Introduction to SPRUCE

How many times have you heard people say things like this? How many times have you said something like this? How many times have you thought how good it would be to have a career in the Law but fear that it is not for you, for some reason or another?

It is because we feel that school students, approaching the time when they have to decide what to study at university – or, indeed whether to go to university at all - should have an opportunity to learn about the study of and careers in the Law that we have put this course together. Our objects are to inform and to provide an opportunity to you to ask questions regarding the study of and work in the Law so that you can make a decision which is right for you.

We will start by introducing you to the Law. We will tell you about the Court system, and about the Law which is applied in the Courts. We will tell you about Barristers and Solicitors and Legal Executives and how you can become one – by going to university or by way of an apprenticeship.

You will hear from the Head of Bradford University Law School about studying at University and about people who go on to teach Law. You’ll hear from lawyers working in different areas of the Law, although there are so many different areas of Law we can’t possibly tell you about all of them, but we can make a start, certainly. But you will hear from Barristers and Solicitors working in criminal law, civil law and family law, from a Solicitor working on non-contentious work (probate, wills and conveyancing), from an in-house lawyer at Morrisons and from the President of CILEX (the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives).

We will talk about diversity – lawyers come in all shapes and sizes and from all sorts of different backgrounds. We think it important to help you understand that there is a place in the Law for you, whoever you are and whatever your background, and that your race, your religion, your gender, your place of study – none of these matter. What matters is whether you are interested, whether you are prepared to work hard and whether you want to succeed in the years ahead of you, in your studies and in the working life which will follow. It doesn’t matter if no one in your family is a lawyer, or if no one in your family went to university, or if you go to Oxford or Cambridge University or to Manchester, Leeds or Bradford University. The days when Solicitors, Barristers and indeed Judges all came from wealthy families and attended private schools are over, and the modern legal profession is open to anybody with the drive, commitment and willingness to work hard, irrespective of their background. A number of ‘Graduates’ of previous SPRUCE courses are now studying for degrees, including Law degrees, destined for careers in the Law or are already in such careers. What matters is how hard you are prepared to work now and in the future.