Liverpool Law

8 NEWS
The Old and the Young
In the evening of our third
day into the GDL induction,
Emlyn Williams, the President
of Liverpool Law Society was
coming to give a talk. It is
suffice to say, we were all
expecting an elderly, retiring
man who would intermittently
fire lengthy questions at us,
which would leave our palms
sweating and our brows
furrowed. But there Emlyn
stood, a man with youth on
his side and an authentic
enthusiasm generated only
by those who can truly say
they love their jobs. This
instantly made many relax
and upon discovering his
penchant for pictures and
not words, during PowerPoint
presentations, it was a
welcome and unexpected
change at the end of a long
day.
The first slide was Emlyn at
about seven years old with
bright ginger hair and glasses
(two features he championed
as proof he had been a
natural born nerd). Later,
another slide would cement
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this assertion, showing his
childhood bedroom
meticulously wallpapered
with newspaper cut outs of
Garfield comic strips.
Although this was very
humorous, he maintained that
unusual idiosyncrasies such as
this, can be very helpful when
pursuing a career in Law, as
Lawyers have to be analytical
(and perhaps down right
peculiar). I revelled in a quiet
hallelujah as I remembered
my tendency as a child to get
up in the middle of the night
and organise my toys and
books. My room was spotless
and whenever I made too
much noise I jumped back
into bed before my perplexed
mother looked in. I still have
never told her this, but it has
now been outed!
Moreover, Emlyn showed us a
picture of his childhood
home, where his parents still
reside. He grew up in a
working class background,
and is evidence that entering
Law is open to people from
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other backgrounds, not just
the upper and middle
classes. He studied at the
Liverpool Institute, and
originally thought he might
do English. The course was
filled with attractive,
intelligent young girls, but
upon discovering their
extensive knowledge of the
works of Shakespeare and
Charles Dickens, he realised
he didn’t measure up to their
high standards and would
look elsewhere. He became
attracted to the prospect of
studying Law and went to
Aberystwyth University, which
although he admitted it
wasn’t the most
cosmopolitan and
aesthetically exciting place, it
prepared him for his future
and gave him a good home.
When he qualified as a
Lawyer he decided to go into
Employment Law. In many
ways, the real excitement
and challenges began. He
relayed a testing but
rewarding experience, in
which he had been
preparing papers for a QC in
order to address the court.
The day before, he was
contacted by said Barrister
requesting the content be
changed. Emlyn and his
colleague stayed up into the
wee hours of the morning
making the alterations and
were in awe of the QC, who
managed to make his
delivery hours later with great
precision and aplomb. Emlyn
further revelled in the
satisfaction of winning a case
that went on for a couple of
years. The client needed
justice and protection,
services provided by Emlyn’s
firm, with him at the helm. This
latter example, was very eye
opening for those of us who
might want to make a
difference as a Lawyer, who
enjoy the academic rigour it
provides, but do not want to
be embroiled in situations
which regularly occur in other
areas of the Law, such as
being stuck in between the
trauma of two family
members fighting over the
custody of a child.
Emlyn impressed upon us the
importance of getting
comfortable with public
speaking, the process of
change and finally, people,
because they are all integral
parts of the job. Psychology
Today revealed that a fear of
public speaking is more
prominent than the fear of
death, so this may be a tall
order for some. Although
some people can get away
with delegating some of their
public speaking, change
cannot be avoided; the Law
is always developing and
Lawyers have to
accommodate this.
Finally, Emlyn spoke about the
interaction between Lawyers
and people and how crucial
it is that this runs smoothly.
This talk was extremely helpful
because learning from
someone who was so
enthusiastic, in such a high
position and who knows what
it is like to be in our shoes was
inspirational, and will no
doubt, continue to ignite our
passion and determination to
achieve our goals.
Holly Wright
Holly Wright
Emlyn Williams aged 7