Justice Week 2020 – Best Bits
This February, Leducate has been proud to support Justice Week, providing a week’s worth of exciting events and material to highlight the important role of public legal education and showcase some of the work we do all year round.
During this academic year, Leducate has provided a tailored legal curriculum to our partner schools for free. However, this week we boosted our curriculum with a few very special events in support of The Bar Council, The Law Society and CILEx’s Justice Week Programme.
On Monday, we highlighted the role of the law in Protecting Freedoms with a very special blog post on the role of Chancery Law from Commercial chancery barrister Zara McGlone.
On Tuesday, we partnered with The Bar Council to host a panel event at Middle Temple on Fighting for Rights. Chaired by The Bar Council’s Chair Amanda Pinto and along with panellists Lauren Watson (Legal Partnerships, CrowdJustice), Master Elaine Banton (7BR) and Rowena Moffatt (Doughty Street Chambers), we discussed topics from the role of technology in justice to immigration law and opportunities in law as a career.
On Wednesday, we heard from the Public Law Project’s Legal Director, Alison Pickup, who answered our student’s questions on the constitution for our first Constitutional Call In. Lastly, on Friday, we asked some of our students to tell us why they thought public legal education was important.
As the Law Society suggests, public legal education is essential to allow people to understand the importance of the justice system, value the rule of law and see them as fundamental to our lives and freedoms. This is something Leducate strongly identifies with and ensures every day through our free tailored curriculum, delivered to our partner schools. Our curriculum ensures students can build their understanding and legal literacy of the world around them.
As our Patron Lord Neuberger said:
“the Law generally stands for justice, and if we don’t stand up for fair treatment for people, giving them the opportunity to understand their rights and obligations, then nobody’s going to do it.”
That’s why Leducate gives our students the opportunity to understand their rights and obligations through topics like contract law, housing, staying safe online and managing negative influences. Just last month, we partnered with the Redhill Trust in Nottingham for their annual Moving on Day. We taught over 300 Year 13 students about to leave school for university or apprenticeships. Throughout the day, we looked at health and relationships, safe sex, healthy and toxic relationships and family rights.
Whatever the subject, our students learn what their legal rights are (and where they come from), and hope that they feel empowered with the confidence to use them so that they can make smarter life choices.
On Friday, we leave Justice Week 2020 with a firmer belief that everyone has the right to know about the law and how it is used. We hope all our students learn that the law is something that can achieve real change, and is something that ultimately protects us.
Thank you to all who worked with Leducate for National Justice Week to make it such a success.