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Eton’s celebration of National Careers Week moved on to its third career seminar of the week, a well-attended joint meeting of Etonians and Holyportians which saw VocSoc convening with the Law and Europa Societies. We welcomed Martin Harvey Allchurch, a civil servant working as Principal International Affairs Officer at the European Medicines Agency. Using an interview format rather than the usual presentation style, questions were encouraged and elicited. The ground covered was suitable eclectic and certainly met the expectations of all three societies as we touched on European issues (refreshing not to be focussed on Brexit for a change!) and legal issues, for example a consideration of what the essence law is and how legal skills can be transferred easily to many different careers. From the career point of view there was a full examination of the life of a civil servant and the satisfactions and challenges that such a role inevitably throws up. There was much to consider for the prospective lawyers in the room, with some important issues raised about different options of study and the ways in which the legal profession might change as technology develops apace in the coming decade. But overall, the key message was that law was a versatile training which allowed considerable career flexibility subsequently. It was a very satisfying evening with something for everyone.

GDF