Commerciality
The legal world is part of the business world. If you harbour any ambitions to work for a commercial law firm, it is essential to develop a good understanding of the issues and events affecting businesses. Read the Financial Times and The Economist from time to time, and try to appreciate the appropriate legal issues thrown up by your studies from a commercial perspective.
Experience
You need a combination of work experience (both legal and otherwise) and extracurricular activities to become the all-rounder that firms/ chambers want to hire.
One without the other isn’t enough; having both strings to your bow is what will help you demonstrate, in a quantifiable way, that you are a complete human being and worth the organisation investing in you as a future employee.
Diversity
Historically, the legal profession was overwhelmingly white, male and privately educated, and more still needs to be done to consign this unattractive legacy completely to the past, particularly at the senior end of the profession. This is not to say that if you don’t meet those outdated, narrow criteria, you should be put off – quite the opposite. What it does mean is that you should have your eyes open to the opportunities available. The legal profession is much, much more diverse than it used to be. There are also organisations which work to help students from less-privileged backgrounds access the career opportunities that law has to offer. Aspiring Solicitors, LawCareers. Net’s diversity partner, works for free with
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Your online presence may currently be dominated by photos of debauched holiday antics and lewd comments, and you need to be aware that recruiters may be Googling your name! So it can be beneficial to build up a more ‘professional’ social media profile than your Facebook account offers. LinkedIn is great for maintaining a line of contact with the legal professionals you will be meeting, while Twitter can also be useful to follow the legal world’s big influencers and stay up to the minute with the latest news and issues.
students to provide one-to-one advice on CVs, application forms and interview practice, while also working
with employers to provide work experience opportunities and improve openness. Find out more by visiting www.aspiringsolicitors.co.uk.
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