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Can you remember how old you were when you first appeared in front of a Sheriff?
Even with the benefit of a legal degree, a diploma and the experience of working as a young solicitor, that first court appearance is still a test of the nerves.
So how would you have coped if your first day in court was when you were still in school?
Well, thousands of secondary pupils from across Scotland have been finding out. They’ve been taking part in the School Mock Court Case Project, an inter-school competition that sees children argue a mock trial in a real court in front of a real sheriff.
During the current academic year, 3000 pupils from 80 schools registered and the project has spread from the south of Scotland to the north east, with schools in Orkney also lining up to take part.
The project relies on volunteer solicitors, paralegals and advocates to tutor the schoolchildren on how to compile legal documents, as well as how to act in court.
The project’s founder chairman, Gerald Murphy, and advocate Jamie Gardiner have been in Inverness and Aberdeen to meeting with local law firms, solicitors and schools to introduce next year’s project, which kicks off in August.
To support the growing number of schools that now want to take part, more volunteer legal tutors are needed – so if you want to help today’s young people develop the sort of oral advocacy skills that you yourself use, then the charity would love to hear from you.
Who knows, you might even inspire some of the next generation of lawyers, as well as recapture some of the excitement you experienced yourself when you were just starting out in your own career.
Of course volunteering in this way isn’t just good for the young people involved, it can also boost your own career too.
It is certainly something significant to add to your CV when applying for any of the legal vacancies currently on s1jobs.
There are dozens of these all across Scotland and, because the School Mock Court Case Project is spreading so widely nationwide, wherever you end up working the chances that there will be schools in your local area where you can carry on volunteering.
For all of the latest Legal vacancies visit s1jobs.