Work experience at Law firms

Hi,

Im going into my final year of university (studying history), and I was wondering how I gain work experience from Law firms or even to do some volunteering or shadowing.

In terms of work experience, are there any kind of additional things I need to do beforehand in order to have a successful work experience application?

You'll want to look at applying for vacation schemes at the start of your third year. There is plenty of advice on how to do this online (chambers student, lawcareers, legal cheek). Also no doubt your University careers or law society will run events. University of Law and BPP tend to run a lot at their postgrad campuses (and on campus at Universities, depending where you go).

Hello,

Thank you for your reply!

In terms of these Vacation schemes, are they extremely difficult to get a hold of? ESP for a non-law student? I'm worrying that my interest in law may be questioned bc I have only started to look now - I feel like I have definitely made up my mind in going into Law, however I feel like my odds might be super low and it's a worry! I don't want to JUST work hard, but also work efficiently so everything I do end up doing, can be seen as directly helping my odds if that makes sense?

Only half of those who practice law actually studied it. Applying to vacation schemes is one way you can show that you have an interest. It's also a way of being able to undertake some legal tasks to see if it's actually something you even want to pursue.

Places on the schemes ARE competitive though, which is it's so important that you are attending events at your Uni and doing researching law firms and the types of work they do.

I do remember seeing a statistic on that, that is quite reassuring! - not that it's going to make it much easier haha.

Ok, so what kind of things would you recommend that I do in order to kind of stand out? Would this just be the standard volunteering etc? Would these kinds of extra curricular activities make for a more convincing application?

Would networking with firms at career fairs help my chances?

If your University has a negotiation society or a law clinic, they could be useful to you. They make good talking points for interviews and can be a good addition to a CV. Which University do you go to?

I know my industry. The OP was specifically talking about legal work experience so I didn’t think it prudent to emphasise.

I know my industry. The OP was specifically talking about legal work experience so I didn’t think it prudent to emphasise.

Commit a crime so you can say you’ve worked with a solicitor and barrister on a criminal case

I'm just really worried about applying and then gaining rejections - esp as right now I'm so new to selling myself in this profession. I'm assuming you cant really contact these same firms again in the future can you?

I did call up a small high-street firm the other day, they had branches connected to immigration and property - two areas that I would be interested in, so I figured it was worth a shot. The man was really friendly and helpful, however, he mentioned that smaller firms tend to not be insured to take on more people even for shadowing etc. Is this the case for every smaller firm? He gave me the names of the bigger firms, however, I really don't think I'd stand a chance in gaining somewhere w them - my A Levels do lack slightly and I'm sure this will impede on my progress in finding experience.

Hi! Having legal work experience and any other work experience is sought after but isn't strictly a necessity. However, having any kind of work experience, especially legal work experience, helps you in many ways. It'll help you exemplify your interest in law and 'commitment' to pursuing a career in law. It'll also be useful 'ammunition' that you can use in your application. That is especially useful to you as a non-law applicant, as many firms will often question you during your interview about your commitment to pursuing a career in law.

Generally speaking, extracurriculars are perhaps more useful in terms of the application form process. The extracurricular experiences you undertake during university are directly useful when writing applications and answering the often featured competency questions (e.g. 'Tell me about a time where you worked in a team effectively', etc).



I don't think firms hold it against you if you've applied before and you were subsequently rejected. I've applied to a few firms that rejected me before and i was subsequently offered a training contract. In my experience, they probably don't remember your previous failed application from the last cycle. However, I am sure some firms will take note of it. The most important thing you can do is to ensure that the subsequent application is improved, differentiated and shows some sort of growth or development on your part. If your pool of experiences remains largely the same, and you don't write particularly any better than the previous application, you can naturally expect to be rejected again.

On your point about being a non-law student, I actually think it is an advantage. I personally think it is easier to be a non-law applicant as you'll find it easier to differentiate yourself from other applicants. As with any advantage, it has to be fully utilised, so just make sure you think about how your non-law degree can be leveraged and applied to a career in law. I will admit, most non-law students definitely struggle in terms of the information game, and it'll be harder to find out what you're meant to know and do at an earlier stage in your university life. But if you take a proactive step in seeing what your university's career service can do, law society, etc, you'll be fine!

I think a lot of the other posters have made valid points about the opportunities you should be able to pursue right now to help enhance your application.

Hope this helps! Definitely reach out to friends and people you know to look over your application. That'll probably be the most practically impactful thing!

Hello!

Thank you for taking the time to reply, I really appreciate it!

So as long as I have a strong background in other types of experience and volunteering, I should have a pretty good application? So I'm assuming that interviewers regard all sorts of experience on a relatively equal footing if I''m right in assuming? However do you think that if I was unsuccessful in securing absolutely any legal experience, that they would more likely consider me possibly not able to work in the profession in general/ or at least not dedicated enough?

Would you say in terms of extracurriculars that it is more quality over quantity? Because I have been involved in a fair amount of societies and I feel as though listing every single one, however relevant they may seem, would appear a bit too much? Or should you just put nearly everything you've done?

My issue is that I really don't have any work experience at all. I've only had it in retail, (3 stores). That's literally it, not academically-orientated at all. I have more volunteer work such as I volunteer in my local museum, charity stuff etc.

Do you think that if they take note of it and you reapply, it could suggest you have a sense of dedication and willingness? Because on the whole, I'd say there are 3 main ones that I'm looking at. Ofc I'll be taking that kinda perception with a pinch of salt - as I have don't know what their working environments are like. But even to get work experience, some of them are really rigorous. I'm worried even if I do secure interviews or placements, they'd question my lack of knowledge - a lot of my local law firms don't take non-law students for that reason - or they find that we aren't equipped enough to benefit from the schemes.

On this kind of note, would it be a bit silly to try and apply to firms where I am one or two A Level grades away from their requirements? I know there is a filtering process, but would you suggest that it could be worth a try?

I really regret not trying to research in the my second year more vigorously, I would have at least have been equipped by now to have sent a few well informed applications out. I'm refraining right now because I don't want to get rejected on the basis of my ignorance. I'm definitely going to try and figure some meetings with my careers advisor!

Again, thank you very much!

If I had to be honest, a lot of the questions you're asking now are inconsequential and clearly just meant for comfort now. No one can answer many of these questions because they're all interconnected with dozens of other variables. I can't answer in absolutes because it just wouldn't be accurate.

1. I won't know whether you have a 'pretty good' application because: (1) your writing style could be obtuse; or (2) you may not be able to extract the key and valuable points from your experiences and reflect that in your application, etc. Based on the very limited information presented to me, you have a good shot if you do everything 'right'. But doing everything 'right' is the exact thing that separates those who are successful and those who are not. There are plenty of people with a lot less going on than you but who may be successful because they are 'just enough' in every aspect of the application process.

2. Most interviewers will view all experiences as relatively equal. However, if we had to be honest, not all experiences are equal. A vacation scheme or a competitive scheme at a prestigious institution has more 'value', naturally. Importantly, interviewers and graduate recruitment teams are cognizant to the fact that most applicants are just students with limited opportunity to get legal, competitive work experience. There are many stories of people without 'any' experience at all. Many more with some experience in 'non-law' related roles. You will be fine as long as you're able to focus on the transferable skills you may have developed from said experience.

3. Extracurriculars are obviously Quality over Quantity. On your application form, you only have a few questions to answer. You have to pick your 'best' examples to answer the questions. 'Quality' extracurriculars are presumably those with good scale, showing high levels of responsibility and involvement, highly relevant to the preferred career, etc. You will rarely get an opportunity to list all your extracurriculars unless it is on your CV and they require it - even then, you only have two pages to work with. In an interview, you have to also be equally tactical about which extracurriculars you highlight.

4. Re your 'limited' work experience - that's fine. As I said, many have done without. You just need to have 'other' things to talk about, such as your extracurriculars. However, you just have to rethink about what experiences you've went through and really look at whether it is relevant or not. Sometimes you may be surprised how you can reword or reframe 'non-law' experiences to become something very relevant to an application form.

5. Re Reapplying - I think it's a pointless conversation to have. If you want said firm, just keep applying.

6. Re A Level grades and minimum requirements - You can try. I'd e-mail or ask the graduate recruitment if they consider your grade profile or whether they would automatically filter you. I know Shearman & Sterling, for example, automatically filter people below their UCAS Point requirements, regardless of ECs (This may have changed). If you do not have an EC, it's unlikely you'll be considered. Firms get a lot of applications, and it's just simply an administrative tool to cut down the work.

7. Good! Do more than that though. Talk to people, alumni, friends that are in the industry, etc. Join societies that are relevant, talk to people that appear to know what they're doing.

Good luck!

Thank you for your reply once again,

Sorry about that haha - I do have a habit of asking pretty obvious questions when I feel like I'm out of my depth w info. Despite being very set on law, I am still evaluating whether I'd fare well in the profession based off the information I have been receiving. I even took a personality test to figure out whether there are other professions I would be better suited to. I've also looked into some of the types of psychometric tests that some firms carry out so I know exactly what to be expecting - as you can tell, I like to clarify things in a pretty substantial amount of detail.

I took your advice and am now utilising some of the contacts I have. I've reached out to a few of my law friends and parents, and a lot of them suggested emailing firms directly to clarify rather than going through the application straight away with false hope.

Thank you for all the help! It has given me a much better idea of the steps I should be taking now.