To take my Son to Court?

[Sharpandshineyteeth]

.....not like that 😊

He is 15yo. In his GCSE year. He is lacking motivation, although he wants to go to sixth form, he is only aiming for the minimum grades.

He has no idea what he would like to do when he is older. He loves arguing and debating and has a really good eye for detail. I thought a Solicitor would be a good career for him to aim for. He said he is not sure, so I have said we could go to Court in the feb half term and see what they do.

I have been to Court myself as a Social worker so know what to expect but it just seems a bit...I don’t know...cheeky, to use a Court case as work experience. But then again I am desperate for him to become more motivated.

We have no family or friends around us in professional jobs that he is interested in to offer him work experience another way either.

It seems like an excellent idea. Unless he takes inspiration not from the solicitor but the defendant

When I studied law at A-level, our teacher took us to the Court of Appeal to hear some cases. It actually put me off my initial career choice because the judges comments to the young male Asian barrister representing one of the defendants was borderline racist and utterly ridiculous. I still did a degree in law but went to work in HE instead.

Are Courts not available to the general public? I thought they were!

Not cheeky at all OP, I'm studying a law based degree at the moment and went to the crown court to sit in on some cases. It was really interesting and they don't even notice you in the public gallery.

Do it! The public gallery is open to anyone for any reason, you may as well use it.

But then again I am desperate for him to become more motivated.

It isn't at all unusual for 15yo to not feel motivated by a future career. Often the big push by schools in 6th form to start scoping out universities/apprenticeships and (often) getting to know the year above who are doing UCAS applications can focus minds. There are still a lot of people who don't know what they want to do for a job even during uni - I know most of my cohort made decisions in our final year.

In short - don't panic or push him too much. As long as he is actually working for his GCSEs then I honestly think that is enough to focus on for now.

Sounds like a good idea. My school took us all on a school trip to the local court once. We just sat in the public gallery. You might want to find out what cases are coming up in case it's something disturbing (or, perhaps more likely, something incredibly dull).

Go for it! Courts are open to the public (except in very unusual circumstances) and nobody will raise an eyebrow at the two of you sitting quietly at the back having a look.

When you arrive at the court, ask at reception to be directed to a courtroom where something substantive is happening. You don’t want to put him off by having him sit through a couple of hours of tedious procedural hearings

I can recommend a legal apprenticeship, if Uni is not something he wants to do.

You need to pick and choose. Coming into court in the middle of a contract or land law dispute when you have no idea what the case is about may not be very motivating; criminal cases are more interesting but not very representative of a solicitor's life and, to be honest, you have to be fairly insane to want to practise in criminal law these days. The sort of case you used to deal with would presumably not be open to the public anyway.

Check first if he is able to go into the courtroom - most children aren’t allowed into courts, although they are open to the public

Is he capable of the grades needed to become a solicitor?

Journalism courses (University and A Level) also take their students to observe local court cases and report on them - that's another angle to present to him.

Because otherwise it could be setting him up for disappointment.

I agree on checking if a 15 year old will be allowed in, but there's no issue with the public going "out of interest" ... potential magistrates are actively encouraged to do it, so there'd be no issue with a potential solicitor

I'm not sure if it would work if he "lacks motivation" and is only aiming for low grades, though - that certainly won't earn him a job in the legal field

It's a good idea but if going to magistrates' court it is worth phoning to find out what is scheduled for specific days to get something interesting. Ushers should advise when you get there. Some courts only have sessions on certain days and some specialise in eg traffic cases, which are typically not very interesting to observe.

I was working in a Court when my DD was 16 and I took her to work with me one day. She really enjoyed it. She never went into Law but she found it an interesting experience.

I think this is a wonderful idea TBH. In my area, the first Wednesday in November is Take Our Kids to Work Day. If the workplace allows it (mine did), parents are encouraged to take their Grade 9 child to work with them. It provides the child an opportunity to see what their parent does all day, and can provide more insight into what sorts of opportunities are available in the workforce.

I used to bunk off secondary school and watch trials in our local crown court. Occasionally I couldn’t get in because they were checking IDs because of threatened witness intimidation. I would imagine that 25 years later photo ID is probably required by all attendees.

This was decades ago but I've sat in on cases at The Old Bailey, Crown Courts, Magistrates and Royal Courts of Justice - all under the banner of work experience. Great insight and good thing to talk about in applications etc I'd have thought. Shows interest.

The Old Bailey is a wonderful day if the cases are interesting but if you go on a bad day, he might get very bored and that'd put him off.

Wouldn't most court work be barristers rather than solicitor?

I had to sit through court one day. One was about a guy who had committed a robbery while on bail or something, another was a young girl who was a heroine user and had robbed a supermarket I think, another was about a guy who had conned a guy somehow selling a van (can't remember the details) another was about a farmer who mistreated donkeys so the RSPCA were there, then a neighbour dispute, then there was my case (DV). It was interesting! Shameful to have your life put in front of all to watch mind you, but interesting nonetheless.
Had to sit through the full morning sitting before mine was heard late in the afternoon, around 4pm.

Solicitors do most work in Ireland unless you pay for a barrister.