"Would you like a chocolate?"

It's always hard trying to make the law sound cool to students who are not sure what they want to do in the future.  I found myself in this situation when representing my firm at the Suffolk Skills Show this morning.

Students upon students  between the ages of 12 and 18 attended the careers event and I, being a law enthusiast really enjoyed talking to the students about the journey towards being a Solicitor.  I also, however, saw the students' faces drop with boredom the longer I spoke.

Some of the students were certain that they were going to be criminal lawyers and stand in front of a judge, screaming across a courtroom. I felt somewhat cruel crushing their dreams by telling them that everything they see on the television isn't always true.

With most of the students, it was easier to start with the question "do you enjoy reading?". I felt it was extremely important to let them know that if they were to pursue a career in law, they would have their head in the books for the rest of their career.

Another question I would ask was "do you know how long it takes to qualify as a Solicitor?". I decided that before pursuing a career in law the students needed to be made aware of this, the legal journey is a long one!  A lot of the students were unaware that it takes 6 years to qualify and once I had made them aware of this, they started to consider alternative careers.

As talking about the law can be extremely boring to some, what could I do to make the conversation better? Chocolate, it's always a winner. I even found myself eating a few too many!  Some took the chocolate as we engaged in conversation, others took the chocolate and ran. You can't win them all!

Today was extremely beneficial, it was like looking at myself 7 years ago when I attended similar events.  I was as helpful as I could be, particularly to those who were seriously considering a career in law. I know exactly how they felt, hundreds of companies talking at you for the day can make the whole day seem a blur.

It was hard to make the law sound cool, however it was great to use my social skills and be able to talk in front of a group of people confidently.  I hope that I was able to encourage students to pursue a career in law and let them know that it's a hard, long journey but an enjoyable one at the same time.