Gwen spends a week working with London lawyers
Gwen Dafydd, who studies A-levels at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor, was selected from students across Wales to gain first-hand experience of working in the legal profession
Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor student Gwen Dafydd is looking forward to a legal career after spending a week with lawyers in London.
Gwen, from Blaenau Ffestiniog, studies A-levels at the Dolgellau campus.
She was one of 10 students from across Wales selected by the Lord Edmund Davies Legal Educational Trust (LEDLET) to gain first-hand experience of working in the legal profession.
While in London, Gwen debated in front of a judge and completed work experience placements with a barrister and a solicitor.
Gwen said: “I was lucky enough to be chosen by the LEDLET scheme - an opportunity for aspiring law students to work with legal professionals and get to really understand the everyday life within the law profession.
“We got to do a debate workshop at Gray’s Inn, and later had to perform a debate in Gray’s Inn hall with Lady Justice Nicola Davies judging.
“We also had a work experience day with a solicitor. I was placed with real estate solicitor Charlotte Scott at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP). BCLP is a large firm which deals with cases such as real estate, financial services and litigation.
“It was a very interesting opportunity to be at BCLP for a day because Charlotte gave me the chance to sit in on her staff meetings and meetings with clients, which really helped me understand what they were working towards.
“Later, we had a talk at the Royal Courts of Justice from Lord Justice Lewis, who spoke to us about the kind of cases he’s been involved in. Lastly for the day, we had a tour of the Law Society which was very interesting to see.
“We then had our work experience day with a barrister. I was placed with personal injury barrister Richard Smith at Crown Office Row. I really enjoyed this placement because it helped me understand more civil law cases.
“While I was there, Richard spent time showing me a case he had worked on, and I then got to read through the files in detail. This really helped me understand the procedure of personal injury cases.
“After our placements, we were given a talk by multiple family law barristers at 29 Bedford Row.”
LEDLET is an independent charity established in 2013 to serve young people living in Wales or having a connection with Wales who are interested in entering the legal profession.
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