BOOK REVIEW LAW STUDENTS

BOOK REVIEW

LAW STUDENTS: INVESTING IN THE FUTURE

BY

ALISON REES, PHILIP THOMAS and PAULINE TODD

Cardiff Law School, Box 427, Museum Avenue, Cardiff CF10 1XD

Price: £25

Appreciation by Phillip Taylor

The Times described this useful piece of research as the 'grim costs of learning the law' in an excellent appreciation of this research in a recent issue of The Times law supplement.

Rees, Thomas and Todd get to the heart of a serious problem with their detailed study, by questionnaire, of the disgraceful way in which law is taught in England and Wales at the beginning of the 21st century. If I felt that trainee lawyers were being singled out, I would be wrong because the financial problem facing students covers almost all disciplined.

Unfortunately, I have to concede that it has become such a large problem because so many younger people now go to university and expect to go to obtain the necessary qualification to compete for reasonably well-paid jobs on graduation. It was not always so! Thirty years ago, the prospects of attending university for well-over 30% of today's undergraduates was completely out of the question even though grants were available. How times have changed.

Another disturbing trend highlighted reflects the number of full-time students who must obtain part-time work to survive. This dangerous trend shows itself in the, often, rather slap-dash presentation of assessed work because these students are exhausted after 'the evening job', so 'the day job' suffers. I wish I knew what the answer was to this sad state of affairs, but I don't. One thing which does brighten the picture is the use of the Internet for tuition services in many disciplines, especially law.

However, the main issue remains: social exclusion. Whilst the politicians, educationalists and senior lawyers contentedly pat themselves on their respective backs saying how much their abhor racialism, sexism, ageism, and so on, the plain fact of the matter is that they are contributing towards it. The word, I believe, is hypocrisy. The reptilian tears are shed for the socially excluded but, as the executive summary shows, social exclusion by finances is what 'new' Labour (like their predecessors) are actually preaching. Well done Cardiff Law School in having the courage to expose this nasty mechanism. And, by the way, remember that some of the most powerful advocates in the land have come from very humble beings. I hope that the School will conduct a future survey after the next general election to see whether 'education, education, education' has survived the bank manager and the insolvency courts.

Phillip Taylor is the Barrister Desk Editor for The Malet Street Gazette.