Lawyers could take a seat on every school governing board under a project aimed at encouraging children from a wider range of backgrounds to enter the legal profession.

The Law Society-backed project, ALLIES, will help lawyers to apply to become governors, and bring together existing lawyer governors to ‘raise awareness, improve communications, spread best practice and encourage mutual support and training’.

ALLIES is an alliance between bodies in the legal and education sectors, including the Society, pro bono charity LawWorks, and the attorney general’s office. Attorney general Baroness Scotland told the Gazette that she would like to see a lawyer on every school governing board.

Scotland said that ALLIES will also expose children to the work lawyers do. She hopes this will increase the number of children who want to become lawyers, widening diversity in the profession. According to the ALLIES mission statement, by November the project will place lawyer governors in schools where they are needed most; open regional and local support and training hubs; and raise awareness of the project among schools, law firms, chambers and other legal employers. The Law Society is advising existing lawyer governors on their roles.

In a separate initiative, the attorney general will this summer launch a nationwide project to educate children on the criminal justice system and ‘demystify the legal profession’. Secondary school pupils will receive lessons produced by the Crown Prosecution Service as part of the Youth Network scheme. Part of the lesson involves students examining a mock case file.

The Youth Network will bring together public, private and third sector bodies to educate 10 to 18-year-olds.

Scotland said that by the time many children reach 18 ‘their trajectory is already set and they don’t understand why the rule of law matters. So, in a creative way, I want children to see the law in action.’ Further details of the governors’ scheme are at www.sgoss.org.uk/allies.