Reasons to Study Criminal Law

Maybe I am being a bit ambitious, as a recently qualified Administrator at a solicitor’s office in Southport, specializing in property, litigation, employment, wills and probate laws, I have began to think about what I want to do going forward.

When I was younger, my mother studied criminal law and I went on to study Psychology, with a particular interest in Criminology, so I suppose I have always subconsciously wanted to grow and develop in this sort of profession but I suppose I just went with the flow and was lucky enough to end up in this sector anyway. I am surrounded by an amazing team and became slightly inspired by the whole idea of helping people. Although criminal law isn’t something we do here, maybe it is something I can look into and hopefully learn more about.

This is as much of a exploration of reasons to do this for me as it is to inform others, I guess in this profession, you never really stop learning about yourself and your interests and goals so…here’s my internal (now external) discussion with myself as to whether this is the right choice for me and why I should (or shouldn’t study criminal law)…

1. The Criminal Law system not only helps control the actions of those in society but also helps teach a wide range of people from different backgrounds about the consequences of their actions, this includes both rehabilitation and punishment techniques, both completely different approaches, but something I could most definitely get on board with learning about.
2. An open mind and an accepting personality is something that I know I need when/if I decide to study this as every day I could come across people of different ages, beliefs, gender identities, ideologies and pasts. Even though I may not always agree with the people I come across, it is important to treat everyone with the same level of respect and decency…after all the whole point of the law is to protect and help people, regardless.
3. Animal Rights Law is a subsection of criminal law and something I really do have a passion for. When I was a little girl I always wanted to be a vet, but I could never deal with the hard parts, especially since I have always been extremely emotionally driven. Whereas, if I was to take a law based approach, I would know I am making a difference, just without having to witness the sad and messy bits.
4. Criminology is something you really should have an understanding of before going into criminal law, after all, how can you expect to help or punish people without having an understanding as to why they did what they did and the (pseudo) science behind it all? Although I have a basic understanding of criminology, including criminal profiling techniques and social and environmental impacts on behavior, this is something I would really enjoy delving into. I’ve always been rather analytical of the world so I feel like this would be perfect for me. As someone with a mental health disorder myself, I feel like every good criminal lawyer should have an understanding of the human brain and Psychology, as nothing is ever as it really seems from the outside.