Kids Law Alma-Constance Denis-Smith and Lucinda Acland
-
- Kids & Family
-
This is a podcast about children and the laws that affect them as they grow up. Alma-Constance, our host, decided to start the podcast in 2021when she was 10 years old. Living in England, UK, she discovered that when she turned 10 she would have reached the age of criminal responsibility. This is one of the youngest ages of criminalising children in the developed world. That was a pretty shocking discovery for her especially as she realised that she and her peers knew nothing about what this meant in practice and how it can affected children and their families. With the help of Lucinda Acland, a lawyer, and supported by Next 100 Years, they set out to ask some questions of leading experts to help children make sense of it all. There are a lot of laws that affect #children as they grow up and they are confusing and complicated and can affect all aspects of their day-to-day life from #education to online protections or at home, if families break up. It is difficult to keep track and understand the laws and how they impact a child's life. Alma-Constance is determined to help #TeachKidsLaw at a much younger age to help them grow up into adults confident with their legal knowledge. Understanding how the law works and being able to understand complex concepts of #justice and #ruleoflaw will help anyone as they try to navigate their lives. You can email us: kidslaw@spark21.org or reach us on social media channels and our www.kidslaw.info website.
-
What is the role of ethics in law?
What does ethics mean and why is it so important in the legal system and can it ensure that lawyers can be trusted?
Alma- Constance and Lucinda speak to Richard Moorhead, Professor of Law and Professional Ethics at the University of Exeter Law School and Honorary Professor of Law at UCL. He is also a member of the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board in relation to the Post Office Horizon scandal.
He tells us
· What ethics means
· Why it’s so important in the legal system
· How lawyers are trained to be ethical in their work
· How standards maintained and checked
· What can happen if lawyers do behave unethically
· What could be done to prevent such problems
When Richard was 10, he wanted to be a footballer or a popstar!
References and Resources
Richard Morehead
Lawyer Watch
Twitter X
Ethics of In-house Lawyers, with Vaughan and Godhino
The Art and Science of Negotiation Howard Raiffa
Keep your questions coming in. Please subscribe, rate, and share the podcast with your friends. See you soon in the next episode!
You can follow us @kidslawinfo on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram -
A look back at 3 Years of Kids Law!
Alma-Constance and Lucinda take a look back at the top 5 episodes over the 3 year lifespan of Kids Law podcast.
This episodes features:
- former Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett, the most downloaded episode
- former head of the Department of Public Prosecutions, Sir Max Hill KC, the most publicised episode across media
- former president of the UK Supreme Court, Baroness Brenda Hale
- barrister Adam Wagner, the only guest to have been featured twice on the episode, once joined by his daughter
- barrister Sultana Tafadar KC, also joined by her daughter
Keep your questions coming in. Please subscribe, rate, and share the podcast with your friends. See you soon in the next episode!
You can follow us @kidslawinfo on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram -
How to practice law without going to university.
Did you know that you don’t have to go to university to become a lawyer? Some 17,000 people have been trained to become chartered legal executives (CILEX lawyers) who are fully qualified legal professionals.
Alma-Constance and Lucinda spoke to Emma Davies the CILEX President who tells us about:
The different schemes to train as a paralegal, legal executive or apprentice for those who want to specialise in a particular area of law.The flexible studying opportunities whilst working in an organisation.Some of the case studies of people from all different educational backgrounds.Some of the types of cases that involve children such as family law, criminal law, personal injury etc.Her motivation to become a lawyer and role as president of CILEX. When Emma was 10 she loved playing the clarinet and saxophone reached grade eight and played in the Exeter Children’s orchestrator and knew she wanted to help people and make a difference.
References and Resources
CILEX - The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives
Webinars sign up
Pathways
LinkedIn
Emma Davies LinkedIn
Twitter X
Instagram
Facebook
Keep your questions coming in. Please subscribe, rate, and share the podcast with your friends. See you soon in the next episode!
You can follow us @kidslawinfo on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram -
How law centres tackle the causes of poverty and inequality in our communities
Getting legal advice can be very expensive and many people can't afford it. Law centres are based in local communities to give free legal advice and assistance with social welfare problems such as homelessness, advice about welfare benefits and employment and immigration issues.
Alma-Constance and Lucinda talk to Franck Kiangala, Director and Immigration Solicitor at North Kensington Law Centre. He tells us:
· why and how law centres were created
· the type of cases they are involved with in the North Kensington community
· why is it so important to have law centres today
· the challenges law centre clients and communities face such as the Grenfell fire and the Windrush scandal
· cases that involve children
Franck tell us about his career and why he specialises in immigration law. When Franck was 10 years old, he was very curious about the world and was always reading. He memorised all the capitals of every country in the world!
References and Resources
NKLChttps://nklc.org.uk/history/
Law Centres Network
The concept of law centres
https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/meet-rock-n-roll-lawyers-18395890
NKLC at 50 Guardian article
Law Society interview
Keep your questions coming in. Please subscribe, rate, and share the podcast with your friends. See you soon in the next episode!
You can follow us @kidslawinfo on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram -
What’s the difference between civil liberties and human rights?
The UK signed the European Convention on Human Rights, which covers both human rights and civil liberties, and it is part of our law. But how are they different?
Alma-Constance and Lucinda talk to Shami Chakrabarti CBE, PC who sits in the House of Lords and is a human rights activist. She tells us:
· how civil liberties and human rights work to protect us all
· how the rule of law relates to civil liberties and human rights
· Shami’s work to protect children's rights and why the voting age should be 16 years old
· why diversity and inclusion is important in the area of civil liberties and human rights
When Shami was 10 years old she cared a lot about injustice and liked talking to her parents about politics. She liked to read, debate and enjoyed playing musical instruments.
References and Resources
https://members.parliament.uk/member/4579/contact
Books:
On Liberty
Of Women: In the 21st Century
Human Rights The Case for the Defence – release on 2/5/24
Keep your questions coming in. Please subscribe, rate, and share the podcast with your friends. See you soon in the next episode!
You can follow us @kidslawinfo on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram -
Is the King above the law?
In May 2023, King Charles III was crowned as the new monarch for the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. Part of his role, every year, the monarch is invited to open the new parliamentary session - and, this November, King Charles III is opening Parliament for the first time as King. Alma-Constance and Lucinda talk to Sir John Baker, an English legal historian who was the Downing professor of the laws of England at the University of Cambridge and he told us about the King’s role in making and upholding laws and the constitutional monarchy.
We discuss:
· what the Crown, Monarch, and sovereign mean
· whether the King has any powers
· if a child can be a monarch
· the role of the King in the legal justice system
· what would happen if the King broke the law
When John was 10 years old, he liked playing with friends and studying insects in the garden. His most vivid early memory was watching the coronation of Elizabeth II when he was nine on television, which was a very new technology.
References and Resources
Sir John Baker
English Legal History and its Sources by Sir john Baker
The Crown and the Constitution
Learning Parliament UK
The Royal Family
Keep your questions coming in. Please subscribe, rate, and share the podcast with your friends. See you soon in the next episode!
You can follow us @kidslawinfo on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram
Customer Reviews
Really important listening for our future generations!
I’ve just discovered this podcast thanks to a recent tweet! As a (mature) law student, I’m thoroughly enjoying listening to this, and as a mother I’m thrilled that I can share this listening with my daughters (8 and 15) and encourage them to care about the rules that govern us and how they are made.
Diana S
This is such a great podcast! There is so much law affecting children as they grow up and yet there is little being discussed in schools about it. This is such an informative format teaching kids about how law works to help them as adults; it is so interesting listening to this accessible format. Well done to the hosts & their guests
Amazing podcast!
it’s such a great podcast!teaching kids about law is very educational for there future,5 stars!i would recommend this podcast to anybody!looking forward to the next series.