Ashurst LLP sign up to support schools legal education initiative

International law firm Ashurst has signed up to support the Law Society of Scotland’s Street Law programme in schools across the country.

The interactive programme for high schools involves university law students teaching classes about the law, the legal system, and legal principles. They encourage pupils to consider how the law relates to them and sessions have included the laws on stop and search, privacy and social media, cyberbullying and mock trials.

Mike Polson, managing partner at Ashurst's Glasgow office, and director of Ashurst Advance, said: “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 Law Society of Scotland, said: “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.”

Ashurst joins existing sponsors Pinsent Masons who have supported the project for the past year.

More information, and a video about the Street Law project, can be found at: www.lawscot.org.uk/streetlaw.