Canterbury Boys High School (CBHS) students are lucky enough to be able be involved in the Lawyers in Schools program again in conjunction with King & Wood Mallesons Law Firm.
We were one of the first two NSW Government Schools to be involved in this initiative and are proudly in our sixth partnership year. In October 2014, the Lawyers in Schools program in partnership with Canterbury Boys High School, Casula High School, and KWM clients GE, NAB and MLC, won the Pro Bono Partnership award at the 2014 NSW Law and Justice Foundation Awards. This indeed is a very prestigious win!
Reflections from a past program partner
A solicitor from King & Wood Mallesons who had worked with CBHS in the program had this to say about his past experience working in the program:
"The whole team had a great time. It is a unique opportunity for lawyers to use their legal expertise to engage with young people and raise their awareness of their legal rights and responsibilities. We enjoy every interaction we have with Canterbury Boys High School. We just keep coming back!."
What happens within the program?
A team of volunteer lawyers from the firm attend CBHS on a rostered basis conducting six workshops throughout Terms 2 and 3. Workshops include:
- learning about the law
- intellectual property law
- consumer law
- youth justice
- employment law
- police powers.
The workshops are attended by Year 10 students who were invited to be part of an extension program. Our boys have the opportunity to indicate to the school that they are interested in Law through our comprehensive Career Education program and specifically, students career and transition plan. This is one of the ways we extend our students and individualise the learning experience by matching students talents to their aspirations.
At each workshop, students worked in small groups with a lawyer and discuss a range of legal issues with the aim of developing their awareness of legal rights and responsibilities, as well as improving their participation in classroom discussions. The program has received extremely positive feedback from the students and the lawyers in the past. Most recently, 92% of students finding the topics interesting and informative, commenting that it was an awesome experience.