The 800^th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta provides a unique opportunity for school-age children across the globe to engage with the ideas of citizenship, democracy, and the rule of law.

To do this, the Magna Carta 800^th Anniversary Committee, together with the Law Society and The Bar Council, have organised the Magna Carta Junior Lawyers in Schools programme.

The programme aims to use the anniversary as an opportunity to inspire school-age children and foster their aspirations to future careers in legal and civic professions. This project has been made possible through the kind support of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx). Click here to visit their website.

Junior Lawyers in Schools will encourage junior lawyers to go into schools, speak with pupils, deliver activities, and help children and teenagers understand their rights and the impact of the rule of law.

Over the course of 2014, building up to the 2015 anniversary, Junior Lawyers in Schools aims to:

• Encourage a sense of civic duty amongst young people
• Inspire children to pursue a career in the law
• Offer schools the opportunity to hear from young leaders making their way in the legal profession
• Foster greater awareness of the rule of law and the historical significance of Magna Carta
• Provide junior lawyers with the resources, structure and support they need to visit schools and run Magna Carta related activities

Lawyer Hekim Hannan discussing Magna Carta at Frodsham Manor School

“Magna Carta is the foundation of our rights – yet having completed a law degree, LPC and qualified as a solicitor I knew very little of how and why this document was so important. Getting involved in the Junior Lawyers in Schools programme as part of the 800th anniversary celebrations not only increased my knowledge, but enabled me to introduce it to our next generation. The Year 4 to 6 children at Frodsham Manor House Primary School were engaged and captivated and it was such a wonderful experience to talk about Magna Carta and careers in the law to such young and inquisitive minds. The questions they asked were interesting, varied and nearly caught me out on a couple of occasions! At the beginning of my talk I asked for a show of hands as to who wanted to be a lawyer; 4 or 5 hands from the 100 or so were raised. At the end of my talk response was 30 or 40! Overall it was a wonderful experience for me and I can’t wait until the next one!” Hekim Hannan, Lawyer.

If you are a school or junior lawyer and you would like to participate in this programme, sign-up below and we’ll be in touch.

School sign-up form

Lawyer sign-up form

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