The Student Room Group

Law work experience for Year 12

Heyy,
I'm currently in Year 12 and my school has said that myself and all others in my year group need to apply for work experience to do in July this year, related to our future career goals. I really want to pursue a career in the legal profession, I aim to study Law at University and I even currently study Law as one of my A Levels but I am not sure how to or where to find/start looking for legal work experience for sixth form students..
Help would be much appreciated! :smile:
Should I email/call up law firms? Is it best to go for ones on the high street or more local ones? I have no clueee

p.s my other a levels are history, religious studies and an epq, not sure if that helps though
You need to start asking every working adult you know now for any contacts in a legal setting. My son got a weeks work experience at a technology company in their legal department by talking to his barber and it was his barbers girlfriend who worked there. Another young friend did work experience at his mums office and a colleague there had a wife a law firm who got him some work experience. You need to be asking and don't be afraid!! Also try all your local solicitor firms - actually go in there - knock on the door and ask if you can do work experience - do the photocopying, make the tea, sit in on client meetings. Part of being a lawyer is being resilient, committed and tenacious! Good luck.
I add that no university requires applicants for places to study law to have obtained work experience before university. If your school suggests otherwise, your school is mistaken.

Please note also that you don't have to study law at university in order to qualify as a lawyer. About half of those who become lawyers have law degrees, and the other half don't. The utility of A level law is debatable. I think that it's a waste of time, but others disagree. It's not necessary, and some say not even useful, for those who go on to study law at university. A parallel might be the Noddy physics which people learn when young, and then have to unlearn when they go on to real Physics later (for example: aerodynamics - lift doesn't suck).

What attracts you to working in the legal profession?
(edited 1 month ago)
Heyy,
I'm currently in Year 12 and my school has said that myself and all others in my year group need to apply for work experience to do in July this year, related to our future career goals. I really want to pursue a career in the legal profession, I aim to study Law at University and I even currently study Law as one of my A Levels but I am not sure how to or where to find/start looking for legal work experience for sixth form students..
Help would be much appreciated! :smile:
Should I email/call up law firms? Is it best to go for ones on the high street or more local ones? I have no clueee
p.s my other a levels are history, religious studies and an epq, not sure if that helps though

Hey there!

It’s fantastic you’re already exploring legal work experience. A great first move is to email or call smaller, local law firms, as they often welcome sixth formers for short shadowing placements. Larger firms might also offer structured schemes, check their websites for deadlines. If you don’t hear back immediately, look into local Citizens Advice or law centres, or see whether your school has any legal contacts to get a foot in the door. Attending taster sessions at universities or local legal events can further boost your understanding of different practice areas and help you network with professionals.

All the best!
Reply 4
Heyy,
I'm currently in Year 12 and my school has said that myself and all others in my year group need to apply for work experience to do in July this year, related to our future career goals. I really want to pursue a career in the legal profession, I aim to study Law at University and I even currently study Law as one of my A Levels but I am not sure how to or where to find/start looking for legal work experience for sixth form students..
Help would be much appreciated! :smile:
Should I email/call up law firms? Is it best to go for ones on the high street or more local ones? I have no clueee
p.s my other a levels are history, religious studies and an epq, not sure if that helps though

Getting legal work experience without connections can be very difficult and frustrating. What I did was walk into all my local firms with a cover letter (tailored to that specific firm and expertise area about why you want to do work experience there) and your CV. I did this over the February half-term and April holidays. Not to scare you, but I did apply to 12 local firms and got 11 rejections. But the 1 place that did agree to host me for a week was amazing!

Apart from this, there are some places that hold structured work experience insight schemes. I know that Slaughter and May do, for example. Landmark Chambers has a work experience scheme where you shadow barristers’ clerks and it was brilliant, I highly suggest you apply:
https://www.landmarkchambers.co.uk/recruitment/work-experience

It’s not at all necessary for uni, but it was incredibly fun, so I would definitely recommend you do it. If you don’t manage to get any, don’t be disheartened. Another thing you could do is sit in your local Crown Court’s public gallery for a week in July. Even if you do get work experience, I’d recommend you do that anyway because it’s really fun. Best of luck!
Reply 5
Getting legal work experience without connections can be very difficult and frustrating. What I did was walk into all my local firms with a cover letter (tailored to that specific firm and expertise area about why you want to do work experience there) and your CV. I did this over the February half-term and April holidays. Not to scare you, but I did apply to 12 local firms and got 11 rejections. But the 1 place that did agree to host me for a week was amazing!
Apart from this, there are some places that hold structured work experience insight schemes. I know that Slaughter and May do, for example. Landmark Chambers has a work experience scheme where you shadow barristers’ clerks and it was brilliant, I highly suggest you apply:
https://www.landmarkchambers.co.uk/recruitment/work-experience
It’s not at all necessary for uni, but it was incredibly fun, so I would definitely recommend you do it. If you don’t manage to get any, don’t be disheartened. Another thing you could do is sit in your local Crown Court’s public gallery for a week in July. Even if you do get work experience, I’d recommend you do that anyway because it’s really fun. Best of luck!

Thank you so much!
Reply 6
Original post by UniofLaw Student
Hey there!
It’s fantastic you’re already exploring legal work experience. A great first move is to email or call smaller, local law firms, as they often welcome sixth formers for short shadowing placements. Larger firms might also offer structured schemes, check their websites for deadlines. If you don’t hear back immediately, look into local Citizens Advice or law centres, or see whether your school has any legal contacts to get a foot in the door. Attending taster sessions at universities or local legal events can further boost your understanding of different practice areas and help you network with professionals.
All the best!

Thank you so much!
Reply 7
Original post by Bookworm784
You need to start asking every working adult you know now for any contacts in a legal setting. My son got a weeks work experience at a technology company in their legal department by talking to his barber and it was his barbers girlfriend who worked there. Another young friend did work experience at his mums office and a colleague there had a wife a law firm who got him some work experience. You need to be asking and don't be afraid!! Also try all your local solicitor firms - actually go in there - knock on the door and ask if you can do work experience - do the photocopying, make the tea, sit in on client meetings. Part of being a lawyer is being resilient, committed and tenacious! Good luck.

Thank you so much!!
Reply 8
My school doesn't say that work experience is necessary for securing a place in Uni, they say that it's valuable to do and have for several reasons and that's why they require year 12's to engage in it.
You're not the only one who's said that exact thing to me about Law A Level, but me personally, I feel like its given me clarity and helped me confirm that this is what I want to do in life. Although the content might be slightly inaccurate (I won't know for myself until I do law at uni!) I find the subject really engaging and interesting, it's ignited my passion for law further and I enjoy the content as well as the cases. So, yes, some people may say it's a waste of time but I'm not one of them.
Yess I do know about the not having to study law at uni! But I feel most drawn to it and I don't see myself doing any thing else. obviously, I still have time to go before I need to go to open days etc but at this moment in time, I want to study Law at uni. I'm fully aware that its not a necessity for my chosen path but its something that I've always dreamed of doing :smile:

Quick Reply