A Street Law perspective: Engaging schools in a legal career

In the next instalment of our Street Law series to celebrate its 10th anniversary, Claire Walsh, Trainee Solicitor in the Litigation, Regulatory & Tax team and Lara Wilkie, Practice Development Executive (Projects) and soon to be trainee at Pinsent Masons, share the influence of our street law programme on the future generation of solicitors.

Claire Walsh, trainee solicitor: Back in January 2023, while preparing to start my training contract with Pinsent Masons, I had the chance to take part in the Street Law training weekend alongside a few colleagues and fellow LLB students. The sessions were genuinely inspiring, practical, thought-provoking, and a lot of fun. I left the weekend excited to get into classrooms and start delivering lessons.

When I joined Pinsent Masons, I knew I wanted to keep that momentum going. I’ve always been passionate about social mobility and helping young people see law as something that’s not just for “other people”, but something they can be a part of too.

After chatting with colleagues, I found out that our Edinburgh office already had a great relationship with a local school. It felt like the perfect opportunity to bring Street Law into the mix.

In 2024, we kicked things off with a third-year class, and the response was fantastic. We delivered several sessions at the school and even hosted a session in our Edinburgh office. That visit included a tour, a chat with our graduate recruitment team, and a fun, cake-themed lesson on Intellectual Property rights (yes, Caterpillar cakes were involved!).

This year, we’ve kept the momentum going. We’re continuing to deliver Street Law lessons and are looking forward to welcoming the pupils back to our office this summer.

Here’s what one of the teachers had to say:

“Feedback from our S3 students has been overwhelmingly positive. The sessions are fun, interactive, and have sparked interest in law from students who hadn’t considered it before. The team from Pinsent Masons have been enthusiastic and supportive, and we’ve built a strong partnership that we hope will benefit our students for years to come.”

For me, one of the best things about Street Law is how interactive it is. It’s not just about teaching what the law is—it’s about encouraging pupils to think about what the law should be. Watching them come up with creative solutions to real-world problems is always a highlight. It’s a reminder that problem-solving is at the heart of what we do as lawyers. It has been a privilege for all of those involved to see the students grow, not only in their knowledge of the law but also in their confidence. As our relationship with the school has grown, pupils have become more comfortable engaging with professionals they may have otherwise viewed as intimidating in an isolated or unfamiliar setting.

“It’s not just about teaching what the law is —it’s about encouraging pupils to think about what the law should be.”

Lara Wilkie, Practice Development Executive: I first heard about Street Law through my colleague Claire, who had already been delivering sessions at a local school. Her enthusiasm was contagious, and I was immediately drawn to the idea. It felt like a brilliant way to make law more accessible and relatable - especially for young people who might not have considered it as a career path.

Given the strong relationship our Glasgow office has with a local school, we thought it would be the perfect place to introduce Street Law. When we mentioned the idea to colleagues, the response was overwhelmingly positive.

So many people were keen to get involved that we reached out to Megan Scott from the Law Society of Scotland, who kindly agreed to run a Street Law training session for a group of us.

Megan’s training was everything we hoped for: engaging, thought-provoking, and genuinely fun. Everyone who took part came away feeling inspired and ready to get started. We’re now proud to say we have 18 trained Street Lawyers across our Scottish offices!

With our newly trained team, we launched our first Street Law programme in Glasgow in February 2025. Over five weeks, we delivered four sessions:

• An Introduction to Pinsent Masons & Who Gets a Heart
• Witness Testimony
• Should it be a Crime?
• The Morton Case: Wrongful Conviction

The pupils were fantastic… curious, engaged, and increasingly confident with each session. One of the most rewarding parts was hearing their feedback:

“One thing I gained was confidence in standing up in front of the whole class and speaking.”

“I also enjoyed the workshops that we did. I thought they were really interesting, and I got to try something new as I had never done a workshop like that before.”

Both of these school programmes are about more than just teaching legal concepts. They’re designed to spark discussion around big ideas like justice, fairness, accountability, and equality. We also want to help students build confidence and see law as something they can be part of.

At the end of the programme, we celebrate their participation with Street Law certificates, certified by the Law Society of Scotland. It’s a great way for students to showcase their involvement: whether in university applications or future opportunities.

Ultimately, Street Law is about opening doors. It’s about showing young people that law isn’t just something that happens in courtrooms or textbooks, it’s something they can shape, question, and even pursue as a career.