"I think creativity in the law is so important because it allows us to just step inside a situation to understand, have some empathy, to feel the law rather than just to read about it in textbooks.”
In summer 2026, an innovative advocacy filming project brought Law students together with Film and Television students to create short teaching videos using puppets. The videos introduce students to the basics of advocacy in an approachable and engaging way, while giving those involved the opportunity to develop their own skills.
For Akin, who took part in the project, the experience offered a different way to think about advocacy:
“Taught me a lot about advocacy and how it's about you understanding your clients and like feeling the emotion and actually expressing that through your advocacy.”
The project also gave students an opportunity to think about how advocacy can be made more accessible. Law student Sophia explained:
“I enjoyed making it a bit more accessible for everyone, because mooting can seem very daunting and, like, very professional in a sense. So, making it a bit more casual, something everyone can engage with is, I think, important.”
Working on the project also meant students had to collaborate with people from different academic backgrounds.
Film and Television student, Ethan highlighted the value of the experience:
"I think collaboration between students in different departments on projects like this is really valuable for both parties."
For Sam, another Film and Television student, working with students outside his subject provided an opportunity to develop communication skills across different areas of expertise:
"So it's really good to collaborate with like people from different courses and hear about different experiences that people have at the university. That's quite interesting."
The advocacy filming project is just one example of how students can develop skills beyond their core academic studies, including communication, teamwork, creativity and advocacy.
This creative and collaborative approach is not limited to the puppet filming project.
The School of Law has also worked with RABBLE Theatre on Glitch, a theatre production telling the real-life story of Pam Stubbs, a sub-postmistress who helped expose the truth behind the faulty Horizon computer system.
The project brought together Law students, Film and Television students, academics and professional theatre practitioners, giving students opportunities to contribute their legal knowledge and research to a professional creative project.
For Toby Davies, Artistic Director of RABBLE Theatre, the collaboration demonstrated the value of bringing different disciplines together:
"It's just a really good example of how drama can complement things that you just wouldn't expect it to. Law, for example."
Creative projects like these give students opportunities to put their knowledge into practice, develop confidence, communicate with different audiences, work with people from other disciplines and build skills for their future careers.
As Akin reflected on his experience at Reading:
"The opportunities for advocacy in combination with like co-curricular activities, things like this, like the filming, just lots of opportunities to develop your skills, employable skills basically."
From mooting and advocacy to creative projects and interdisciplinary collaborations, students can find different ways to explore their interests and develop their skills.
And, as Liz hopes:
"Advocacy is a great thing for everyone to do, so it's very much our hope that these videos will encourage all students to have a go."
The skills and knowledge developed whilst studying law - like independent study and independent research and learning - could be applied to any career.
