In common with many firms, there are times in the year where we have work shadowers, or interns if you are really posh.

Whatever you call them they write in or email begging for a position. The summer is the same if not more busy.

Sometimes you go to court and both parties have work experience students and even the judge has one.

It is clear that for some students this is just something to look good on the CV.

They probably have notches on their bedpost of how many they have clocked up. For others they have a genuine interest. However they are all wide eyed, and desperate for a career.

The hard thing is entertaining them. They do not want experience - they want to be thrilled.

They think the law is exciting and like on television. Law of course is interesting, thrilling sometimes, and always varied.

Yes it is, believe me.

The students are interesting and varied as well.

You get them with academic abilities of terrifying dimensions, and others who obviously just scraped in to a less popular university. We get a lot of 15-year-olds from the schools. It is virtually impossible to find much for them to do.

Most of the places we go to don’t allow people under 18.

It is quite interesting to read the forms they get.

One school had a range of choices for their students for placements, which included mechanics, factory, shop work but nothing remotely that would be called a profession.

It is clear that students from some schools will easily get placements and others have little hope.

They are given risk assessments which include do not lift anything heavy - fair enough - do not trip over carrying the tea, fine, and do not sit alone with the paedophile clients – good advice.

Why do this? Why do we have them?

They are not going to make me rich although I sometimes am tempted to start offering a 'Law Firm Experience Course' and charge students to have one to one coaching on how to make tea, read files and go to court. I jest of course.

I have asked them why they write to me, hoping they would say they have heard we the leading firm in the area only to be told they written to 20+ firms and we were only that replied. What image does that give of the profession?

Why have them? It is actually quite nice introducing young people to the law.

Let’s face it, anything that makes the public think lawyers are human is good.

There is astonishing lack of careers guidance for people interested in the law.

Most people think there are either solicitors or secretaries.

They have no guidance on what A Levels to take.

They are surprised if you say sciences and languages might actually be useful.

What amazes me is they are so full of hope and so bright and everything is new and exciting. Remember that?

And you get a nice letter afterwards thanking you for letting them go to court 'like on the telly' and learning how to use the copier (I wish someone would show me).

Sometimes you get a box of chocolates.

The depressing thing is that there are so many students at so many levels wanting to be lawyers.

The grades required are all straight A to get anywhere and the course fees and debts are of biblical proportions.

But sometimes occasionally you hear of someone who did work experience who has got a good job somewhere and the experience seems to have helped, which makes it worthwhile for us.