Junior Lawyers Aim to Inspire Pupils to Study LawVocabulary and ExpressionsMag

Junior Lawyers Aim to Inspire Pupils to Study Law
   The anniversary of the Magna Carta next year will be used as an opportunity to inspire school-age children around the country to pursue a career in law.
   Signed in 1215 by King John and the barons of medieval England, the Magna Carta contained a series of promises about how England would be governed. It was an attempt by the barons to prevent the monarchy abusing its power and to ensure it ruled the country in the interests of its people.
   The project will provide a rare opportunity for pupils from more disadvantaged backgrounds to be introduced to a profession that is notoriously difficult to get into.
   Lawyers will underline the point that law is a career open to all.
   Sophia Dirir is a lawyer at Action for Children and chair of the junior lawyers division of the Law Society. She said: "As junior lawyers, we assume some responsibility to protect the diverse future generation of legal experts. We try to reach those from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds. "
   The project’s success will depend on participation, so both schools and lawyers need to sign up. Dirir said: "We have already seen a significant commitment from junior lawyers prior to the launch of this project, and we hope that this will only increase now that the project has been launched. "
   George, Magnus, Ollie and Ed, students aged 13-14 from north-west England who attended the launch, were unsure whether their schools had signed up to take part. They said they’d never heard of the Magna Carta before or been properly introduced to law. They think more debating exercises in class would be a good thing.
   Nicola Doughty, a teacher, has designed some teaching aids on the Magna Carta as part of the project. She said: " At a very young age, children are talking about their aspirations. Law might be a challenging concept, but it’s about the way you engage with them. Teaching the Magna Carta will help improve children’s awareness of law as a subject and take those ideas with them to secondary school. "