Judge’s visit inspires law learners

Unless they’ve done something wrong, it’s not every day learners get to talk to a judge.

But aspiring lawyers from Coleg y Cymoedd had the opportunity to meet Employment Judge Sian Davies and gain insight into the complex world of the judiciary.

As part of her role as a Diversity and Community Relations Judge, Judge Davies spent the afternoon discussing a career in the judiciary with 21 A Level Law learners at the Nantgarw campus.

She participated in a lively question and answer session and presented a lecture on Employment Tribunal, how it sits within HM Courts and Tribunal Service, the role of the judge and how you become one.

Alongside her role as an Employment Tribunal Judge, Judge Davies is one of only 100 Diversity and Community Relations Judges across England and Wales. Their role is to seek to encourage legal professionals from under-represented groups to consider a judicial career.

Judge Davies gave the learners an insight into Employment Tribunal, providing examples of her involvement with cases covering a range of employment law issues, including unfair dismissals, wage disputes and discrimination cases.

A Level learner Jacob Lewis, who has his sights set on Law at Cambridge University said: It was fantastic to be able to have a judge come in and talk to us not only about the vital role that tribunals play in helping people access justice but more importantly, how we can become a part of the judiciary which has traditionally been quite a closed profession.

I know thanks to this visit that many learners who were in attendance are now giving a thought to a career into this aspect of the legal profession which they would not have necessarily done”.

Judge Davies said: “It was a real pleasure to meet with the law students and lecturers at Coleg y Cymoedd. Learners may assume that judges are not “people like me” however I was state educated and I hope that my visit went some way to dispelling misconceptions of who judges are and what we do”.

Judge Davies is relatively new to the role of Diversity & Community Relations Judge which involves making connections between the judiciary & wider community. The idea is to ultimately progress to a more diverse judiciary, more representative of the community it serves.

Judge Davies has been an Employment Tribunal Judge for 5 years, before which she was a partner at a law firm based in Cardiff.

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