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largest proportion (35 per cent) thinks that£32,000 to £35,000 is the average amount.Yet only 55 per cent of those who say cor-porate life is too stressful would be de-terred by that. Publicly funded work wasno better: 68 per cent regard this as toostressful (and 54 per cent of them woulddeterred by this).Today’s students are aware of the pro-posed training reforms (see page 5), butonly 14 per cent view the proposed solici-tors qualifying examination (SQE) as apositive development and 30 per cent donot think it will be a consistent measure ofcompetency. Debt and funding are still bigissues: 63 per cent of undergraduates liveat home and 80 per cent are funding theirstudies through a loan. There is a steadyfall in the numbers relying on parents.What of outside events? An overwhelm-ing majority do not think Brexit will affectLeft: Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde. Above, from left: Gabriel Macht as Harvey Specter and Patrick J Adams as Mike Ross in Suits; Amal Clooney and her husband, George; Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch and Brock Peters as Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird. Above: Jeremy Corbyn and, inset, Baroness Hale. Far left: Lord DenningSTUDENT LAW7things you really should)EDWARD FENNELLTo beg, borrow or buy? That is the question facing barristers as they approach the start of their career at the Bar. However, this is not about law books or a pricey computer or smartphone. It is the rig that they must wear when appearing before a circuit judge, in the High Court or the Court of Appeal. Wig, gown and all the trimmings must be in place or you risk being rebuked. Strangely enough, the highest and lowestcourts — the Supreme Court and magistrates’ — have no such dress code.The traditional source of the uniform isEde & Ravenscroft, which was established in 1689 and whose premises in Chancery Lane are bathed in history. For those who can, going there to get kitted out is part of the rite of passage that starts with the statutory dinners and ends with a barrister being “called” in their inn.“I was fortunate in that I had had full scholarships for my Bar professional training course and so my parents funded the cost of my wig and gown as a kind of reward,” says Ruth Kennedy, of2 Temple Gardens, now in her second year at the Bar. “But I rather enjoyed the experience of going to the shop and feeling that I was part of a long tradition.”It does not come cheap, though. The going rate for an Ede & Ravenscroft wig made of 100 per cent horsehair is £560 (although you can get one from Stanley Ley for £425). The gown comes in at £199 — although there is a cheaper polyester version at £149. And that is just the start. For those who want to go the whole hog and have deep enough pockets there’s a circuit case (an oval dome-top tin with your name in gold letters) for £270 or a wig case (an upright tin with your name in gold letters) for £380.Emily Albou, also at 2 Temple Gardens,who was called to the Bar in 2014, opted (as many do) for a rather more modestly priced plastic bag (five pence from most retailers) for her wig, although those with a sweeter tooth are drawnto the ever popular empty Quality Street tin. She was also lucky when it came to her gown. “My referee handed on to me in a very sweet gesturehis own gown, which itself appeared to have come originally from Lord Macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions,” she says. “It creates a nice sense of continuity.”Although the wearing of wig and gowncomes under regular criticism for being archaic or even elitist, Albou says that she enjoys the ritual of the robing room and the conversations and jokes that go on there. She adds: “There is also the benefit if you are a criminal barrister of maintaining your anonymity.”£560 for a wig alone: the cost of kitting outwhere they work. They believe the mostimportant point for the government tosecure in its Brexit negotiations is stayingpart of the single market — 65 per cent, up30 points from 2016 — followed by a rela-tionship between UK and EU law (64 percent) and freedom of movement (58 percent). However, they are gloomy about thechances of the government in withdrawalnegotiations; only 14 per cent are confi-dent it will secure important points and57 per cent think London will suffer someloss of status as a financial and legal centre.Half believe Brexit will mean less work forUK-based firms.Today’s students have split views onaspects of the digital age and privacy. Morethan 40 per cent said they did not favourapps, organisations and individuals havingaccess to their information, while 37 percent are comfortable with this. Facebookis the most-used social media plat-form (for 43 per cent of stu-dents), ahead of Instagram (26per cent). Instagram has en-joyed a ten-point increasesince last year, while Snap-chat and YouTube haveshown slight increases.Jeremy Corbyn was themost admired UK politician(29 per cent), followed bySadiq Khan, the mayor ofLondon (27 per cent). Theresa Maywas rated by 10 per cent of respondents.Internationally, the most admired politi-cians were Justin Trudeau (56 per cent),Angela Merkel (54 per cent) and Emma-nuel Macron (33 per cent). Students aresplit on the issue of tweeting from court,but fewer want a ban: 55 per cent com-pared with 70 per cent last year. Moves toremove controversial historical statues(see page 3) are backed by 42 per cent.As for heroes, these seem to be constant:for the second year in a row the fictionallegal character students most admire isHarvey Specter from Suits, followed byAtticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbirdand Elle Woods from Legally Blonde.Nearly 50 per cent told the survey that Suitswas their favourite legal drama, followedby Silk and The Good Wife. In real life, morethan 30 per cent said that Baroness Hale,the new president of the Supreme Court,was their most admired figure, followed bythe late Lord Denning, the former masterof the rolls, and the barrister AmalClooney. The most popular books were theGame of Thrones series, The Handmaid’sTale and Nineteen Eighty-Four.Professor Andrea Nollent, the chiefexecutive at ULaw, said: “The resultspresent a fascinating insight into whystudents have decided to study law andtheir aspirations. Encouragingly there hasbeen an increase in those joining the pro-fession because they want to help people.”Meanwhile, the job market remainstough. Employability is key, she adds. That,and finding a training contract, “drives ourstrategy and is reflected in the fact that96 per cent of our LPC graduates from2016 were employed within nine months”.8Don’t boast before you get the rightresult. At Highbury Corner I told aclient’s wife that if I didn’t get bailfor her husband I should retire. I didn’t. When I left court she said: “When are they giving you the gold watch then?”9Courtesy is everything. Do be kindin cross-examination. Do not try tomake the witness look a fool or make jokes at their expense. You will often be better educated than them, so do not use this advantage to make sarcastic remarks. David Napley, who was as good a magistrates’ court advocate as I ever saw, said that one day he had been cross-examining a man who wrestled as Gentleman Jim and said to him: “Your name isn’t Jim and you’re no gentleman either.” He said he regretted saying it immediately and for years after. Even if (which is sometimes possible) the witness is telling the truth, giving evidence is a horrid experience. By being clever, you will upset the tribunal or the jury, possibly with dire consequences.10This may just be the mostimportant thing of all. If at allpossible, go to the lavatory justbefore your case begins. That was the advice given to me by the magistrate Pam Long, who sat at Geenwich and Woolwich, when I was sent to train with her when I wished to become a stipe. “Nothing is more embarrassing, James, than having to ask to leave the court the moment your case has started.”James Morton is an author and a former criminal law solicitor£75*£270£360Wig case£199Ede & Ravenscroft 2017 price list for key barrister items£560100 per cent horsehair wigBlue bag with up to four initials (*£69 without initials)Circuit case(with your name in gold letters)Barrister’s gownSarah Bartlett and Sandra Bartlett, who make judicial wigs for Ede & Ravenscroft
