Will juggling tiaras and trusts help bag that elusive training contract?
Lawyers, they’re a good-looking bunch.
Just a quick glance at Legal Cheek’s definitive list of the City’s top 25 sexiest solicitors proves that beyond all doubt.
And it’s not just the solicitors that deserve all the glory. Take a look at this year’s Barrister Hottie line up — an annual list celebrating the cream of the crop of the junior bar. Its most notable alumnus is, of course, the poster girl of the junior bar, Amal Clooney. The Doughty Street barrister famously topped the list a few years back before she married a certain someone, and it doesn’t seem to have done her much harm.
It stands to reason that the beautiful profession relies on beautiful law students. But it seems some of them are so beautiful that, in between making EU case notes and grappling with the law of easements, they’re busy polishing their beauty pageant trophy collection.
Yes, really. There’s actually a whole bunch of law student beauty queens out there.
Olivia Green, who is going to study law at the University of Nottingham this year, won Miss Nottingham 2016 in January.
Congratulations, Our new Miss Nottingham Olivia Green. Such a hard decision with so many amazing girls! ?❤ pic.twitter.com/vSbqa89roT
— Miss England 2015 (@MissEngland2015) 22 January 2016
Weirdly, runner-up in the same competition was Vicky Marriott, a second-year Nottingham Trent law student who is also treasurer of her uni’s law society.
A photo posted by Vicky ✌?️ (@vickymarriott) on
Ashleigh Wild, an 18-year-old law student and aspiring solicitor from Blackpool, has made it through to the final round of Miss Teen Great Britain.
Then there’s Kyarna Weed, who won Miss Teen Inspiration UK for her commitment to charity work.
And just this month, law student Stephanie Wyatt won Miss Dorset, meaning she’ll represent her county at the Miss England final.
A photo posted by RR Photographic (@rrphotographic) on
The law student domination of beauty pageants is definitely not a trend we were anticipating. Parading around in too much fake tan wearing a swimsuit and a garish crown naturally jars with the ultra-conservative world of legal practice. Law firm life demands professional dress and appearance, but discourages showy over-dressing (a beauty pageant staple). Remember a few years ago when Allen & Overy nagged its staff to stop arriving at work dressed for the club instead of the office?
From an outsider’s perspective, it’s easy to dismiss pageants and legal practice as chalk and cheese. But — perhaps unsurprisingly — the girls don’t see it that way.
Speaking to Legal Cheek, our Miss Teen Great Britain star Wild was quick to highlight a number of key parallels between making it big in the legal world and working the beauty pageant circuit.
The soon–to-be Lancaster University law and criminology student — who plans to open up her own law firm while juggling “a successful modelling career” in the future — explained:
I do think my law studies and my participation in pageants link. They both require motivation, resilience, attention to detail, leadership, commercial awareness and communication skills.
Wild is hopeful her beauty queen past will aid her legal profession future. The current Miss Teen Fylde Coast continued:
I think [future employers] will recognise the responsibility I’ve had whilst holding my title, alongside all the charity and community work I’ve done alongside working hard towards maintaining high grades throughout education.
Echoing this was Marriott, our Miss Nottingham runner-up and Miss England semi-finalist. The hopeful international financial law masters candidate wants to dispel the myth that beauty contests are simply a pursuit of vanity, and she too thinks future employers will look upon her pageant past favourably. She said:
I think [employers would] view [my involvement in pageants] as something which makes me a role model, a charitable person and I think it would make me stand out from the crowd as it shows I have extra curricular on top of doing my law degree.