Understand Your Rights. Solve Your Legal Problems
Which are the top law schools in the US? In this short video we take a look at the current top 5 US law schools, looking at statistics like tuition & fees, lawyers rating, application fee and overall rating.
Today’s global legal landscape is one that affords attorneys enormous opportunity early in their careers. Meaningful work, career growth, international casework, and financial stability are well within reach for committed associates. But with any opportunities comes challenges. As part of this week’s Law School & Careers features, Lawyer Monthly discusses with Angela Ferrante, Senior Vice President at GCG, the particular challenges women can often encounter, especially in the early stages of their legal career.
The challenges women face early in their law careers are distinct from their male colleagues. Despite progress, there still exists an unconscious bias in many law firms. These preconceptions that involuntarily influence attitude, behavior, and decision-making may be responsible for the inequitable division of opportunities among men and women, particularly in the early years of practice. It may also contribute to the fact that there are significantly fewer women in law firm leadership. In fact, a 2016 report by the National Association for Law Placement, Inc. (NALP) found that representation by women in private practice falls from 49% at the summer associate level to just 22% at the partnership level.
The following is a review of some of the most ubiquitous early career challenges women will face as well as strategies for overcoming them in the early years of practice.
Choose the Right Firm Structure
There is no one-size-fits-all law firm structure, so it is important that law students and recent graduates carefully weigh their options when determining what structure is the best fit: boutique or biglaw.
While boutique firms may offer more flexibility and opportunities for client interaction out of the gate, biglaw affords young lawyers impeccable training that may outweigh short-term sacrifices. No matter the type of firm or direction one chooses to go in, it is critical to leverage the employment interview to ask pointed questions that illuminate the firm’s decision-making structure and uncover unconscious bias.
Ask how decisions are made, how assignments are delegated, and how bonuses are awarded. Request details on the configuration of the management committee and what the firm is doing to promote and retain women. The responses will help women make more informed employment decisions, and the questions themselves will convey the candidate’s expectations to firm leadership.
Establish a Relationship with a Mentor
Mentorship is critical for the development of young professionals and remains a chief driver of employee loyalty. According to a 2016 Deloitte report, Millennial professionals who have a mentor are twice as likely to stay with their current employer for five or more years.
Unfortunately, many firms do not have formalized mentoring programs, and lower representation by women in law firm leadership may make it difficult for women to find a mentor within their firms. Those hurdles, however, should not be deterrents. Women can look to law school professors, former classmates, successful colleagues in other fields, even family or neighbors for advice and guidance. The key is to find someone they respect and admire, whose opinion they value, and who is equally committed to fostering the relationship over the long term.
Get a Seat at the Table
With a significant%age of women leaving the field of law prior to partnership, leadership may – intentionally or not – see male attorneys as better long-term investments and, consequently, award them more challenging work. If this happens, women should ask why.
It is incumbent upon women to be their own advocates, proactively seeking out opportunities to represent their firms. Challenge unconscious bias by requesting to participate in client meetings, hold speaking roles on conference calls, and attend conferences or events on behalf of the firm. When faced with these opportunities, women should confidently voice their position and insights, recognizing that their firm and clients will benefit measurably if they embrace, rather than minimize, their unique and diverse perspectives.
Work-life Balance
A 2016 Gallup poll found that nearly 60% of Millennials believe work-life balance is ‘very important.’ While the challenge of achieving work-life balance is not unique to women in law, some may find it more difficult to achieve, believing they must prioritize work demands over personal obligations to overcome unconscious bias.
A work-life imbalance can be a catalyst for burnout, so it’s crucial that women find balance early in their law careers. First, they should define personal expectations, review those with firm supervisors, and evaluate their progress regularly. They should also actively engage their colleagues, men and women, in conversations about work-life balance and the procedural or structural obstacles that inhibit its achievement by all members of the team. Collectively, positive and concrete suggestions for structuring or restructuring how work is done should be well received as work-life balance is a goal almost everyone has struggled with at one point or another in their career.
Though female representation in firm leadership remains low, women attorneys – now more than ever – are empowered and uniquely positioned to spur a course correction in the broader law firm environment. By advocating for more inclusive policies for all attorneys, hosting panel discussions on unconscious bias, celebrating the achievements by women in the firm, speaking openly about policies that perpetuate stereotypes, and refusing to compromise who they are, women can thrive in law firms, as first-year associations, partners and at every stage in between.
The Bar Council’s flagship social mobility initiative, Bar Placement Week, will this week mark 10 years of giving sixth form students from non-traditional backgrounds the opportunity to spend a week experiencing life as a barrister. The 10 year anniversary of the scheme comes as the Bar Council launches a new social mobility campaign online, entitled ‘I am the Bar’, which aims to encourage more people with the necessary talent and potential to pursue a career at the Bar, irrespective of their socio-economic background.
Bar Placement Week has been pairing talented sixth form students from non-traditional backgrounds with practising barristers in London for 10 years. In 2014, the programme won a Halsbury Legal Award and was expanded to give opportunities to students in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham and Bristol.
Students spend three days shadowing their barrister in chambers and in court. On the final day of the scheme, students attend talks by barristers and/or judges, and receive advocacy training from the Inns of Court College of Advocacy. Prizes are awarded for the best student advocates by a senior member of the Bar.
Andrew Walker QC, Chair of the Bar, said: “There is still a perception that to join the Bar you have to come from a wealthy or privileged background. The 10th anniversary of Bar Placement Week highlights our long-term commitment to challenging that misconception, and to reaching out widely with the aim of inspiring students from all backgrounds to consider a career at the Bar. The Bar wants and needs to attract the best talent from across the country, irrespective of socio-economic background, and to do so we need to break down barriers to aspiration and to the attainment of students’ full potential. One of the best ways of doing this is to give promising students first-hand experience of the life of a barrister. Bar Placement Week does this, and even if not all participants go on to consider becoming barristers, the week gives them a glimpse into the vital role barristers play in the administration of justice – an insight that we hope the students will all carry with them into their adult lives.
“Bar Placement Week has been a success for the Bar and, I believe, for the many talented students who have taken part over the last decade, but we want to build on it and show more students and others that they really can aspire to become a barrister. The ‘I am the Bar’ campaign is designed to show what individuals from all backgrounds can achieve, to highlight the support and encouragement available, and to explain just how many different paths have been followed by today’s barristers, leading to highly successful careers at the Bar of England and Wales.”
Lord Neuberger, the immediate past President of the Supreme Court, whose 2007 inquiry into background of entrants to the Bar prompted the Bar Council to launch Bar Placement Week, said: “The Bar is a profession dedicated to excellence and to justice. That dedication should not be limited to individual commitment on the part of every practising barrister. It is just as important that it extends to the recruitment of future barristers, and that means enabling people with potential, irrespective of background, ethnic group or gender, to have a real opportunity of considering a career at the Bar. Bar Placement Week performs just such a role, by enabling young people to spend a few days with an experienced practitioner and to see what being a barrister actually involves.”
(Source: The Bar Council)
From the very real statistics to the overall atmosphere in the legal sector, below Lawyer Monthly hears from Francine Ryan, lecturer in law and member of the Open Justice team at The Open University, on the problematic lack of work across the legal sphere.
Figures from the Law Society show that in 2016-17, 17,855 UK students were accepted to study law at undergraduate level in England and Wales. In the year ending 31 July 2016, 5,728 new traineeships were registered with the SRA and in 2016/17 the Bar Standards Bar confirmed, 474 first six and 485 second six pupillages started.
Law remains a very popular degree course, the figures demonstrate how competitive it is to secure a training contract or a pupillage. So in this very crowded market place, how do you stand out?
Academics are a given!
Academic success is important but anecdotally a 2(i) is a requirement for many applications. Law students are also competing against non-law students, according to data released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) law has the lowest number of first class degrees awarded than any other subject.
So if it is not about grades, what can you do?
Securing legal work experience
Gaining legal employment experience is invaluable, it demonstrates a commitment to law and gives a real insight into legal practice. You should apply for summer vacation schemes or if that’s not possible then consider volunteering at your local Citizens Advice or Law Centre as alternative ways of securing legal work experience. If you are considering pupillage go and sit in the public gallery of your local court, watching how advocates perform will give you an understanding of what is required at the bar.
Pro bono experience
Pro bono work is another excellent way to gain practical legal experience as well as volunteering in your community. Most law schools have legal advice clinics, or support their students to go into schools and community groups to give ‘street law’ presentations. A list of student pro bono opportunities is available here. Pro bono work allows you to develop your legal skills and knowledge but on your CV and in an interview, it is important to demonstrate what you have learned from these experiences. You might find keeping a diary or a journal useful because it will help you remember examples of when you worked as part of a team, or when you had to deal with a challenging situation.
Extra curricula activities
Hobbies and interests allow potential employers to get to know you as an individual. They also help build confidence and support the development of skills such as teamwork. You don’t need to have climbed Mount Everest to impress, you just need to have interests that you can talk passionately about- it could be playing sport, or being a collector of sci-fi comics-whatever your hobby is, it’s a way of distinguishing yourself from the pack.
Establish your presence on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a professional social network, it is an opportunity to build connections and a voice. You can contribute to discussions, share things of interest and use it as a tool to give a sense of who you are as a professional. Try to connect with people you could learn from and perhaps in time might offer to mentor you. You could extend this to create your own blog or twitter profile, using social networks effectively is a good way to develop your network.
Networking
It is not just about online networks but about creating links with people who may be able to help you- think about who you know, who may, in exchange for a cup of coffee offer their advice, and time to support your career development. Be prepared to be proactive and take a risk- you could email trainees, pupils, junior associates in firms or chambers you are interested in and invite them for a coffee- you might be surprised how many are prepared to meet with you.
Be aware
Join relevant groups and organisations that help you develop an awareness of what is happening in the legal sector. For example, if you have an interest in law and technology, join the Society for Computers and Law or if you are passionate about human rights and the rule of law become a member of Justice. Being able to talk knowledgeable about the wider issues connected to law will make a difference to your confidence and how you project yourself in an interview.
Notwithstanding the statistics, it is an exciting time to be a law student- you may be committed to becoming a solicitor or a barrister but perhaps this is an opportunity to think about other innovative ways to use your law degree.
Now is the time to think about your experiences and how you can use them to distinguish yourself from the pack!
Mooting is commonly offered as a part of the Law School experience. It involves debating a point of law, often in a courtroom setting, using a fictional scenario. Here, Emma Jones, lecturer in law and member of the Open Justice team at the Open University, offers expert insight for Lawyer Monthly.
Mooting can be seen as complicating, time-consuming and even rather daunting, but here are four reasons why it’s important to take part:
Mooting is extremely important if you’re considering becoming a barrister or specialising in advocacy work. However, other legal professionals, particularly those engaging in contentious work, will also need to be prepared to argue their case orally. This could be in a courtroom setting, applying similar skills within forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution or conducting a negotiation.
As a law student you will have to tackle more than your fair share of problem-style questions! Working on a mooting scenario can help you sharpen up the skills you need to analyse, research and write your answer to such questions. If you are going on into practice, these skills will be invaluable in dealing with the real-life situations presented to you by clients too.
Even if you have no intention of going into legal practice, oral presentation skills are very important in most walks of life. From giving a talk in a boardroom, presenting a new idea to clients and leading a class or seminar, to pitching for work and impressing at a job interview, you will need to draw on the type of valuable skills you can develop through mooting.
Last but not least, mooting can be exciting and enjoyable. It gives you the opportunity to meet new people and try something new whilst at the same time developing your knowledge and skills.
Many of these points are echoed by Jennifer Wharton, Mistress of the Moots at The Open University Law Society, which runs a mooting programme and offers mooting workshops, giving training to students who are interested in taking part in mooting activities. Jennifer states:
“I would encourage all Law students to get involved in mooting as it helps develop legal research and oral advocacy skills. It is a great opportunity to meet other students and members of the legal profession and, although challenging, can be very rewarding. It’s never too early to get involved!”
In other words, mooting is certainly important. So why not ask around your Law School or contact its Law Society to ask about mooting opportunities you can become involved in.
Law school is only the start. By now you could be anywhere between your first job as a paralegal or already have made Partner, and what you know by now is that law school didn’t prepare you for everything. Below Lawyer Monthly benefits from expert insight from Susanne Shah, Director of Divorce and Family Law at Vardags, and Head of their Newcastle office.
Law school was an enriching, exciting and academically rigorous experience for me. I learned the underpinnings of modern legal thought, tore my way through thousands of pages of case law and cemented my conviction that I had found my craft. The one thing it didn’t teach me, unfortunately, is how to be an actual lawyer. After 14 years of working in the field, here are five things I’ve found you can only learn on the job.
In my line of work, I deal with real people who are quite often going through one of the most emotionally difficult experiences of their lives. They may be mourning the end of a once much-cherished relationship, worried about changes to the time they spend with their children, or facing an uncertain financial future.
When you’re tasked with representing individuals as they work through such intensely personal issues, empathy is a must. Every client is unique, so whether it’s providing a shoulder to cry on, or perhaps some tough love, you learn how to become finely attuned to their needs.
Of course, we’re there for the happier times, too. We meet couples preparing to start their lives together, assisting them in drafting prenuptial agreements as they plan for their shared future. We’ve helped reunite parents with their children. And divorce isn’t always all doom and gloom; often clients come out the other end of their proceedings with an immense feeling of hope and relief as they prepare to embrace the next chapter of their lives, and it’s a real privilege to have played a part in that.
At the heart of the majority of cases I work on is a dispute that needs to be resolved. In order to achieve the very best outcome for your client, you must consider the myriad of ways in which you can approach the conflict.
This choice is, to a degree, instinctual. It also depends on the facts of the case. It may be desirable to adopt a tactful, conciliatory approach if, for example, you are dealing with a divorce involving children and want to protect them from protracted and acrimonious litigation.
Conversely, you may be instructed by a client and find them backed into a corner, being bullied into accepting an outcome that is simply unfair. In these circumstances, your client will need someone who will really fight for them.
Law school is fantastic for honing your organisational skills, as you juggle competing deadlines with vast tomes of required reading and revision, but a lawyer’s working life includes a certain element of surprise. In family law, at least, your workflow can be unpredictable—after all, the ups and downs of people’s lives don’t tend to follow a set schedule, so you have to be able react quickly whenever a new issue arises. Luckily, there are some practical measures you can take to make this easier. These can be as simple as stocking your office with snacks in case you end up waving goodbye to your dinner plans, or keeping comfy shoes under your desk when you need to rush to court to file on an urgent basis.
More generally speaking, it’s essential that you know how to keep your cool under pressure. This week alone I have had new instructions to issue an urgent injunction application and an urgent application in relation to a concern relating to child abduction and return of passports. These are intense highly charged situations and require fast thinking and thorough preparation. If you can’t do this, you’re in the wrong business. For some, such composure comes naturally, though if you are anxiety-prone it’s worth exploring techniques to help you keep your emotions in check. Your client will benefit greatly from your calm composure, in what is a very stressful setting for them.
To find fulfilment in your legal career, it’s crucial that you really nail your time-management. Lawyers work notoriously long hours, but it doesn’t have to be an unbearable slog. Organise your day wisely to ensure you’re maximising the amount of meaningful case work you can get done. This may mean identifying which times of day you have the most brain power and concentrating on your most challenging tasks then, or simply cutting down on your tea breaks.
Equally, it’s important to know how to switch off. This can be difficult when you know that the stakes are high for your clients, but you don’t want to risk burning out. Try to maintain a healthy work/life balance, so you leave the office with a sense of accomplishment and can be truly present when you spend time with your loved ones at home. I’m lucky enough to be working at a firm that believes in flexible working and empowers their employees, particularly parents, to keep all of their various plates spinning. It’s important to find a firm that values you, and enables you to honour your other commitments.
The best lawyers know that their work isn’t always confined to the courtroom or office. Attending industry events and connecting with other key players in your field is crucial to improving your practice. Networking with those who could one day benefit from your expertise is also important—the ability to bring in clients becomes ever more vital as you climb the legal ladder. Confidence, approachability and warmth can get you a long way, providing, of course, that you have the expertise to back it up.
No-one graduates from law school with all the answers. Indeed, one of the most exciting things about being a lawyer is that you never stop learning. That said, I’d advise anyone considering a career in law to try to find work experience before they commit, or at least to seek out the insights of those already in the thick of it.
Six steps to starting a paralegal business.
Law firms are increasingly recruiting paralegals as they offer strong, unparalleled support to barristers and solicitors, especially during busy working periods. Here, Amanda Hamilton from NALP, speaks on how you can open your own paralegal business and its benefits.
Now is a good time to start your own paralegal practice, as more and more people are turning to paralegals to help them with a variety of legal issues.
Here are six steps to help you get started:
Paralegals are not statutorily regulated, so you have been told that it is not necessary to gain any training or qualification to carry out paralegal services.
This is technically true, but in practice, it’s not accurate; remember that you are up against a mountain of competitors who will probably be far more qualified than you.
Also, bear in mind that you will be handling delicate legal matters for your clients and therefore you will have to consider the possible consequences if something were to go wrong. Gaining knowledge of academic aw and practice is essential to give you and your client confidence.
Therefore, the very first thing you need to do is gain a paralegal or legal qualification or at the very least get some paralegal training and then, as much experience as possible. This does not have to be with a solicitor or barrister; nowadays you can gain the relevant legal experience by working in a variety of different employment environments: local authorities, national health service, charities, housing associations, HMRC, Crown Prosecution Service and company in-house legal departments.
Once you have gained some knowledge of law and legal procedure and have three or more years’ relevant legal experience, you need to decide whether you wish to specialise in one area of law or be a general practitioner.
For example, you may have worked in a human resource department of a company and have studied Employment Law – this then may well be the area of law in which you wish to practise.
Clients need to have confidence that you are qualified and competent to offer legal services, therefore consider joining a membership body such as NALP which has been a Paralegal organisation for thirty years and is well established in the legal sector.
Membership of such a body will give your potential client confidence that you know what you are doing. Membership is also confirmation that you have been vetted by the organisation and have to abide by its rules, and can be subject to being sanctioned if not.
Being a member of NALP entitles you, subject to the requisite qualifications and/or experience and fulfillment of eligibility criteria, to apply for a licence to practise in the areas of law in which you can provide evidence of experience. Again, this means that NALP has done its due diligence on you and thoroughly vetted you and your credentials.
Eligibility Criteria to gain a licence to practise:
1) Qualifications: a minimum Level 3 qualification and a minimum of three years’ experience.
2) Experience only: can provide evidence of a minimum of five years’ experience.
3) Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII): covering you for the work that you do.
Apart from the ‘reserved activities’, you can operate in much the same way as a solicitor, e.g. you can operate as a paralegal firm and have partners.
Sole practitioner, partnership or company?
This is entirely up to you, but whatever you choose it’s important to understand the responsibilities and legal duties of each. For example, if you are a company you need to submit company accounts each year. As a sole practitioner, you would need to submit your annual tax return each year and be subject to income tax on your earnings.
Setting up your own paralegal practice can be very rewarding – but do make sure you follow the advice above to give both your clients and yourself the expertise, confidence and protection that you and they deserve.
Amanda Hamilton
CEO
NALP
http://www.nationalparalegals.co.uk
http://www.nalptraining.co.uk/nalp_training
Amanda Hamilton is Chief Executive of the National Association of Licenced Paralegals (NALP), a non-profit Membership Body and the only Paralegal body that is recognised as an awarding organisation by Ofqual (the regulator of qualifications in England & Wales). Through its training arm, NALP Training, accredited recognised professional paralegal qualifications are offered for a career as a paralegal professional.
NALP is the longest running UK Membership Body for Paralegals. They have dedicated over 30 years to promoting the status of Paralegal Professionals.
Getting a pay rise usually comes hand in hand with hard work, effort and time put into your job. But could it potentially be much simpler than that? On the other hand, moving to another firm may be an option.
On the rise
Pay rises are never far from the minds of the UK workforce. We all want to be paid what we feel we’re worth, but there are so many factors seemingly out of our control. Daily news articles that talk about gender pay gaps, fat cat bonuses and collapsing corporations are rife, leading us to believe that there’s not much we can do about our salaries.
There is, however, a way to put yourself in the best position possible. It just takes a little bit of research and preparation.
If money talks, why don’t we talk about it?
Discussing pay and personal finances is often considered a taboo, but if we’re not talking about it, how can we be expected to know our worth in the industry we’re in and how and when to ask for a pay rise? Money comparison website Money Guru recently carried out survey of 1,500 British workers. Away from the dominating headlines we’ve all come to expect, it looked at how the great pay rise debate really plays out at ground level.
Work hard and prosper
40% of those surveyed don’t believe that performance is the main factor in a pay rise, even though being able to work hard and be suitably rewarded for your efforts is what most of us assume is a fair and honest system. It seems that the pay disparities we know to exist are ones we believe are out of our control.
Get flirty, not shirty
In the Great British Pay Rise Survey, men were found to be three times more likely to have flirted with their boss for a pay rise, with 40% admitting to doing so. Compare this with a paltry 20% of women using flirtation as a tactic and we can see, if it works, why men sometimes get ahead where women don’t. The survey highlighted female confidence as being disappointingly low. 40% of men believed that asking for a pay rise made them look ambitious, while only 25% of women thought the same.
‘Shy bairns get nowt’
35% of women surveyed believe asking for a pay rise makes them ‘pushy’, compared to just 19% of men. Perhaps the phrase, “shy bairns get nowt” rings true here. You could also argue though, that people negotiate better when they feel they have power. If your skills are in high demand and not easily found elsewhere, then you have more power. It’s unrealistic to suggest that, for example, a teenager in a minimum wage, hourly rate job could negotiate a pay rise when their role could be replaced within a day. Perhaps this is partly why 40% of Brits don’t believe performance is the main key to a pay rise.
Company culture
In many industries today, company profits are at a high, yet wage growth is flat. If regular pay increases or pay reviews aren’t part of the company culture, then it can be difficult to know where you stand, legally and professionally, when asking for a pay rise. Nurturing staff and making them feel valued and appreciated fosters loyalty and motivation. Encouraging the progression of staff through their skillset and financially is part of that nurturing, so when you look at it that way, why would a business not want to encourage salary progression?
When do you dump your employer?
With Valentine’s Day past, your key relationships have been under scrutiny. A bad coupling with a manager who doesn’t respect you or value you can be enough to make you call time on your working relationship. Before making such a big decision however, there are some key things to consider and it’s not only about pay.
Do you have their ear?
Big organisations often fall foul of knowing what their staff want, need and value. Unreachable targets, inflexible working hours and clashing of personalities can create an unpleasant office culture. In this situation it can be difficult to voice your opinion and make yourself heard. It’s also important to feel that they trust you. When plans change and goalposts shift, a lack of communication of these things can cause confusion and distrust with staff feeling like they don’t matter.
Variety is the spice of life
Boredom is a killer. The same routine, day in, day out, leaves you feeling like you’re stuck in Groundhog Day. If there’s no opportunity to change your role, such as taking on a new client, additional responsibilities or skills training, then the future will look bleak.
If you’re ready to move on in your career, simply updating your CV can give you a great idea of where your skills and experience lie. It will also highlight any gaps in your knowledge. From there, you can work out your goals and decide whether staying put or changing your job is the best way to go. Find out more about the Great British Pay Rise.
You’ve been accepted onto a law degree course, but you still don’t know which options to choose or what future in law suits you best. Below Emma Jones, lecturer in law and member of the Open Justice team at the Open University, offers invaluable tips on pinpointing the right options for you.
Many law degree programmes offer a range of options for students to choose from. These may, in part, reflect the type of subjects which are particularly relevant to practising lawyers and also the interests of the academics teaching them. Deciding which options to take can be tricky, but here are three questions to bear in mind.
What are your future career plans?
Depending which stage of your degree you are at, you may already have pretty firm career plans, even perhaps a training contract offer. If so, you need to think carefully about which options fit with your chosen route. If you are planning working as a corporate lawyer in a large City firm, it may be that an option like family law isn’t really going to help you along your way. Similarly, if you want to work in a high street environment, then a focus on corporate finance may not be the most relevant choice.
If you aren’t planning on a legal career, it may still be that some options are more likely to be of use than others. For example, if you would like to work in academia, you may find a dissertation module helps develop your academic writing skills. If you want a job in the charity sector, you may find an option around human rights will provide helpful background information.
What do you enjoy studying?
Hopefully, your answer to this question will reflect your future career plans. If not, perhaps it’s time to pause and consider where the difference lies. It is important that you enjoy your studies (and your career!). If it’s a subject you find interesting then you are more likely to stay motivated and enthusiastic, even when you reach a topic you find challenging or there are important deadlines looming.
Of course, that’s not to suggest you need to find every aspect of every topic fun and enjoyable. Instead, you need to ensure that the parts you do enjoy outweigh the bits you find dull or difficult. If there are some options that you haven’t encountered before, it can be tricky to decide whether you are likely to enjoy them or not. If this is the case, it is worth spending a little time reading around the subject to see if it does appeal to you.
What are my strengths and weaknesses as a student?
Do you love coursework and hate examinations? Find problem questions difficult? Enjoy writing longer essays? Do you prefer working individually or in a group? Listening to lectures or participating in seminars? All these are relevant questions when it comes to choosing options. Make sure you know how each potential option is being taught and assessed so that you can find the right match for your study skills.
Sometimes, it can be a good thing to challenge yourself and try new things. At the same time, it is important to be realistic about what you can achieve given the time and resources you have available. Working to your strengths can put you in a great position to tackle the content involved in the option without leaving you struggling to develop the right study skills.
You might find it easy to answer each of the above questions, but challenging to decide which should be the most important consideration. If that is the case, try and speak to students who have already taken the options you are interested in to get some first-hand feedback on the experience. You could also speak to the relevant course leaders and find out what they are looking for from students on their option.
Choosing options can be tricky, but they also offer great opportunities to gain valuable knowledge and experience and an insight into different areas of law. Thinking carefully about what you are choosing and why is a great first step to achieving the best marks you possibly can in your chosen subjects.
Pro bono is derived from the Latin term pro bono publico which can be translated as ‘for the public good’. In a professional and legal capacity, lawyers provide free legal services to members of the public who are unable to pay. Below Francine Ryan, lecturer in law and member of the Open Justice team at the Open University, confronts the question as to whether these kinds of services should be mandatory.
In recent times, it has been argued that pro bono should be a requirement of professional practice. In some jurisdictions, such as South Africa and parts of the US, it is a mandatory obligation, all applicants to the New York Bar must complete a minimum of 50 hours pro bono work. In England and Wales, pro bono is a voluntary commitment, which is encouraged by the regulatory bodies of the legal profession. The National Pro Bono Centre is a charity created in 2010 and acts as a clearing house for pro bono work. Each of the bodies has a charity which supports free legal advice assistance – the Bar Pro Bono Unit (for barristers), LawWorks (for solicitors) and the CILEx Pro Bono Trust (for Chartered Legal Executives).
Pro bono is not a substitute for publicly funded legal services but there is increasing concern that expansion of pro bono encourages the state to allow pro bono work to fill the gap of unmet legal need. The introduction of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 removed whole areas of legal aid funding which has led to a significant rise in ‘unmet legal need’. Broadly speaking, this is when an individual’s capacity to seek legal assistance is restricted because they cannot afford to pay for legal services.
So does the crisis in funding mean we should consider making pro bono mandatory?
The legal profession in the UK has a long tradition of providing pro bono services voluntarily. Making pro bono compulsory changes the nature of the relationship and the motivation of those providing that advice. Some would argue that public funding of legal services is a fundamental obligation of the state and essential to ensuring the rule of law. Therefore, replacing it with the goodwill of voluntary lawyers and law students is extremely problematic. Law is quite unique as no other profession has the same commitment and requirement to provide free services, for example, there does not appear to be a culture of pro bono dental work!
Rather than imposing a minimum number of pro bono hours, promoting a culture of pro bono at University encourages law students to continue volunteering in professional practice. Offering pro bono services is a key contribution that lawyers and law students can provide to support access to justice. There are compelling reasons for law students to volunteer in law clinics and participate in public legal education activities. The opportunity to work with real clients is an invaluable experience and provides a rich environment to develop practice-ready skills. A commitment to pro bono is an important way a law student can distinguish themselves in a highly competitive legal market.
The proposed changes to the way in which solicitors qualify has the potential to add further value to law students supporting pro bono, by replacing the training contract with a period of two years legal work experience. This makes it possible that volunteering in a law clinic will count towards that time period. We are seeing an increase in the number of partnerships between law schools and pro bono organisations, allowing law students to take advantage of a myriad of opportunities. These bring to life what is being learned in the classroom and at the same time giveback to those in need and support local communities.
Embedding pro bono and a commitment to social justice within the law curriculum is an important step towards ensuring pro bono extends beyond law school, but relying on ‘mandatory’ volunteering is not the answer to our access to justice crisis. The legal profession and law students should rightly be proud of their commitment to pro bono. The rush to provide free legal services in the wake of a number of tragedies that affected so many people in cities like Manchester and London is evidence of the desire to help those in need. Pro bono is an important part of being a lawyer but it should remain a choice- the challenge to law students is to think of innovative ways of delivering pro bono to engage more of the profession in providing free legal services.
