MoJ to mentor aspiring lawyers

A group of wannabe lawyers has been given life coaches by the Government as part of a project to monitor the obstacles students face when choosing a career in law.

The initiative, called Barriers Leading into Law, has been launched by Justice Minister Lord Bach and will look at the hurdles facing students trying to pursue a career in law and how to overcome them.

A group on 32 students will be coached for a year by selected members of Ministry of Justice staff with relevant coaching experience. The students will be given a range of support such as help writing CVs, networking opportunities and career workshops.

The life coaches will keep in touch with the students as they apply to join the legal profession, and observe any difficulties in their way.

The students will be encouraged to share their experiences with their coach and each other through internet blogs, email or personal talks to help identify barriers that could prevent them from becoming lawyers.

The project, which was launched on 24 October, was open to undergraduates reading law and those holding Graduate Diplomas in Law (GDL), the Bar Vocational Course (BVC) or Legal Practice Course (LPC) qualifications who want to pursue a legal career and applied to take part in the scheme.

The project is part of initiatives to ensure diversity of both the legal profession and the judiciary is improved. Its creators hope it will provide an insight into the actual experiences of a group of students trying to get jobs as lawyers.

Justice Minister Lord Bach said: The legal profession, including the judiciary, should reflect the rich diversity in the community it serves in order to increase the publics confidence.

The initiative will help to provide the valuable information needed to drive the legal profession forward as well as help those who are involved to develop further.