Potter Rees Dolan support Creating Connections initiative
- 17.07.2019
- JessicaMG
- Clinical-negligence, Clinical-negligence, Clinical-negligence, Clinical-negligence
This week we had the pleasure of welcoming a 16-year-old school leaver to our offices, as part of a new legal work experience initiative from Kings Chambers and RECLAIM Project.
Creating Connections
Creating Connections is a scheme aimed at increasing opportunities for young people from working class backgrounds in Manchester, through engagement with local law firms and businesses by way of work placements. Each of the eight students taking part also received a £100 donation towards new office attire.
As a business we understand how important it is to provide young people with the opportunity to be able to enhance their employability and build on their skill sets and connections, and so we were very excited to take part!
On the day
Our work placement student was given a tour of our main office, introduced to heads of departments, the wider team and given a run through of the various aspects of our service areas, before spending the day with our Clinical Negligence team in their brand new office space.
There, our student worked closely with Gill Edwards, Partner & Clinical Negligence solicitor, and spent the day learning about cases involving brain injury and amputation; working on how claims are valued, including researching case law; and preparing instructions to an expert.
Gill comments:
“There is still a shocking degree of social inequality in the UK and we are letting down a whole generation of talented, ambitious and driven youngsters if we don’t take positive steps to address it. Some say that you can achieve success if you want it badly enough, but they are often the same people who take for granted the fact that they have the opportunity to gain work experience and insight into a professional office because they are able to tap into contacts via family and friends. The Creating Connections scheme gives this opportunity to youngsters who do not have the advantage of such links. From my experience of the bright young student who spent the day with me, we will all be missing out if we don’t reinforce the message to working class youngsters that a professional career is something that is open to them and achievable.”