

They then participated in a case-based exercise, in teams, where they were asked to represent different parts of Lloyds as an organisation. The scenario they received was to identify risks, balance competing priorities and analyse documentation relating to a mortgage offer. Based on their findings and their knowledge gained from their degree, they presented structured recommendations to the representative at Lloyds.

These exercises invited our students to contextualise their learning in the real world of finance and encouraged them to think for themselves after carrying out research on corporate governance and regulatory law. 

Commercial awareness and collaborative thinking 

A “Dragons Den”- style challenge was up next!

This collaborative activity involved developing proposals to create a digital platform aimed at improving youth employability and recruitment pathways. The brief made our students think about what Lloyds would want to say to young people about their careers, as well as how they could creatively represent the types of roles young people can go into in the financial industry.

AI and the future of legal practice 

DLA Piper, a Global Law Firm that works with Lloyds, then hosted a discussion on artificial intelligence and its implications for legal practice. 

Students engaged with experts and discussed how AI is reshaping research, drafting, regulatory analysis and risk management across the legal sector.

Chloe James, a third-year Law student, reflected: 

“We also had the opportunity to attend a session with DLA Piper, where we explored the growing role of AI in the legal world. It was fascinating to explore how technology is transforming the profession and the challenges and opportunities that come with it.” 

Our Law courses also incorporate the message that DLA Piper outlined in this exercise, that understanding AI is central to future legal competence in professionals and graduates. At Chester, we’ve even embedded AI into how you will research and become a modern legal practitioner once you graduate. Lexis+AI is an integrated solution for the legal database we use (Lexis) that helps you with legal drafting, research, and insights throughout your learning and beyond.

The session highlighted how these important tools and technological skills you gain at Chester are integral to practicing law in industry.

Career insight 

The final stage of the work experience got our students to participate in interview workshops modelled on real recruitment processes. Working collaboratively, they analysed interview questions, identified assessed competencies, and structured evidence-based responses. This activity helped demystify recruitment practices and highlighted the importance of transferable skills, such as communication, adaptability, resilience, and commercial awareness. 

After this exercise, they heard from a variety of speakers including:

• Early careers team members
• Senior Leaders
• and in-house Legal Professionals.

Current Law student, Maxwell Asher, said that: 

“Hearing from colleagues across all levels was incredibly inspiring. Their honesty about non-linear career paths reinforced that success is personal, not prescriptive.” 

Our course, and this experience, teaches students that legal careers don’t always follow a rigid pathway and that a Law degree encourages you to embrace a broad professional imagination. Our graduate profiles on our Law (LLB) course page highlight just some of the pathways previous students have pursued after their degree.

The students then engaged with a professional networking masterclass which focused on LinkedIn profile development, strategic networking, and personal branding. This highlighted that employability extends beyond academic achievement and that LinkedIn is a great platform to champion yourself and others. 

Bridging legal education and professional reality 

By the end of the week, students had gained not only industry exposure, but a clearer understanding of how academic study translates into professional contexts. The experience with Lloyds showed our students how the skills they develop during their degree, such as analysis, communication, critical thinking and commercial awareness, can kickstart their career in a variety of traditional and non-traditional roles. 

Discover groundbreaking teaching and diverse industry experiences as part of one of our Law degrees at Chester by visiting our subject area page.