Tuesday, March 10, 2009

C is for the "C" word

Divided by Law is in dire straights. With so much to give the legal world it could be all over. DbL is dying: currently swinging on a proverbial rope...

When starting out there was no intention of following the law path to sold souls and cold contract drafting for corporate machines. No intention at all. It was academia for academias sake. But then a light appeared! "law can actually help people": family law opens up to mediation, ADR, saving people from domestic violence; discrimination and employment law liberates people and opens up a multiculture of social justice; immigration law, human rights law. Law can save lives, maybe its worth getting on this law path. So thats what happened.

Get a training contract? No way, not with Halliwells, DLA, not with linklaters, not with any of those huge international monsters. Is that law? When people think of solicitors they think of these places - they haven't heard of Hackney community law centre or Rotherham legal advice centre. "But you haven't got any experience" they said, "and you look like a school child, our clients would laugh their way out of the office". When really you carry a glut of work experience in all kinds of things: McDonalds, cold store factories, glass factories, post offices, universities, newspapers, secretaries, receptionists, data entry, aluminium loading, bar working. All of it, but no law. The LPC covered that? Eloquantly paid for by working on a production line with a plethora of industry workers [whispering in your ear for employment law advice; which was duly given].

If you cant get a training contract get a paralegal job. No? If you cant get a paralegal job get some legal admin work? Still no? If you cant get legal admin stuff get some vaguely law related monkey work? OK - 5xGCSEs A-C will get you a data entry job for legal claims. Success? - no: a-levels, degree, lpc and the 2 years office work experience cancel out the 5xGCSE A-C and bar your access. You would have committed a year to them but they didnt believe you. "Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?", "firing you for age discrimination", "that's ok i was going to offer the job to my nephew anyway". Nepotism.

One way or another you have to get on the right ladder. The law ladder... think DbL, you can do this... Volunteer? But daddy wont pay your rent for you. You cant even afford to take a week out to volunteer for a charity. Your on the poverty line and have tied your own noose around it ready to jump.

Now you have forgotten the law, forgotten everything you learnt (except how to moan, obviously): you work so hard you can't stay up to date with it... How many hours a week do the WT Regs say you should do?... cant remember, look it up when you get home... Think DbL... blawgs might help? nope - no-ones reading yours mate. Sell your body to pay the rent and volunteer at the CAB by day? Forget about everything - your time is up:

Social mobility? You're having a laugh. First in the bloodline to go to university, first in your village to get a post grad qualification. Lauded for it - inflated ego. God complex: further to fall - tumbling down. Credit crunches, lose the job, cant pay the rent, leave the city, sleep on your parents sofa, ask for your paper round back: the ultimate regression, blame the recession. The most intelligent bartender in an English town - where having a brain makes you inferior and the degenerated society you came from doesnt accept you anymore. Back to trashy nightclubs on 2for1 fridays. Northern spirit. 15 year olds drinking stella at the working mens club stare you out.

It turns out you did sell your soul after all - you were going to save these people, to save the world: now they're not worth saving and you cant save yourself. Your spirit is broken and the last thing to go is the pride.

This is the lost generation.