The Value of Prior Legal Experience
One of the most crucial requirements that law firms have for training contract applications is legal job experience. It shows a firm that the applicant is really interested in the law and provides some proof of actual practical experience.
Work experience is likely to have greater weight with the firm a candidate is applying to if it is closely related to the sort of company and the legal areas it handles.
It should be kept in mind that a lot of law firms’ pre-select applicants for interviews for training contract positions by using their official vacation policies. Compared to an interview, a vacation plan allows the company far more time to evaluate you and provides you with more opportunity to create a good impression.
Expanding Your Network:
Different Legal Work Experience Types
Formal law vacation programs are offered by many medium-sized to large-sized firms, wherein applicants work at the firm for a week or more.
Legal recruiters will also consider alternative forms of job experience in addition to volunteer programs:
It is important to keep in mind that employment experience unrelated to law might also be beneficial.
Especially if you were given a fair amount of responsibility and were able to grow your competences and abilities, or if the experience elevated your degree of understanding regarding business matters.
Making Decisions Based on Experience in Legal Work
Law work experience not only strengthens a resume but also allows applicants to learn more about particular businesses before choosing to apply for a training contract with them. They also offer a broader perspective on the operations of law firms. For law students, this is especially important because studying the same areas of law is not often the same as practicing them.
You will have a far better understanding of a company’s culture and its employees during a work placement. When determining whether or not to apply to work there in the future, this knowledge is priceless.
Many students discover that, although they had initially intended to work for a certain kind of company, they altered their thoughts after participating in a holiday program with that company—or any other company, for that matter—because of this real-world experience.
Creating Applications for Vacation Schemes
Because applicants will typically try to complete many placements, applications for holiday schemes are sometimes even more competitive than those for training contracts. On the other hand, with training contracts, chosen applicants will only take one job and turn down any other offers, opening up positions for others.
That’s why it’s so important to take your time while creating your apps. Too many applicants attempt to speed through the application process and give it little thought, which will greatly reduce their chances of being accepted.
It is far preferable to take the time to investigate the companies you wish to apply to, what qualities they are seeking in applicants for their holiday schemes, and how to prepare a well-researched and well-presented application. Here, quality above quantity is unquestionably crucial.
To avoid basic errors like spelling and punctuation, you should also make sure you take your time while presenting your documents and have people proofread them for you.
Try to Be Different
Try to include some diversity in the job experience you pursue, unless you are positive that working for a magic circle business is the only thing you want to do. This will support you in choosing where you wish to train and job in the end.
Experience with Unpaid Legal Work
Junior attorneys are frequently requested to labor for free for lengthy periods of time, according to reports that the Law Society’s Junior Lawyer Division gets.
This is undoubtedly a delicate topic that is not at all clear-cut. In my view, unpaid labor has a place and will mostly rely on a number of variables, including the worker’s stage in their legal profession and education, the duration of the task, and the kind of the work to be done.
On the other hand, concerns can arise if the job is scheduled to last for several months and the individual’s legal expertise is to be used only for fee-earning projects.
However, I would support this as a means to get experience and enhance the CV provided the work placement is for a much shorter time and entails simple legal research, administrative support, and the opportunity to work shadow qualified professionals. Naturally, it would be better if remuneration could be arranged—even if it was simply for expenses.
It depends on the specific circumstances, as with many of these things, and each person should assess the issue for himself.
If you are unclear about what to do in this case, you may always phone the Junior Lawyers Division hotline to discuss the matter.
Conclusion
And last, with the fierce rivalry for training contracts these days, it truly cannot be emphasized how crucial it is to secure a spot on a holiday program or obtain some other type of work experience.
I’ll end you with this video, in which a graduate of the University of Leicester talks about his placement at Shepherd Wedderburn LLP for legal work experience and the learning experiences he had there.
He cites a number of benefits of gaining some legal job experience, such as decision-making support and serving as a springboard for obtaining a training contract.
