that you must have the following qualities and skills (without which you will find getting a training contract or pupillage much more difficult): • Academic ability – the job is intellectually rigorous and demands that you be capable of clear and lucid thought, and able to process and assimilate large swathes of information. Most top-paying employers require at least a 2.1 degree and excellent A-level grades. • Interpersonal skills – it is vital that you can interact with colleagues and clients alike to engender confidence, form lasting relationships and clearly explain complex situations. • Written and oral communication skills. Lawyers spend a large amount of their time talking to clients and drafting documents. The use of clear and succinct language is appreciated by all. • Personal responsibility and integrity – be true to yourself. As an example of what firms are looking for in their prospective trainees, Sarah Stockley, former international talent manager and senior associate at Vinson & Elkins RLLP, says it is all about “good academics, an ability to present well and show knowledge about the firm and the sectors we practise in, and have a personality”. On the Bar side, Laura highlights the following desirable attributes: “Intellectual ability, written presentational and advocacy skills are key. We will also try to gauge the applicant’s motivation to become a barrister and their
ability to build a successful practice in our chambers. As we operate in a highly competitive, client-focused industry, commercial awareness and interpersonal skills are crucial to success at the Bar: academic ability alone is not enough.” This brings us to that most crucial of assets: commercial awareness. Almost every recruiter we talked to mentioned this as vital. It is not enough just to know about strict legal principles; you have to be able to apply them to the commercial context within which your clients operate. It may also be important to have a sense of regional commercial issues.
Reality check: If you don’t have all of the above qualities and you are considering doing the GDL/LPC/BPTC without the security net of a training contract or pupillage, think very carefully. For some postgraduate institutions, money is the bottom line. Putting it bluntly, they sometimes offer places to students who don’t have the remotest chance of getting a training contract/ pupillage. As one recruiter said: “Many institutions consider their course a licence to print money, forcing candidates into debt. They allow in students who are unlikely ever to get an interview, let alone pupillage.”
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