By Richard Firth

I took City’s short course in  Freelance writing: How to get published in print and online course.

I decided to do the course because, like most of us, I am a newspaper reader and was curious to know how journalists operate. I would like to reinvent myself as a legal writer. I felt that the course would buttress my ambition.

I chose City because I had previously attended an evening class here on public speaking and was impressed with it. But also, my father had been an engineering undergraduate at City between the World Wars so I liked the idea of visiting his alma mater!

It was, of course, important to me that City is a reputable institution. It also offered a valuable bonus – access to a good library.

What I enjoyed the most about the course was the ability to hear of the experiences of past and present students.

I’d describe my course tutor, Susan Grossman, as energetic, dogmatic, kind-hearted… She made sure that all of us could contribute to the class. She was very skilful in teaching practical skills, something which, I know from my own practical experience as a teacher of legal drafting, is very difficult.

The course fully met my expectations – I learnt something new in every session.

As for relations with fellow students, my advanced years (67 and a quarter) were not an impediment!

Although I’ve not yet been able to apply what I learnt on my course directly, it helped me to formulate my arguments and win them!

Richard Firth is a lecturer, writer and consultant on derivatives. In the past he has held positions of Senior Consultant at Linklaters LLP, Hong Kong and Director-Legal at Barclays Capital.