Marshalling 2023 – Applications now open

Judges Marshalling 2023

Marshalling is sitting with a judge in court – often on the Bench!  You’ll get to see the Barristers’ submissions, see the workings of the court and if you are lucky, you will be invited into the Judge’s chambers to speak with them about the case and how they reach their decisions. In Kent Law School, we have arranged marshalling opportunities exclusively for Kent law students as follows:

  • Marshalling opportunities available at Canterbury Courts in the family, civil or criminal court. To take place in summer / autumn 2023
  • Marshalling opportunities in St Albans – criminal law only.  To take place in summer / autumn 2023

You will have the opportunity to observe criminal, family or civil cases. You will observe the interaction between the Bar and solicitors as well as the work of other professionals and court users (for example, social and probation workers, experts in children’s cases, the police). Marshals will spend 2 full days with the allocated circuit judge (sometimes, a Judge may invite you to spend additional time with them i.e. to see the end of a case).

*Please note: you may apply for both the St Albans and Canterbury marshalling opportunities, but you will only be awarded one of them. If you wish to apply for both, please send separate applications (you need to give different dates and, for Canterbury there is a choice of court) but indicate your preference for St Albans or Canterbury in your cover letter.

Eligibility and Success criteria:

You should:

  • be a Kent law student – any year
  • be an aspiring lawyer
  • be on target to achieve an overall degree grade of 2.1.
  • demonstrate that you have already taken some steps towards a legal career. This does not have to be formal work experience but there must be something beyond the study law.

How to apply

  • Please send a copy of your CV (2 pages maximum) and a covering letter detailing why you are interested in this opportunity and what you hope to get from it to lssjemployability@kent.ac.uk by Monday 6th March 2023 at 9am.
  • Please also consent to your application being shared with the provider, if successful.

Guidance

  • Make sure you have an impressive CV and a great covering letter which details your interest in this opportunity. In this instance you do not have to try to convince anyone that you want to work for a particular firm/chambers so just concentrate on why you want to Marshall. An ‘impressive’ application must have no spelling or grammatical errors!
  • Please indicate which area of law you are interested in i.e. family, criminal and if you have a preference of which court (Canterbury or St Albans).
  • Please indicate your availability from May to October – are there any specific dates / weeks you are not available?
  • If you need help with your CV use this CV reader – https://careerset.io/kent  or make an appointment to speak with a Careers Adviser or Employability Adviser at: https://careers.kent.ac.uk/. There is also information on this blog – see the “How to” tab and select “CV and cover letters for law”.