b'Fostering Australias legal talentArticles of clerkship are a time-honoured arrangementBoard and uplift drainage diagram for property X. Articled for aspiring lawyers to gain practical legal training beforeclerks spent a lot of time running around town collecting and becoming qualified to practise lawGeorge Allen completeddelivering documents. The knowledge I gained navigating five years of training articled to Frederick Garling beforethe arcades and office buildings of Sydney to stay dry still opening his own legal practice in 1822. A strong believer instands me in good stead, Loxton quips. Ruth Edenborough the value of education, George was dedicated to expanding(nee Barnet) began her articles in 1963 and was one of the education opportunities in the colony of New South Wales.firms first female articled clerks. Like Loxton, she enjoyed He founded Sydney Public Free Grammar School and servednavigating her way around the city, but had the added on various education committees for over thirty years,challenge of doing it in high heels. My heels were always including at the University of Sydney, where a scholarship isgetting stuck in grates and I would often hobble back to the still given from his bequest. office in a broken shoe, she says.What has remained constant, both at Allens and across theInvesting in young lawyers remains fundamentally important profession, is the view that on-the-job training is a criticalto Allens and the training received has formed the foundation part of professional development.of many careers in the firm and beyond, including the bar, the judiciary, business, government, community organisations, For Diccon Loxton, who was an articled clerk in the 1970s, ainvestment banking and journalism.standard day included research and letter writing, meetings with clients and attending property settlements, but much of it revolved around a constant stream of yellow memos containing directives such as please attend at the Water 238'