I really hated it when lecturers implied that if one wanted to do well in a certain subject, one had to follow the lecturer’s point of view. Very, very boring. And particularly bad in a course which is supposed to make you think analytically, and make you consider both sides of the story.

I think that it’s inevitable that universities attract more left wing people, just because of the way that they operate. When I think of my more right-wing friends at university, they are in private practice as corporate lawyers, accountants and merchant bankers, with a few working in government too. My more left-wing friends work in community legal centres, government, academia, NGOs, but also as solicitors or barristers in private practice. A few friends have gone totally left of field, dropping law altogether, becoming artists and jewellery designers or alternative health practitioners - just proves you shouldn’t pigeon hole anyone!

So: certain workplaces tend to attract a certain sort of person with particular goals. Personally, I wasn’t tremendously comfortable in a large corporate law firm, just because it didn’t suit the way I think or operate. But I can see that some people flourish there, and they are people whom I like and respect.

As law teachers we have to cater to the needs of that whole range of students. I always tell my students that they should give legal practice a go, but there’s many different options which may suit them - they shouldn’t just feel that they have to go down the Big Firm Path because it’s the most “prestigious”.

I think practising law does change your point of view when teaching. I’m glad I spent a few years trying out various options before I came back to teach. In order to know what’s right for you, sometimes you have to know what doesn’t work as well.

as a student, i agree that it is frustrating when law teachers use lesson to vent their spleen or narrate old war stories (i find this tends to happen with ex-barristers).

the best teachers i’ve found are those who taught the four corners of the curriculum, facilitated constructive discussion between students and constantly pushed our minds.