law work experience/internships?

hi I'm 15, going into y11 and want to do corporate law as a career. I was thinking of doing some internships or programmes to help strengthen my applications for future positions, but I'm not big on public speaking and most of the programmes are focused on criminal law/court cases. I was looking at the investin young lawyer programme and it seems like it would involve a lot of public speaking.

I just wanted to ask if there's any sort of experience I can get right now ? any sort of internships or helping out at law firms would be great. or should I wait until I'm 16, as it seems like a lot of places accept 16+/in y12

Reply 1

Jam.123

14

Wait until 16. Investin isn't great imo, I feel like they just take excessive money for what sounds like not much actual law etc.

Get good grades, start LNAT prep in Y12 September as a really good score in that helps get into good unis which have a much greater career bearing. Also helps you practice logic and reading which is good.

Go to a Crown/High/Magistrate's court near you and sit in on some cases - that will show you real life stuff and you can talk about your 'experience' when applying for internships/unis/WXP later on.

If you want some law WXP, email some law firms near you well in advance (at least 5 months before you want it to start) and ask nicely. Contact friends/family if relevant. Don't bother with corporate part at this stage.

Law with language degree sometimes more useful than straight law for top firms, so for lhttps://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7392538#aw, try at least one language A-level with the usual like English, History, etc.

Good luck

Also, if you plan on law, just get better at public speaking now as you will have to at some point anyway.

Reply 2

username6248730

OP

7

Original post by Jam.123

Wait until 16. Investin isn't great imo, I feel like they just take excessive money for what sounds like not much actual law etc.

Get good grades, start LNAT prep in Y12 September as a really good score in that helps get into good unis which have a much greater career bearing. Also helps you practice logic and reading which is good.

Go to a Crown/High/Magistrate's court near you and sit in on some cases - that will show you real life stuff and you can talk about your 'experience' when applying for internships/unis/WXP later on.

If you want some law WXP, email some law firms near you well in advance (at least 5 months before you want it to start) and ask nicely. Contact friends/family if relevant. Don't bother with corporate part at this stage.

Law with language degree sometimes more useful than straight law for top firms, so for lhttps://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7392538#aw, try at least one language A-level with the usual like English, History, etc.

Good luck

Also, if you plan on law, just get better at public speaking now as you will have to at some point anyway.

I'm fine with small scale public speaking, I'm fine speaking in meetings and presentations etc but I can't see myself in court much, which is partly why I definitely don't want to go into criminal law

is law with language really beneficial? I'm not planning on taking a language alevel but I do speak mandarin, would a formal qualification in mandarin be helpful?

Reply 3

Jam.123

14

Original post by zziawoo

I'm fine with small scale public speaking, I'm fine speaking in meetings and presentations etc but I can't see myself in court much, which is partly why I definitely don't want to go into criminal law

is law with language really beneficial? I'm not planning on taking a language alevel but I do speak mandarin, would a formal qualification in mandarin be helpful?

I mean I know someone who just did a language degree and got into a magic circle firm beating out many of the law graduates to a training contract so I think it’s beneficial, if you don’t know another language already. As you can speak mandarin I imagine you wouldn’t need any formal qualification to show that.

Yep, even if not interested in criminal work, just to get started and acquainted with the legal process, judicial independence etc, just see a case once as it helps get you on the work experience/uni ladder and you can diverge later in corporate. At this stage showing an interest is the most essential thing to do. That and demonstrate potential, eg through LNAT.

Hi,

First of all I think It is great that you are thinking ahead about what you want to do :smile:

! So in terms of law work experience and internships I highly recommend that you visit the Magistrate and Crown Courts, as simply watching a trial, observing and making notes (specifically what the facts of the case were, what the verdict was, etc) this counts as legal work experience. Secondly it will be a bit tricky getting an internship at your age but I highly recommend you volunteering as that looks good on your CV and it will make you stand out later, this can be any type of volunteering- working a clothes shop, a charity shop, anything. In law we look at all the work experience you do- not just the legal work experience. I hope this helps and good luck!

Original post by zziawoo

hi I'm 15, going into y11 and want to do corporate law as a career. I was thinking of doing some internships or programmes to help strengthen my applications for future positions, but I'm not big on public speaking and most of the programmes are focused on criminal law/court cases. I was looking at the investin young lawyer programme and it seems like it would involve a lot of public speaking.

I just wanted to ask if there's any sort of experience I can get right now ? any sort of internships or helping out at law firms would be great. or should I wait until I'm 16, as it seems like a lot of places accept 16+/in y12

Reply 5

Kb00

6

Original post by zziawoo

hi I'm 15, going into y11 and want to do corporate law as a career. I was thinking of doing some internships or programmes to help strengthen my applications for future positions, but I'm not big on public speaking and most of the programmes are focused on criminal law/court cases. I was looking at the investin young lawyer programme and it seems like it would involve a lot of public speaking.

I just wanted to ask if there's any sort of experience I can get right now ? any sort of internships or helping out at law firms would be great. or should I wait until I'm 16, as it seems like a lot of places accept 16+/in y12

Hey!

For a career in commercial law, I think that there are a couple of law firms that offer an insight to y11 and y12 students. If you want to discover what these law firms do, these experiences would be a great way. In addition, law firms also offer a virtual law experience programme on a platform called Forage but I think doing those might be a bit too soon for you. You could also reach out to high street law firms in order to get work experience with them.

For the future, if you want to apply to law firms, I highly recommend building a relationship with law firms early on once you start university by attending law firm events, open days and insight days. A tip is to always write detailed applications in which you detail why a career in commercial law interest you and why you would like to join that firm. Commercial Law Academy has great courses on writing successful applications and alternative legal careers, which you could check out.

law work experience/internships?

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