Choose your Leeds JLD Committee for 2023
SPONSORSHIP OFFICER:
THOMAS YAU

By way of introduction, my name is Thomas Yau and I am a trainee solicitor at Blacks Solicitors in Leeds.

I have gained lots of relevant experience and skills that would help me to succeed as Sponsorship Officer. I was previously the Campus Ambassador for a global law firm, where my role was primarily to market the law firm through sponsorships. This involved working closely with university societies looking to secure sponsorships, so I understand the techniques and approaches that appeal to prospective sponsors. I understand the decision-making processes that sponsors go through in deciding where to spend their marketing budget and this would place me in good stead for the role having worked on the other side.

I am very comfortable in building and maintaining positive relationships with people. From a young age, I worked in a customer-facing role at a fast-food outlet for a number of years, so I am naturally outgoing and I have always been adept at providing excellent service. Moreover, the high amount of client contact that I have in my role as a trainee solicitor has helped me to develop my emotional intelligence as well as my communication and interpersonal skills. I work with a broad range of people, with many different age groups and across various industries. I understand that there is not a one size fits all approach to connecting with people and I have demonstrated my competence with the positive feedback that I have received from clients, particularly on my approachability.

I believe that I have the necessary skill set to be elected as a JLD committee member and more importantly, I am fully aligned with the ethos of the Leeds JLD. I believe that there can be too much of a focus on working against fellow professionals in the legal industry as opposed to working together. I want the very best for Leeds and the Yorkshire region as a whole - I want to play a role in making sure that its legal industry can thrive. By working together in providing crucially important opportunities for junior legal professionals to connect, it will help to nurture relationships and in turn, generate business for everyone. The Leeds JLD has also played an important role in my own personal self-development as I have learnt so much from attending its events. I want to ensure that junior legal professionals can continue to have the same excellent opportunities.