Lawyer Monthly - December 2021 Edition

But young people are not necessarily the answer. They need great role models. They need people in firms that have got well-funded pro bono units. Where the mission of leaving university should be to say: “Look, I am prepared to forego a reasonable amount of salary, but I still need to have the capacity to live in London.” Anybody who is a legal aid lawyer does not make a lot of money. And again, the reason why I say we are bad advocates is because for too long we have allowed the media to rob us of what is the fundamental truth: yes, some barristers and corporate and commercial lawyers get a lot of money. But those who practice legal aid and do free work do not make a lot of money. They do it for the passion, they do it for the love, they do it for the calling, because they believe that there is no value in the law unless it is available for everybody. And so it seems to me that we attract young people by reminding them that they can still have a mission to do this work and still live a reasonable lifestyle, and we need a range of solutions from our government and our corporate community in order to enable and assist that. “ It seems to me that we attract young people by reminding them that they can still have a mission to do this work and still live a reasonable lifestyle. 19 DEC 2021 WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM Judge Robert Rinder with Oliver Sullivan, Editor at Lawyer Monthly