Why should a LAW FIRM participate in Local Lawyers in Schools?

Staff development
Corporate Social Responsibility
Boost staff morale
Improve a firm's profile
Networking
Recruitment

Staff development

• Volunteers have reported developing and improving their presentation skills, communication skills, confidence, patience, listening skills and leadership abilities.
• Involvement in the programme (including time spent in training, preparation for sessions and in sessions themselves) counts towards an individual's unaccredited CPD points.
• Therefore, participation in the training session, pre-session preparation and four school sessions could add up to as much as eight hours of CPD.

Corporate Social Responsibility

• Local Lawyers in Schools is a particularly unique and valuable volunteering opportunity as it draws on the core skills and knowledge of the lawyers and legal trainees.
• The scheme assists a firm in developing its community investment programmes; it is a practical demonstration of a firm's commitment to education in the local community.
• The scheme enables a firm to initiate, or build upon, a relationship with a school. Some firms have developed this partnership further through other schemes (for example, mentoring).
• Local Lawyers in Schools can help to embed a CSR ethos into the firm, especially among trainees.

Boost staff morale

• Participating in the programme is enjoyable for volunteers. Interacting with young people from a range of backgrounds is energising and fulfilling.
• Participating in the scheme encourages networking amongst colleagues across the law firm. Some firms run the scheme exclusively with trainees, but others include associates, partners and senior partners.

 "I found it thoroughly enjoyable to talk with the students and to encourage debate and discussion between them. The group which I worked with were very responsive which made for intelligent and thought-provoking sessions." Participating Volunteer

Improve a firm's profile

• In today's society, clients and employees are increasingly looking to engage with responsible and ethical businesses. The scheme can assist firms with meeting these targets.
• The toolkit given to participating organisation includes a template press release which can be used to gain local coverage and increase your firm's profile.
• Volunteers act as company ambassadors, representing the firm in the local community.

Networking

• The scheme can be a great opportunity for internal networking of your staff building links across your organisation.

Recruitment

• Local Lawyers in Schools can be built into the firm's training programme and offer a unique package to recruit trainees.