Valuing difference? Experiences in two clinical environments

Abstract

What do most people think of a law degree – plentiful amounts of hard work, boundless reading, an expensive Legal Practice Course or Bar Vocational Course followed by an extremely competitive application process to secure a job in the graduate’s respective field of work? What if students were given the opportunity to work in another jurisdiction, such as Australia, for one month in a student run law office, during the summer, with £1000 to get them on their way? ‘Sounds good’, I thought. ‘So what do I have to do to get the chance’? And then the one catch is divulged – the students must complete a compulsory piece of coursework and achieve one of the top 10 marks in their year. (The writer expects a few raised eyebrows at this stage!)