Developing capable young citizens: the role of public legal education (PLE) in schools

What role should public legal education play in schools? And how can we unlock its potential as a fundamental piece of modern education?

Join our charity and The Law Society President, I. Stephanie Boyce, as we discuss the role of public legal education in schools and how to unlock its potential. Learning about the justice system is fundamental to the next generation understanding their rights and appreciating the rule of law – but are we doing enough?

Get involved via Zoom on 17th March, 3pm-5pm. For a chance to submit your question, book your place in advance.

This event is part of The Big Legal Lesson 2022, Young Citizens’ national public legal education campaign.

About the discussion

Why does public legal education in schools matter? How do we help make this a priority within education? What’s working? What’s missing? And who is responsible for boosting legal literacy? Our panel will discuss why we need investment in PLE to create a fairer and more empowered society.

Recent research by Law for Life has shown that our country has a poor grasp of the rights, responsibilities and regulations upheld by our legal system.

• Only 25% of people claim to know their legal position completely when they experience a legal problem.
• Nearly two-thirds of the UK are “unaware of basic legal rights or the processes by which they are enforced”.

We need to develop knowledge and skills to help people understand a range of legal issues, allowing them to make better decisions, get access to justice and fight inequality.

Join our thought provoking discussion and discover potential strategies in this key area of citizenship education.

Panellists

I. Stephanie Boyce is President of The Law Society. She holds a Master of Laws in public law and global governance from King’s College and is a Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute, and has recently been appointed to the HM Treasury and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy commission – an independent taskforce boosting socio-economic diversity at senior levels in financial and professional services. In 2020 Stephanie was voted on to the Governance Hot 100 – Board Influencer and made the Power List 100 Most Influential Black People in the UK in 2021 and 2022.

Samantha Kakati, Partner, Mischon de Reya

Samantha is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution department at Mishcon de Reya. She specialises in banking and finance disputes and also works on general commercial dispute resolution matters. Her practice comprises of a mixture of high profile commercial litigation and confidential high value finance disputes resolved commercially with innovative approaches. Samantha is Mishcon de Reya’s Co-Training Principal and leads the Education Strand of the firm’s Access to Law Impact Pillar. She is also a non-executive director of The Centre for Education and Youth.

Priscilla Adu, Trainee Solicitor, IBB Law

Priscilla is an executive committee member and student representative in The Law Society’s Junior Lawyers Division. She works a Trainee Solicitor in the Education Law team at IBB Law, with extensive knowledge and experience of Family Law. She graduated from BPP Law School with a Master of Laws in 2019.

Ashley Hodges (Chair) was appointed Chief Executive of Young Citizens in 2021. She has previously held Chief Executive and Director roles within education and social mobility charities, including Speakers for Schools as the founding Executive Director and CEO. Her career has focused on working on building strong cross-sector collaboration and solutions to increase support for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.