Teenagers, from Coventry, who were invited into Crown court to learn about a career in law.
They were told about the huge backlog of cases and the urgent need to attract more young people into the profession.
His Honour Judge Matthew Walsh led the inspirational workshop alongside a team of barristers and court staff at Warwickshire Justice Centre, on Wednesday 11 December.
The aim was to offer advice and encourage young people from all backgrounds to consider a career in law, amid a shortage of qualified solicitors and barristers in the UK criminal justice system.
The informal Q&A was one of a series of ongoing sessions, which have been organised by Coventry City Council and the Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP) as part of the Child Friendly Cov and My Tomorrow campaigns, which have joined forces to improve the life chances of young people in the city.
The students from Blue Coat School, Bishop Ullathorne School and a group from Coventry Boys and Girls Club also asked questions about work-life balance, after one barrister revealed that her caseload has increased five-fold in the last decade.
Barrister Holly Kilbey said “Ten years ago, I used to have five cases a week. I now deal with around 25 cases each week, which includes prepping two or three trials,” she said.
“During a trial there is no work-life balance. You have to live and breathe that case because you have someone’s life in your hands, but then because you are technically self-employed there will be days where you finish at 11 O’clock in the morning and you’re done for the day.”
She was also keen to dispel the myth that a career in law is for the privileged few.
“The perception that you have to have rich parents, or go to private school to become a barrister is false and old fashioned,” she said.
“Our door is always open. The bar is changing and it’s committed to closing that gap to make sure young people from all walks of life can have a career in law.”
The students were told that as undergraduates, they could apply to chambers for mini pupillages; the bar’s equivalent of an internship, which gives law students the opportunity to shadow a barrister for a whole week.
A degree isn’t needed to become a court clerk or usher, instead access to these jobs is based on a competency-based interview and many students take up these roles in the courtroom while studying for a law degree, in order to learn the ropes.
The group was also given information on scholarships, which are available through The Inns of Court and the Bar Training Course (BTC).
16-year-old Tyler Gosling, from Coventry Boys and Girls Club, said he was really interested to hear about all the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) jobs within the admin, IT and HR teams too, adding: “I don’t go to college currently so I thought that there would be no way for me to work inside this building and help people, but being here has just opened my eyes that there are so many more opportunities out there.”
16-year-old Keara Clifton from Blue Coat School said: “They weren’t sugar coating it, which I thought was really useful.
“They told us about all the scholarship opportunities available and there’s loads, I didn’t think there were that many and you can obviously get an apprenticeship or work experience so being told about all the different opportunities was really helpful because now I know, if I did want to go into law in the next couple of years, I’ve got loads of options available to me.”
The workshop was the third in a series, with previous sessions covering crime, policing and council budgeting. They’re being organised to ensure young people in Coventry can gain access to decision-makers and have their voices and opinions heard.
HH Judge Walsh has committed to holding more courtroom sessions and said: “It is really important that young people in our community understand the work of the crown court.
“This was an engaging exercise in which young people from Coventry could get an opportunity to speak to barristers, court staff and a Judge.
“We were delighted to host this event and look forward to arranging further opportunities in the future”.
Cllr Abdul Salam Khan, Deputy Leader of Coventry City Council, said: “I’m pleased that young people from Coventry had the chance to find out more about career opportunities as solicitors and barristers.
“It’s important to hear that these opportunities are available for people from all backgrounds and this send a positive message about the role young people have in the life of the city.”