Street Law initiative gains Ashurst support

Street Law, the Law Society of Scotland's programme to help school pupils understand legal rights and the legal system, has been given the backing of a second major law firm sponsor.

International firm Ashurst has signed up to support the programme, under which university law students are trained to deliver lessons in schools across the country. Pupils are encouraged to consider how the law relates to them, with sessions including the laws on stop and search, privacy and social media, cyberbullying and mock trials.

To date, Street Law has been brought to schools in areas including Aberdeen, Ayrshire, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and West Lothian. It is already backed by international firm Pinsent Masons, which has a substantial presence in Scotland.

Ashurst does not practise in Scotland but operates a large support office in Glasgow where a legally trained team carries out work for its offices in England and abroad.

Mike Polson, managing partner at the Glasgow office, commented: “We are delighted to be supporting the Law Society of Scotland's Street Law programme. Through this important partnership, we can come together to help educate students about law, democracy and human rights. We can also help to raise their awareness of all the new roles and opportunities which are arising in the rapidly changing legal market. We look forward to working closely with the Law Society of Scotland and supporting the work being done by the Street Law trainers."

Rob Marrs, head of education at the Society, added: “The Street Law programme has been very successful and we’ve had really positive feedback from pupils, teachers and Street Law trainers alike. In the last year, the programme has nearly doubled in size and we’ve worked with new schools from Ayrshire to Aberdeen and rolled out the scheme to schools in Dundee for the first time. It’s fantastic to have Ashurst on board to support legal education and help us to keep expanding the scheme.”

Further information about Street Law can be found at www.lawscot.org.uk/streetlaw.