University Recognizes the Services of Two PGT (Law) Staff

The Postgraduate Legal Studies Department has always put treating its students as well as it possibly can at the top of its agenda. Everybody who works there, both teaching and (more importantly) administrative, are absolutely committed to making the student experience on the Swansea LLM the best it possibly can be.

We are therefore delighted to note that this has now been acknowledged by the University itself, with the award of prizes to two of its members.

Professor Richard WilliamsProfessor Richard Williams has, after many years, been awarded a well-deserved prize for excellence in learning and teaching, following spontaneous nominations from within the student body. This award is completely student-led and has the object of giving our students the opportunity to recognise excellent quality and show how that teaching quality has had a real impact on their academic experience. For many years Professor Williams was senior partner of a very well-known City law firm, Ince & Co LLP, before he joined Swansea back in 2002. Quite apart from his teaching, which is truly excellent, his previous experience is invaluable for at least three reasons. First, he is able to share not only legal knowledge but vastly significant practical know-how about how chartering and carriage law works in the real world. Not many students get the opportunity to handly sample bills of lading, charterparties and other documents of the actual type used by shipping lines and operators and then to discuss what legal problems might arise and how they might be solved by suitable drafting. Furthermore, as a leading commercial litigator Richard was actually involved in many of the causes célèbres that appear in the law reports for the 1980s and 1990s: the advantages to be gained by a student from talking to an insider of this calibre does not need to be stated..And lastly, Richard keeps close contact with his previous firm, often helping students in securing internships and training contracts with City law firms.

 Commenting on the Award, Professor Linarelli, Head of the College of Law, said:

 “Professor Williams is an absolutely excellent teacher and a role model to the Department and the College. I can think of no one who deserves this award more.  The fact that the University has decided to award this honour to Richard, in my view sends a very strong message to the student community which backs his nomination with such enthusiasm. As a Head of the College, I can safely identify Professor Williams as a benchmark and a good example to follow, especially to our early career scholars.”

 adanahAs if this was not enough, our untiring and indispensable administrator Ms April Adanah was the recipient of an Excellence in Student Support award, having received a record-breaking 17 nominations for this  from LLM students. This award, university-wide and also student-initiated, exists to recognise and publicise excellence in a non-teaching role. The reasons given in the LLM students’ nominations highlighted April’s warmth and  the  fantastic and unstinting support she has always provides to the everybody on the LLM course.  April got particular praise for commitment, efficiency and sheer professionalism; but also mentioned were her impeccable inter-personal skills, and her ability to  understand the difficulties in particular overseas students might face in the early weeks of their arrival and offer additional support and comfort.

Commenting on Ms Adanah’s award, Professor Linarelli, Head of the College said:

"April is engaging, approachable, friendly, supportive and as proactive as you can get in delivering a high quality experience to our students. She is a true professional who loves her job and is utterly committed to the students she is responsible for. It is very appropriate for the University to award someone who has given so much tirelessly and without expectation to enhance the student experience. We are enormously lucky to have her within the College.”