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Lecturing is very hard!

Lecturing and LPC students

Looking back on my years as a student, I must say that I probably had the same attitude of most others, in that i always thought that my lecturers were failed solicitors and barristers, and could never understand how half of them had the cheek to think they could lecture to me about law when they had failed to cut it, and ended up lecturers.

Having spent the last few years lecturing at University for a couple of days, I can safely say that this view was considerably misguided.

By the end of a 3-4 hour stint, I am completely exhausted! I feel like collapsing in a heap, and actually start to feel a bit lightheaded. I know that my one off day is somewhat different to the majority of lecturer's experiences, but to be stood before a group of students talking away is something not to be taken to be easy!

Some of the groups you talk to show no sign of any interest in what you have to say - most just stare blankly back, and it is very hard to tell who is interested and who is just there because they have to be. I watch as some people look fairly engrossed, others look under the table, and others yawn and stare over your shoulder.

In actual fact I reckon that the whole practice of being a lecturer is probably harder work than being a solicitor in practice, but probably easier than being a barrister, where one not only has to constantly be on one's feet, but also be able to improvise constantly.

I'll stick to recruitment - probably relatively stressful, but not in the same way!

Jonathan Fagan MREC Cert RP LLM Solicitor (non-practising) - Managing Director of Ten-Percent.co.uk Limited - online legal recruitment consultants

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