Legal face; The Clerkship Chronicles

Hello everyone! Another installment to ‘the clerkship chronicles’ you can read the other installment on this series by selecting the title on the side bar. I wanted to talk today about embarrassment, and a recent episode I had in the office with one of the top solicitors in th

Trust me - these files are barely
a quarter of what's there

e city.

Embarrassment is the curse of a legal junior. It does not matter whether you do something right, wrong or in between; you will wake up at one o’clock in the morning wondering why on earth you did that thing. It’s guaranteed that at least once you’ll spend the entire night reading as many articles you can get your hands on so that you never look that dumb again.

I spend much time in my senior’s office where we are meeting clients, colleagues and other legal personnel. It is an unusual experience because his office is stuffed with books, paper, and memorabilia. I would liken it to a dragon’s den of treasure – but I do not think he would appreciate the reference! So, I will not mention it, and instead say that he uses an abstract filing system.

Back to task, I, usually, am tucked in a corner of his office pouring over a client’s file or a legal tome. Everyone knows how much I love to be surrounded by books and I don’t bother to unload one book off my lap and pick up another – especially when I’m in the middle of a paper trail.

This crazy method of filing papers and stacking books is fine until someone comes in to visit. If they are staying long enough, it is pretty hard to pretend I don’t exist. So, I introduce myself, or they introduce themselves – either way, you better be prepared for some awkward shuffling.

To extract myself from the immense pile of papers and law books that are sitting on my lap, I have found that I have to scoop my hips up and then cradle the papers on my lap with one hand. If not done in a fluid motion we can have a cascade of highlighters, papers and heavy textbooks hitting the floor. This is such an awkward experience – as I then have to dart about the office trying to stop the other piles of books and files from being knocked over. It’s a bit of a whack-a-mole situation.

Universities may encourage group work
- but I can see some advantages to self study!

One time I was introduced to one of the top solicitors in the city. It was very exciting, and of course, my coordinated-self did not ‘grip’ the books before I stood up. The books flew from beneath my fingers, and my feet were covered in pens and various loose handouts before I knew it. Of course, with the world being as it is – murphy’s law applied and three other piles tipped over right next to him. Safe to say, the carpet was well hidden from view.

Social etiquette books are split on what to do when you drop something. Some suggest that you should wait for an appropriate moment before you attempt to gather what you can while others suggest that you clear the mess up immediately and apologize for your clumsiness.

Well, that’s a lot of help. In these situations, you’re basically on your own – so I’d recommend taking your cue from someone else. At least if you both do the wrong thing it feels a lot less awkward.

You may now be wondering how I reacted to completely destroying the precarious filing system that existed within my senior’s office – while standing in front of a very important lawyer. Well…over the past few months, I seem to have developed what I like to call ‘legal face.’ It is not an attractive thing to have, trust me, but it is a real thing. It is where something happens, be it funny, sad, shocking or embarrassing and you revert to an immediate frown. Except it’s not a small frown – think a grumpy cat combined with a smirk. If you’re really curious look at this.  

All in all - I'd earned some time to read
in the sun.

Naturally, at this moment all three of the people in the office, including myself, could not fathom whether this moment was funny or embarrassing-  and a uniform ‘legal face’ was the only appropriate reaction. – Why anyone bothers watching suits when there are far better ways to display the humorous realities of the legal profession I don’t know.  

After several tedious moments of pointedly ignoring the mess I had created, he shook my hand and sat down, as did I. The mess on the floor remained steadfastly ignored until he and my senior both left to get a file. Then I madly gathered them up, all the while wishing I had not chosen that day to wear my soft pink blush, because my face looked like a baby flamingo.  

I cannot pitch in on the social etiquette side of the equation – but to all future law students, be prepared. However agile and dexterous you are at home, forget about it under pressure. Possibly not the most positive message – but if I told you that you were never going to make an embarrassing mistake again when you started a clerkship I’d be a serious liar. 

Why I chose to become the underaged lawyer

Oh my goodness look! I can post gifs on here!

My blog title often amuses the many people I meet. They associate being underaged with youth and innocence. I too do not separate these qualities from youth. Childhood and young adulthood feature the growth of curiosity

I believe one of the many characteristics of today’s children is that they suffer no fools. Many children state it out how they see it – I’m sure you’ve all heard ‘that’s dumb.’ Or ‘Why not just tell them no?’. The simplicity of youth is something I wish never to forget as a lawyer. 

Also, I chose underaged because being underage means that the law of the world cannot restrain me. No, I don’t mean unconstrained in the strict sense of law. I mean unconstrained in that the formalities of the world seem as flexible as a piece of string.

 If I don’t agree with it – why not say it? If there is a war- why not tell them to stop fighting?

 The older an individual gets, the more constrained they appear by the realities of the world in which they live.

Just because a lawyer's work isn't fun
doesn't mean I cant have a flower to make it better!

The role of a lawyer is always to dodge these realities. I see no human rights lawyer that looks at the world and thinks ‘well that’s the way it is, and that is the way it always will be’. I like to think of lawyers like a relay team. We all acknowledge that it should be one way and set about in a relay race to make it happen. Think back to the history of law – how did it develop? Because one day one person said hey – we should have a way to fix things when they were unfair!

And it took a long, long time to get close to what we have today – and even now there are still issues – yet we started as a group on a venture that appeared impossible. The judges that started the law were effectively holding onto the spirit of youth. An undaunted challenge to the future to improve things in the way that they morally should be. 

It is impossible to propose that a happy young person would not aim for a better tomorrow but it is not unprecedented that the contented mature person will merely seek to keep the peace for the present. I am now studying law and global policy, and often I find myself pulling back on proposing theories of change merely because I see troubles with current political sensitivities. However, I have determined to stop holding back. Present day sensitivities should be mere passing thoughts to proposals for future benefit. 

It is a selfish proposition that any change must occur within my lifespan. Rather I must consider myself a simple member of a relay team for a change. If I wish to see the globe operating with a democratic government, I must prepare myself to see turmoil and for the future youth of the world to see the success. 

Although Lord Denning never let go of that
underaged mindset - question all assumptions!

It is only in the mind frame of someone who is free from the constraints of the academic and political world that propositions for change can occur. It is undoubted that in present times they must be altered to minimize the conflicts which are faced, but they should never be modified during the future to cater to the conflicts of the present.

It is common knowledge that wars end. Whether the political sensitivities remain are purely up to the generation of today. I can see that as our world become interconnected and we suddenly have friends in every country across the globe political conflicts cannot remain. What person would hold a grudge against the country in which their beloved aunt lives? Or where a favourite actor spends the majority of their time? Our current views of states and borders are rendered irrelevant by transnational communications leading to the only conclusion – we must ignore the realities of today to develop a functional future.

I am currently writing an essay about creating a global government. I will admit that I have been torturing myself by attempting iron out exactly how differing cultures and ideologies could mix until I realized that was simply my perspective. 

I may view some cultures as roadblocks to change – but I do not see their population as road blocks. As communication and personal expression take the reins of country control so must these ideological setbacks fall away. Young people of today have seen the devastation of war and the crippling effects of food shortage, of racism, land loss and the importance of human dignity. 

Each of them represents a generation that has never considered a postcode or border when communicating with someone else. The conflict of the future will not lie with countries, and it is critical that as lawyers, businessmen and people of the world, we make plans to deal with a generation that does not understand there is a separation between countries. 

Is it sad to admit I've never actually used a
post code except in online forms?

After all, for my generation, where is the separation? I can see my friends in Italy, follow my auntie in England and enjoy the acting ventures of Benedict Cumberbatch all from one place. I have no understanding of the borders between countries – I’ll admit it took me time to understand why we had to draw lines. Yes, there is a great conflict in many countries, and not all people will view others in equal stead to themselves. But I propose the vast majority do and as time goes by the majority can reach out to the minority to develop the ability for the world to grow as a single community free from conflict and turmoil in order work entirely for the global benefit of all members.

 As overly confident as the proposition may appear I’d like to invite you to consider what it means to be a young person today. Think about having no understanding of having to wait to communicate; there ’s no need for physical contact in a fight – most ‘brawls’ between youth happens online. It’s purely verbal. In the future, the value of physical contest will not compare to the value of the written word. Global governance will become our centerpiece for the new war – taking form in the diplomatic art of discussion.

And since we're at the end of the post we can talk about fun things ^^^
meet my plant family; marcus the chilli and george the italian basil.