Job search
Legal careers
Whether you are looking for a training contract or pupillage, you will know that the market is very competitive, and that to be successful you will have to show that you have been selective in deciding which firms or Chambers to apply to.
You will want to know what firms and Chambers are looking for from applicants – basically, this means that in your applications you have to demonstrate what professional skills, knowledge and experiences you can bring to them.
Legal skills
These are broader than the training in, for example, interviewing, research, and drafting skills that your LPC or BPTC provides. In addition to these, employers will be looking for evidence of the practical skills that are required in all effective lawyers, such as problem-solving, communication, organisation, working under pressure to deadlines, team-working, interpersonal skills, and presentational skills. Your time at NLS can be used in developing a portfolio of these professional skills.
Legal knowledge
Employers will take for granted your knowledge of the core/compulsory subjects. What will start to make you more distinctive is your choice of GDL Research Project and LPC/BPTC electives – they will be an integral part of showing a firm or Chambers why you are particularly interested in them.
Legal experience
There is no substitute for this, whether in private practice with a law firm, in the Public Sector with the Government Legal Service, a Local Authority, a Magistrates' Court, or the Crown Prosecution Service, in a voluntary organisation with a Law Centre or Citizens' Advice Bureau, in Chambers, or marshalling with a judge. Please visit Law Careers.Net to find out about vacation placements with law firms and pupillages.com for information on mini-pupillages.
Finding the training contracts
There are quite a number and variety of sources. Some will be more useful than others, but you should use as many as you feel your needs require. The sites for advertised vacancies include Law Careers.Net, Chambers and Partners and Prospects while for non-advertised vacancies there is The Law Society of England and Wales for the firms authorised by the Law Society to offer traineeships.
Finding the pupillages
As with applications for training contracts, it will be essential to target your applications for pupillage.
The source for these is the Pupillage Portal, whether a Chambers is part of the Online Pupillage Application System (OLPAS) or not.
Graduate Careers
It may well be, however, that you do not want to become a solicitor, barrister, legal executive, or professional paralegal, but instead want to use your Law degree to enter the broader graduate job market, and have identified the career that will suit best your skills, experiences and knowledge. The next question is - where to find those jobs? The good news is that there are many sources and you should use as many as are relevant and useful to maximise your chances of being successful.
Some of the most useful resources include:
- the Prospects national universities' careers website
- Target Jobs
- The Times top employers
- graduate jobs.
Other useful resources
- Graduate Recruitment Fairs: these take place at universities around the country; full details are available on the Prospects website.
- Recruitment Agencies Agency Central is well worth using to identify suitable agencies and graduate opportunities.
- Newspapers: use the paperboy website for details of local, national, and international newspapers.
- Professional organisations: some produce their own vacancy lists, and details are also available on the prospects website.
And finally... Obtaining a training contract, pupillage or other graduate job requires a real investment of time, in making your applications, preparing for interview, and attending interviews. Use every possible source of advice and assistance to maximise your chances – your lecturers, the Careers Development Centre, and your course-colleagues.
