Making the most of the application cycle – part 1

Written by Polina Krivosejeva

With the new application cycle right around the corner, we are excited to welcome part 1 of the It’s All Hearsay 7-part Application Series on how to make the most of the application process. Applying to law firms for training contracts and vacation schemes tends to be a very time-consuming and, at times, overwhelming process that requires candidates to be well-organised in their approach.

Part 1 of this series will focus on setting out the basics of the training contract application process and discuss steps you may want to take in advance of putting pen to paper.

In this blog post, we will cover:

• Training Contract vs Vacation Scheme
• Application process stages;
• What we mean by the application cycle and preparation tips;
• How to keep organised with your applications; and
• What factors to take into account when deciding on your application strategy.

Training Contract vs Vacation Scheme

Before discussing the specifics of the application cycle, lets consider briefly the difference between a vacation scheme and a training contract.

A legal vacation scheme is a one, two or three-week work experience placement with a law firm. It will take place in either the Spring, Summer or Winter. The purpose of a vacation scheme is two-faceted. For candidates, it provides a great opportunity to get an insight into what life as a solicitor is like, as well as, gain a feel for the culture of the firm. Employers use vacation schemes to assess candidates’ skills and observe how well they would fit in the firm. It’s a two-way street.

A training contract is a two-year placement that is undertaken by trainee solicitors and is the final step before qualification¹. The purpose of a training contract is to allow an applicant to demonstrate to the firm and the Solicitor’s Regulation Authority (a regulator for the legal profession) that they have the requisite skills, capabilities and experience to be a successful lawyer.

Candidates should be aware that some law firms recruit training contract candidates exclusively from the pool of candidates who have completed a vacation scheme with the firm. Equally, there are firms that choose candidates both from their vacation scheme pool and from applicants for a direct training contract. It’s important that you check this on the firm’s website or clarify with the law firm’s Early Careers team. Whether you want to apply for a vacation scheme first or go through a direct training contract route will depend on your personal circumstances. For example, if you have limited legal work experience you should firstly consider applying for a vacation scheme before applying to direct training contracts.

Application Process Stages

Please note that this visual presents a general overview of the training contract application stages but the stages will vary depending on the law firm you are applying to. For example, not all firms will have psychometric testing as part of the process. Equally, some firms may not have a separate interview stage before the assessment centre.

What is the application cycle and what steps to take in advance of the new application cycle?

The application cycle runs roughly from September – July each year and you will usually apply two years in advance. You can apply to whatever firm you want (depending on the eligibility criteria), however, you can only apply to a firm once each cycle. This means that if you applied for a vacation scheme and were unsuccessful, you will not be able to apply to the same firm for a direct training contract in the same cycle.

In order to secure a vacation scheme or a training contract, the first step is a written application stage. Given the amount of research that you are required to do before you begin typing answers to the written application questions, it is important that you begin your preparation in advance of the cycle – ideally during the summer.

Steps you may want to take ahead of the application cycle:

• Check if you are eligible to apply

Do your grades match the requirements? If not, does the firm accept, or can you show, extenuating circumstances? Are you at the stage in your career/education that would make you eligible to apply?

• Identify the type of firms you are interested in applying to (boutique, regional, national, international, US-based or Magic Circle)

The types of firms you choose to focus your efforts on will largely depend on your unique criteria (more on this below). Narrowing down a pool of firms early on will alleviate other pressures associated with writing applications. There are some general pointers you can consider before you begin applying. For example, I personally learnt over time that I am very unlikely to thrive/enjoy working in a law firm that is unlikely to have a healthy work-life balance, therefore, I would not consider applying to Magic Circle and US-based firms. Some firms use psychometric tests before they even look at your written application. If you practised completing them and know that it’s not your cup of tea, consider if it’s worth applying in the first place.

• Collate as much information as possible about your target firms as early as possible

We have a great resource page on our website – firm research resource and comparison table – a tool you can use to bring your research into one place and update it/add new information as and when required. It will also help you compare your firms, spot patterns, and highlight discrepancies. It is best to start filling in this table before looking at the application questions as you will be able to easily bring forward your research, link to the firm and think out of the box.

• Prepare answers to common written application questions

At the very least, you will benefit from having general answers to the three key questions:

• Why law?
• Why you?
• Why this firm?

Note that there will be variations of the above questions and you will have to ensure that you answer a specific question asked but having pre-prepared, well-structured answers to the above questions will help you to adjust your answers as required, integrating your research of the firm you are applying to. Many law firms will have questions testing candidates’ commercial awareness, so it is worth choosing a couple of topics that interest you in the world of business and keeping an eye on the recent developments.

• Sign up for online/in-person workshops (especially if hosted by law firms that you intend to apply to), law fairs and other events held by law firms

It is a great strategy to make your face/name known to the law firms you intend to apply to ahead of the cycle. If you use a proactive approach during such events, this will increase the chance for the graduate recruiter to recognise your name when you submit your application. For example, have a look at the firm’s website to see if the firm offers unique training opportunities for its lawyers and ask the law firm’s Early Career team about it. Start following your target firms on social media and see if they post something that could lead to insightful discussion. For example, Simmons & Simmons recently shared on LinkedIn their initiative of “sending trainees on the streets to experience what it’s like to be a Big Issue vendor” – I’d love to learn more.

• Think about applying for a mentorship scheme

Mentorship schemes are much more than your mentor checking your application before you hit ‘submit’. More often than not, mentorship schemes offer varied support such as skills-building workshops and host events in partnership with law firms. Those events tend to have a limit on the number of people attending, which gives attendees an opportunity to ask more questions than you would have by attending events with hundreds of participants. Sometimes you will be mentored alongside other mentees, who are going through the same process and will know the pain. Fellow mentees will almost certainly encourage you not to give up when you face challenges and cheer your progress and success.

• Sign up for your target firms’ newsletters

This is very helpful in that you get the firm’s updates straight into your inbox: things like recent deals the firm advised on or updates on the firm’s business strategy. You can then use this information in both written applications and during an interview, raising it as a point of discussion.

Keeping organised

Once you have completed your preliminary preparations, there are things that you can keep doing after you begin writing applications.

• Update your CV, if some time has passed since you last refreshed it

Some firms will ask you to attach your CV to the application. Others will have a work experience section for you to fill in. If the latter applies, you will be using your CV as a main point of reference. However, if you don’t have a CV at all, you may want to make one ahead of the application cycle.

Our Resources team are in the final stages of compiling a brand new extensive CV guide that will cover everything you need to write a top-notch CV, whether you already have a CV and just want to revamp it or you do not have a CV. The guide will be split into three-parts.

KEEP AN EYE ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA WHERE WE WILL ANNOUNCE ITS LAUNCH – IT’S A GEM!

• Start preparing answers to common interview questions

It’s important to note that there are thousands of questions/variations of questions that you can get asked during an in-person/video interview and it is not only impossible to prepare answers for each possible question, it is also absolutely unnecessary. You do not want to sound scripted. Instead, you want to have a naturally flowing conversation with the interviewer. However, noting down experiences that would showcase core skills sought by most law firms (think teamwork, people skills, attention to detail, and keeping organised) will ensure that you will have a solid point of reference when asked.

---

As a side note, it is worth mentioning that things can go off the plan and that’s okay. For example, you may have set a goal to apply to 10 firms this cycle and mid-way through the cycle you may suddenly realise that you have only submitted 4 applications. Life happens and most candidates juggle multiple important responsibilities outside of applications. Give yourself credit for your progress, take a step back and take time to readjust your strategy.

The worst thing you can do is to keep beating yourself up for not adhering to your original plan.

Similarly, it’s important that you have an allocated time in your weekly diary for self-care: whether it’s taking a full day off watching Netflix, spending a couple of hours on your favourite hobby, regularly going to the gym or spending time with your loved ones. Looking after yourself will make you feel better, and the better you feel, the better you will be in all areas of your life, including tackling applications.

What factors to take into account when deciding on your application strategy

All of the firms you apply to should link in some way or you should be able to really pinpoint at least three very specific reasons as to why you want to get a training contact at the firm you are applying to.

To be able to prove your passion for a specific firm you should identify your unique key drivers for applying to a particular firm. Some examples are:

• Office Locations;
• Type of work (international, national or regional focus);
• Practice areas – you should have a broad understanding of which areas you might like to work in to narrow down the firms;
  • Expertise in a particular area of practice and/or sector: this may be a particularly important point to consider for applicants with prior experience working in the sector or for career changers. For example, you may have studied Chemistry at an undergrad level and the firm may have particular expertise in Life Sciences and Pharmaceuticals;
• Secondment opportunities (client vs international);
• Work-life balance;
• Clients (businesses vs private individuals);

Knowing your personal drivers backed by personal examples will make applying easier as you won’t need to tailor each application as much as if they are all completely different.

For example, if you are focusing on firms that have a strong Real Estate practice then the writing of each answer will include similar information and links (e.g. type of transactions you will be using to support your answer and your motivations for being attracted to this area of practice). Whereas if you are applying to firms that are known for substantially different areas of expertise you have limited insight into or lack a personal link that explains your attraction then you could get caught out in not understanding the firm’s strategy, core values and vision.

As hard as it can sometimes be to think this way, applying to a firm is indeed a two-way street. You need to like the firm as much as the firm needs to like you!

Think about how your skills and experiences can match the firm’s core values and skillset they are looking for.

It is important to choose a firm that you can see yourself thriving within because two years is a long period of time to be training and in an environment that you aren’t comfortable in.

---

We hope that part 1 of the series provided a comprehensive overview of the application cycle and what steps you can take both in advance of and during the application cycle to maximise your chances of getting a training contract and/or vacation scheme offer(s). In the next part of the series, we will focus on work experience. Stay tuned!

1. It is important to note that from September 2021 an alternative qualification route has become available. Through this route, a candidate must have a degree and then pass the SQE 1&2. Along the way, candidates need to complete two years’ Qualifying Work Experience. For more information please visit the SRA website. ↩︎

Uncomfortable, but Important | Let’s Talk About Mental Health in the legal profession

Written by Polina Krivosejeva

Today marks the end of Mental Health Awareness Week and this year’s specific focus is “Anxiety”.

Anxiety is defined as: “feeling of unease, such as worry or fear, that can be mild or severe” (NHS)

This week, Mental Health Foundation published research which showed that 60% of UK adults experienced anxiety and that this experience interfered with their daily lives, just in the previous two weeks. The definition of anxiety and the conditions that fall within it quite frankly embrace the full sweep of human experience: whether it’s genetics, events such as childhood trauma or current life situations that triggers anxiety (such as: money, housing problems, unemployment, work stress, loneliness, or difficult professional/personal relationships) – it’s covered.

Despite anxiety being so common, stigma and shame play a part in how people deal with anxiety, with almost half (45%) of UK adults keeping their anxious feelings a secret.

In the context of legal profession, in September 2021, LawCare (the mental wellbeing charity for the legal community in the UK) published the results of its ‘Life in the Law’ research looking at the impact of work culture and working practices in law and the wellbeing of legal professionals. Over 1,700 legal professionals from the UK, Ireland, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands took part in the survey between October 2020 and January 2021. Despite the data being collected from participants during the Covid-19 pandemic, which may have intensified a negative impact on the participants’ mental health, the results are alarming and suggest that there is no scope for stigmatisation of topics surrounding both mental wellbeing and ill mental health.

In this blog post, we want to focus on the importance of taking care of your mental wellbeing while pursuing a career in law and what you can do to take care of your mental health. We will also discuss the results of the 2021 LawCare survey, namely, what it signals, as well as what law firms are doing and should be doing to promote mental health wellbeing. 

Before we dive into the discussion about mental health in the context of the demanding legal profession, let’s dissect the basics.

What is Mental Health and why do organisations need to send a clear signal to staff that their mental health matters?

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health as: “a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realise their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. It is an integral component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape our world“.

Whether you agree with this definition or not, it is great progress in terms of moving away from the conceptualisation of mental health as a state of absence of mental illness. It is important to remember that every single person has mental health, meaning that there are a plethora of ways people can be mentally healthy or ill and it’s affected by a range of factors both in and outside of work. For employers, standing by people with mental health diagnoses or when they experience a mental health problem is not only about retaining/attracting valuable staff members but also about organisation’s values.

The importance of looking after your mental health as an aspiring lawyer

If you are an aspiring lawyer, you will know that attaining a career in law is not an easy task and requires a high level of mental resilience (which we have discussed in our last post).

Training Contract applications alone can take a toll on your mental health as you compete with many talented and deserving candidates. If you don’t have a solid support system, as well as self-care routines that work for you, it’s not too far fetched to see how you may begin to question your abilities and self-worth. And while looking at the bigger picture and not internalising challenges/failures/rejections is key, no one is shielded from getting trapped in a self-destructing mindset, which if not addressed may reflect negatively on mental health.

Then, when you entered a profession, the challenges will not end there – getting to grips with complex technical concepts, analysing dense information, handling challenging cases, complying with tight deadlines, working long hours and dealing with criticisms (you name it), is part of being a lawyer. Being able to withstand this requires a solid level of mental preparedness. However, even if you don’t have a diagnosed mental health disorder and see yourself as the most stress-tolerant person, no one is shielded from snapping one day due to the immense pressures lawyers face.

What you can do to take care of your mental health as an aspiring lawyer

Although taking care of your mental health is a very subjective exercise and what works for one person may not work for another, we hope the tips below will give you some food for thought:

1.Create a support bubble

If nothing else, as an aspiring lawyer you need people around you who believe in you no matter what and can help to get you back on track if things get overwhelming. Whether it’s your family, friends, partner, mentor, or careers team – it does not matter who you choose to support you – but it should be someone whose opinion makes you think rationally. I would most probably have given up my dream to become a lawyer if not the immense support and encouragement from my mentors and my partner.

2. Spend time on your hobbies

Ok, as I don’t want to give misleading advice or simply say something that others say works, I need to say this: I am very bad at this myself. I tend to live a very prescribed schedule: I work Monday – Friday 9-5, go for a run/stretch afterwards, eat dinner, read something before falling asleep while listening to a meditation. As someone living with a chronic depression, I have to be very realistic about how I distribute my low energy levels. Hobbies, although should not be energy-consuming, is something I usually don’t have energy for. So I almost omitted writing this point but then realised: in November 2022, I found something that, at the time, pulled me out from the dark hole: dancing. I began attending contemporary dance classes initially and then discovered ballet. I dreamt of becoming a ballerina as a kid; I, therefore, found a missing part of myself. Following this, I have no doubt in my heart that there is a game-changing hobby for everyone.

3. Take time to reflect

There are various ways in which you can practice self-reflection. The method I personally use and find very helpful is to write things down! I cannot put into words the benefits of noting down my self-destructive/racing thoughts. Sometimes I structure what I write down, sometimes I just write down random sentences and then a miracle happens:

• It helps you identify patterns. For example, you may notice that you have a tendency to speculate a lot about things that are beyond your control or make yourself feel bad by comparing yourself to others. Whatever it is, it’s bound to be helpful in learning how to correct and push back against distorted thinking.
• The act of writing it down is also therapeutic in and of itself. There’s something about taking a complicated thought out of your head and putting it onto paper that takes weight off your shoulders. For one, avoiding a thought instead of facing it head-on can often make you feel worse, so the act of acknowledging it by writing it down can provide relief in and of itself. Especially if you’re someone who lets things pile up in your head until you feel overwhelmed and bad and can’t even keep track of why anymore. Also, writing them out can help you gain perspective and come up with the plan that is under your control.

Not everything will work for you, but you also can’t know if something will work for you until you try it.

What do the statistics say | LawCare Survey results?

The majority of respondents in the “Life in the Law’ research (69%) said they had experienced mental ill-health (whether clinically or self-diagnosed) in the 12 months before completing the survey. The most common symptoms experienced often to all of the time, included anxiety (61%), low mood (48%), and depression (29%). From this figure, only 56.5% said they had talked about their mental ill-health at work with 43.5% saying they had not disclosed their mental ill-health at work. Some 29% said that they had experienced physical symptoms arising from work-related stress in the previous 12 months, with 22% feeling unable to cope and 6% reporting suicidal thoughts.

What do these numbers actually mean?

I found these results very relatable, yet perplexing. As someone living with chronic high-functioning depression and anxiety and working in the legal industry, I would have fallen into every category if I were to take part in the survey. It was a bitter-sweet realisation – sweet because I instantly felt that I am not alone and people who have reached the qualification equally have struggles with their mental health (of course keeping in mind that everyone’s experience of ill mental health is very subjective). Bitter because: 1) these numbers represent real people – highly capable legal professionals – and we can’t simply focus on diagnosis and/or symptoms, we need to reflect upon the subjective impact of these symptoms on individuals; and 2) linked to that, we can clearly see that there is a lot of work to be done to ensure that employees are comfortable disclosing their mental health struggles, knowing that they will be understood and supported. 

As the theme of this year is Anxiety, let’s consider how it can impact work situations. Anxiety is a feeling of unease, such as worry or fear, that can be mild or severe. It can manifest in physical sensations, such as increased heart rate, nausea, shaking and sweating. Equally, anxiety and low mood may affect your ability to deal with pressure at work, particularly when coupled with factors like difficulty concentrating. Anxiety around social interaction can make it difficult to organise your thoughts and lead to problems communicating. If considered in isolation, unsurprisingly, one may conclude that those experiences are fatal to a career in law given that these qualities are integral to being a lawyer.

However, it’s not as simple as that. Speaking about my personal experience, I have a severe anxiety and experience the above mentioned symptoms, but it tends to manifest itself in very particular situations, namely, where I know that my knowledge and/or personality are being assessed in any way, which stems from my experience of the world as a child. What this means in real life is that I can withstand pressure at work, whether it’s presenting to colleagues or dealing with a client complaint, yet my anxiety prevents me from showing my true potential in situations like interviews and can manifest as a panic attack during exams. Therefore, I tend to face adversity when it comes to securing a job despite objectively being able to perform a job to a high standard when the stressor is removed – i.e. being assessed.

I want to be very clear in that I believe that you can work through your past/present traumatic experiences and learn new skills to help you manage adverse symptoms that mental health issues can present, however, it is not as simple as that. Let’s look at the analogy: our parents teach us from early years to respect other people. Imagine a situation where you are now an adult and your friend tells you to stop respecting others. Of course, there is a social norms aspect to this but even if this was morally acceptable it would have taken a huge effort to change your set of beliefs and stop respecting others if respect for others has become part of your identity.

The reason I gave a personal example is to showcase the practical reason why we, as a society, should speak up about our subjective experiences of mental health issues. If considered in isolation, my inclination to dissociate or completely freeze during the interview may mean that my strengths, such as strong analytical skills and (yes despite being depressed) very strong attention to detail may get completely overlooked. Whereas if I am comfortable enough to communicate my difficulties to the employer, I have a better chance to be on the same level playing field with other candidates. In a similar vein, neurodivergent candidates or candidates with a physical disability should have reasonable adjustments tailored to their personal needs.

What law firms are doing?

Work-life balance:

• Promoting and encouraging having the time to pursue the things we enjoy and spend time with friends and family outside of work.
• While a four-day working week trailed by 70 companies in 2022 may not work in the legal industry where meeting client needs and round-the-clock availability is a rooted expectation, law firms are ensuring that fee earners are supported to work sensible hours, take full lunch breaks, avoid working at weekends and take annual leave.

Flexible working:

• Providing the ability for legal professionals to work flexibly and supporting healthier and more productive ways of work. This, in turn, increases morale, commitment and productivity in the workplace, and reduces sickness absence. My firm, for example, implemented a ‘gliding your time’ initiative which allows fee earners to glide their billable hours throughout the day, subject to important deadlines/scheduled client meetings. I find this initiative particularly helpful for my mental health as it allows me to take a couple of hours off to focus on self-care should I feel the need to do so.

Raising awareness:

• Creating an environment where people can talk about mental health openly and positively. A lot of firms are doing this by inviting people with lived experiences and establishing mental health champions within a firm to break down stigmas and stereotypes and help to show that it is possible to get through challenges.
• Allowing access to mental health information and resources and counselling. Some firms are now providing paid for or complementary sessions for those that require mental health support.

Providing management training and adopting mentoring/peer support initiatives:

• Putting on regular catch-ups and appraisals for supporting the mental health of staff. Many law firms are now offering management training and making it part of the workplace culture.
• Peer support and mentoring schemes allow colleagues to support one another and help new members of staff to settle in faster and build up professional skills.

Moving forward?

LawCare’s 2021 research also revealed that almost two-thirds (65%) said they checked their emails outside of work hours to keep up with their workload, and 28% said their work required them to be available to clients 24/7. The data also showed that legal professionals are at a “high risk” of burnout, with those aged between 26 and 35 displaying the highest burnout scores, and also experiencing the lowest autonomy, lowest psychological safety, and highest work intensity score. This is consistent with a wider trend. More and more young workers have been reporting feelings of burnout. A 2021 survey from jobs website Indeed showed millennials and Gen Z workers were reporting the highest rates of burnout, at 59% and 58% respectively.

This suggests that the scale of the problem is too big to be ignored and organisations, including law firms, should be taking further steps to ensure that the employees, as well as future generations of lawyers, are well supported. Open conversations about mental health should become a normal practice at the time when discrimination and negative reactions to mental illness is not only a taboo subject anymore, but also illegal. Moreover, a consistent growth in the number of people experiencing declining mental health is too big to allow stigma.

Although awareness in respect of mental health entrenches and propagates and law firms are becoming better at supporting open conversations about mental health and implementing proactive strategies to support fee earners facing mental health issues, it must not end there.  Organisations, including law firms, should be realistic about the initiatives they actually implement to support their staff and consider if there is room for improvement. Also, there is still room for growth in respect of legal professionals openly sharing lived experiences of mental health struggles to empower both fellow legal practitioners and future generation of lawyers to not struggle in silence. Of course, there is a rooted societal expectation for lawyers to be tough, easily available and mentally healthy. But the times have changed, and the statistics won’t lie – increased mental health problems are a challenge we as a society must come together to answer.

For further insight, have a look at our instagram post where It’s All Hearsay team and LawCare have got together to share some insights on mental health in the legal industry along with some effective methods on how to improve your mental wellbeing.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Meg | Law Mentor & Litigation Solicitor (@itsallhearsay)

Reflection on rejections

Written by Polina krivosejeva

Although attaining a career in law can be rewarding in terms of development opportunities, career progression and compensation, it can be very competitive to get a job in the legal industry. Obtaining a degree in Law takes a lot of hard work, yet it represents only a fraction of the challenges aspiring lawyers may face on the way to qualification. Arguably, one of the hardest steps is securing a training contract. This is because the odds of getting rejected from law firms when applying for a training contract are extremely high, especially in your first cycle of applications.

According to the Law Society’s Annual Statistics. The number of legal graduates in England and Wales for the 2021-22 academic year was 18,927. Of them, an average of 5,754 secured a training contract, which is roughly 30%. The average age entered onto the roll in 2020-21, across both genders, is 29.9 years. This is how competitive the industry is! Therefore, getting rejected from training contracts and vacation scheme applications is something most aspiring solicitors are highly likely to face at some point.

In this article, we will provide practical tips on how to deal with rejections and turn this unpleasant experience into a strength.

Let it sink, keep on moving forwards and don’t give up

It can be highly disheartening to open an email from a graduate recruitment team saying: “Thank you for expressing your interest in joining [insert law firm], but we are sorry to inform you that…”. And all of this after you spent long hours (or most likely days or even months) putting a lot of time and effort into drafting application(s), attending law fairs and researching the firm. It is very healthy to feel upset and take time to process your emotions when you have worked so hard to achieve your goal. The most important thing is that you do not let rejections define you as a person. Internalising failures will negatively affect your ability to push past the setbacks and find the motivation to pick yourself back up.

Considering how competitive the legal industry is, it is not difficult to see how one may feel like giving up altogether. However, those who have an unequivocal drive for a career in law, despite being rejected, stand a much better chance at success. Not only will this help you to excel as a lawyer but those candidates are much more likely to showcase the required perseverance, tenacity and resilience. Honing those qualities will help you to find ways to cope effectively and persevere. 

Steps to take after receiving a rejection

There is a number of proactive steps you can take to get where you want to be.

• Reflect on your written applications

Ask for feedback if the law firm offers it but bigger law firms are known for providing generic rejection emails due to a large volume of applicants. It can be difficult to identify points for improvement when you can’t get individual feedback, not least because you can’t always say if you got rejected due to not meeting certain requirements or simply because there were too many applicants. But there are still things you can reflect on. Have you rushed your application, have you actually answered the question asked? Was it well structured? Have you related it sufficiently back to you (where appropriate)? Maybe ask a friend or family member to help provide some constructive feedback or maybe reach out to one of the many platforms that offer free advice to the legal community. This leads to the next point.

• Join mentorship programmes or use career services at university

There is a wide variety of mentoring schemes aimed at helping aspiring lawyers improve training contract applications and boost confidence (for example, GROW, Women Higher Up, NRG Lawyers and many more). You may be surprised how empowering it is to join a community of like-minded individuals who are going through the same thing and know the pain. It provides a safe space to ask for advice and support, share knowledge and discuss application strategies and vent frustrations. It is equally beneficial to utilise your university careers department for assistance.

• Keep attending events and law fairs hosted by, or in partnership with, law firms

Talk to trainees and the graduate recruitment team at legal events and soak up their insights about the process and the firm. It is very important that you take every opportunity to ask questions at those events to get that you cannot find the answers to online. This will help to elevate your application as you will have unique and personalised answers. Be sure to take comprehensive notes for future reference.

• Consider other careers and get varied work experience

It may sound counterintuitive if you are convinced that a career in law is for you. But it can serve as a great lever in your future applications. When you open your mind to other career options it can help you to say with confidence why you want to become a lawyer and provide an authentically convincing answer to one of the key questions: ‘why law?’, when you know that other jobs do not click. Moreover, non-law-related jobs are highly valued in training contract applications as you are well placed to demonstrate your transferrable skills and knowledge of how a business runs.

Personal example

It is all well and great to talk about dealing with rejections in theory, but in practice, things can get a bit more complicated. Therefore, I am grateful for having an opportunity to share a personal example of my experience of being rejected by law firms. Although I believe that every person will have a unique way of showcasing/developing/mastering dealing with challenges and failures, I hope that you will find this example relatable and helpful in one way or another.

During this cycle, I applied for four vacation schemes. It may sound not good enough given the competitive nature of the industry but there were several reasons for this. At this point, I received rejections from 3 of them. After receiving a rejection from the first firm, I was absolutely broken. The important thing is what you do once hard feelings have passed.

The two reasons why I found rejections particularly distressing:

Firstly, as I applied only to four firms, I placed a huge focus on the quality of my answers. I did extensive research into the firms I applied to. I spent a lot of time tailoring my answers to the particular firm. I had personally interacted with all four firms. I had worked on applications most evenings while being in full-time employment. The effort I had put in was to my standards instrumental. I imagine there will be a lot of you who can relate.

Secondly, my mental health diagnosis meant that it took me a great deal of effort to deal with the “why me?” aspect of applications in general. Despite being confident in my professional abilities, due to certain past experiences in my life, one of the greatest challenges for me has always been a pervasive fear of rejection. Over the years I made huge progress in that regard, yet this has had a substantial influence on the way I reacted to my first rejection. When I received a rejection from the first law firm, it made me feel rejected on all levels. I did internalise it and I did feel like a failure and I allowed myself to sit with this feeling for a couple of days, letting it sink in. I always find it helpful to live through difficult emotions as suppressed and unprocessed negative emotions can lead to further major health issues, both physical and mental. However, even with those extreme feelings I never lost engrained drive and desire to become a lawyer and it never crossed my mind to even think about giving up. After processing my negative emotions, I was able to regain focus on my ultimate goal – I want to become a lawyer and I will become one! Embracing this mindset allowed me to deal with the other two rejections in a much calmer manner.

I then spoke to my mentor and other members of the mentoring group, who understand what it feels like.  It helped me to stop internalising rejections. Journaling my thoughts and planning steps that I will take to improve my applications helped me to feel in control of the situation as I have a clear plan as to how I will get where I want to be. I also accepted that you can’t always win. Sometimes it is just not going to go the way I planned. These are important lessons that I would have not learnt elsewhere.

I want to finish this blog with two quotes from one of my favourite books called “Grit” by Angela Duckworth which nicely fits into the discussion of this article:

“I learned a lesson I’d never forget. The lesson was that, when you have setbacks and failures, you can’t overreact to them.”

“Passion for your work is a little bit of discovery, followed by a lot of development, and then a lifetime of deepening.”

― Angela Duckworth, Grit

I hope this will help someone going through the same process to feel like they are not alone! I am still trying to figure it all out but I know it will all fall into place soon.

The soft skills of law: a guide to better understanding communication, for aspiring lawyers.

Written by Sammy El Dabba

About me

Hi, I am Sammy and I am currently a third-year undergraduate. I began my journey by working within the NHS in psychiatry and substance misuse teams before recently becoming a paralegal.

Although always being seemingly ‘outgoing’ and confident in speaking to people, entering into my third year of undergraduate study this year and beginning to work as a paralegal has required me to adapt and integrate into the world of legal practice. My experience of doing so, and being an aspiring lawyer myself, has been a particularly insightful experience.

Introduction

From the outside looking in, people may assume that lawyers are the embodiment of charismatic depictions seen in television dramas. However, from the inside looking out, aspiring lawyers often feel uncomfortable with the expectation to have sophisticated interpersonal skills that allow us to communicate with experts in the industry. In this guide, I will share my experiences of developing interpersonal skills and offer three rules of thumb for developing these skills.

People can’t help but communicate

While working with challenging patients in a hospital setting, I quickly learned that we constantly communicate through every action or lack thereof. It is obviously impossible to learn the intricacies of body language without committed study, however, we often subconsciously apply and tailor our non-verbal interactions based on our situational awareness. For example, we can mirror each other’s body language, sit forward to look interested and maintain eye contact to expand the range of people we can actively conversate with.

An entertaining example of how I learnt this the hard way came when I first began busking and playing music in a small Welsh village local to me, called Llangollen. Llangollen is stereotypically filled with an older demographic of tourists and other locals. My selection of modern Indie songs resembling a Saturday night pub playlist was, to say the least, a misreading of the room. Adapting my set list to classics from Ben E King and Bob Dylan quickly saw an uptake in my days, but it was worth it as I subsequently repeated the songs I had learnt to the delight of local shop owners. The moral of this story is that adapting our interactions to fit different situations, whilst balancing the quirks of our personalities (in my case humour), is something that we should approach with caution.

Appreciating our nuances

My multicultural upbringing helped me to develop a general awareness of various cultural norms. However, a recent insight evening brought up an interesting point I had not considered before, namely, that the norm of ‘speaking when spoken to’ in some cultures makes it challenging for some people to initiate conversations. To elaborate, I had only considered this point by actively asking questions and being genuinely interested in learning as much as I can about the people I am around. Our backgrounds and experiences impact how we view the world and subsequently contribute to it. This is something that law firms increasingly appreciate and celebrate. It may be useful for those concerned about integrating into cultural environments, especially when different to their own, to take advantage of groups on social media platforms that look to offer support to such demographics as LGBT+ people and aspiring lawyers belonging to various religious beliefs.

Weighing up the balancing act

It would be unrealistic and undesirable to change our authentic personalities into something we are not in order to fit a certain narrative. It seems more logical to tailor and deploy our true personalities in strategic ways that meet professional goals. Law firms increasingly point out that they ‘see through’ candidates who are simply trying to fit the mould. This highlights the importance of the ‘stay true to yourself’ strategy.

It would be naïve to say that somebody with a slightly more reserved or ‘introverted’ personality cannot be uniquely interpersonal. I have always found that saying less can often say much more. It can often be powerful to contribute to discussions in a concise and powerful way, involving others and actively listening to contributions. The limited accounts everyone gives in tasks such as often dreaded ‘icebreaker’ questions about favourite pets and books could be seen as a prime example of the power of feeling comfortable. From my personal experience, involving each other and creating a supportive network of genuine interest serves as a great lever to open up and show your authentic self.  

The thoughtful nature of ‘introverts’ may well have the effect of composing everyone in a group setting, particularly in high pressured situations. When I worked within the NHS under an excellent consultant who had been practising for twice as long as I had been alive, I evidenced first-hand the benefits of having an ‘introvert’ in a team. That calming presence and a few lines of instruction calmly directed the entirety of the team and, personally, stopped my natural panic. The ‘introverts’ that are not experts with a lifetime of experience are still in a strong position to excel as part of a team as they tend to give well-structured and thoroughly considered answers, which can significantly aid the team.

For ‘extroverts’, the balancing act is tipped in another direction. Naturally, having the ‘gift of the gab’ is something that can easily be overbearing and unproductive to a discussion. To combat this, I am always trying to use my personality to progress discussions by actively asking the thoughts of others around me. It is an obvious, yet often overlooked, point that creates professional rapport and inevitably aids the productivity of a group as conversations become more engaging and collaborative. Although many of us have experienced first-hand the benefits of platforms like LinkedIn that encourage us to ‘put ourselves out there’ and ask for help, support and guidance, behind a screen is admittedly a very different experience from doing so in front of a group of strangers. This leads to the next point of this guide.

Developing that allusive confidence

Although not conclusive, the well accounted for selection of drinks provided at professional social events arguably indicates that even for people within the profession, socialising with strangers is not the most natural or unchallenging task. It shows that interaction with others can be challenging and can make us doubt ourselves. Those natural anxieties are often met with the self-criticism of ‘why isn’t anyone else like this’ when, in reality, the whole room could be reciting the same frustration. Appreciating that confident interaction is a skill that, like any other, needs time to develop can often make us rightfully more patient and forgiving of finding a challenging scenario difficult.

I have always thought that the ‘fake it till you make it’ style of interaction is one that is built on disingenuousness and is draining to uphold. Instead of attempting to convince myself that I am the best in the room, I instead rely on the assurances I can grant myself and believe in. Namely, I know I am polite, I know that I am interested and I can progress the discussion with valuable contributions, unique to me, and I am proud of my ability to ask questions. By concentrating on facts and mentally evidencing this based on previous experiences I often find myself settling into a confidence that helps me in various scenarios. 

Patience as a virtue

For a variety of reasons out of our control, it can often be frustrating when we are unable to articulate ourselves in conversations the way we would like. In both physical and metaphorical sense, being patient with ourselves can provide some degree of solution. When you are in new environments with new people, slowing down the pace of how you present yourself in conversations can give a disarming effect that calms the nerves we often have.

In the latter sense, being patient with our development and appreciating that interpersonal skills are complex, multifaceted and intricate area to develop led me to take off the pressure of myself to be perfect straight away. It seems to me that as emotional intelligence is something we all possess to some degree and can develop, we do not appreciate its complexities.

Conclusion

As a younger person, I found myself trying desperately to mould myself into what I thought a lawyer should be. The valuable lesson that ‘you do not need to know what is wrong if you know something is not right’ led me to reflect on the features of my personality in an honest but non-deprecating way. This approach brought about a series of realisations that helped me greatly.

Our experiences always have and always will shape the way our soft skills develop, although in the way of this is often a series of concerns about the daunting prospect of stepping into an alien world of preconceived misconceptions. Although seemingly obvious, addressing and developing these soft skills requires us to be honest with ourselves and treat with genuine insight the development of these soft skills, with the patience and attention they require.

I have personally found that being genuine and going into interactions with a sense of acceptance for who you are and the unique combination of experiences you have, can act as a platform for growth,  which ultimately helps us to present the best version of ourselves.

The benefits of finding and having paralegal experience

Written by Polina Krivosejeva

Aspiring solicitors who are applying for vacation schemes and training contracts will know that it can be a challenging and frustrating process due to stiff competition with hundreds, if not thousands, of candidates applying for limited spaces. With such fierce competition, it is vital to ensure that your experiences are as varied as possible to stand out. One of many ways to ensure this is to find a paralegal role.

In this article, we will discuss what the role of a paralegal involves, what are the benefits of securing a paralegal position, give you some practical tips as to how you can successfully secure a paralegal role and discuss where you can find one.

What do paralegals do?

As a paralegal, you will be working in a law firm, alongside other legal professionals: trainees, associates and partners on a wide variety of administrative and legal work. The type of work you may be doing as a paralegal varies vastly depending on a practice area and the firm you are working at – some paralegals may be solely involved in support positions, while others may be handling caseloads of their own. Some examples of paralegal tasks are:

• Drafting and proofreading legal documents;
• Conducting a detailed research of various areas of law;
• Investigating, analysing, assorting and inputting legal data;
• Admin tasks, such as providing quotes to/billing clients, organising diaries, scheduling meetings;
• Liaising with clients, third parties and other legal professionals over the phone and via email;
• Giving clients legal information and updating them on the progress of their matter; and
• Going to court and handling a caseload of clients.

This list is by no means exhaustive, but as you can see, the tasks that you may be involved with will expose you to the legal environment and provide a great head start to your career in law.

The benefits of doing a paralegal work

The benefits of securing a paralegal role are vast:

Firstly, as you can see from the list of tasks that paralegals tend to perform, they are very similar to those of a trainee. This means that when you ultimately decide to apply for a TC, you will be already accustomed to some of the duties you will be taking on as a trainee. Equally, this is an amazing opportunity to develop and/or enhance your professional and legal skills, which will ultimately help you to build up a strong CV.

Secondly, irrespective of your job description, any paralegal experience is a great way to get exposure to the whole lifecycle of cases your firm deals with: from client onboarding to how cases progress and conclude. Equally, you will be picking up on important legal terms, concepts and routines.

Thirdly, you will be able to explore practice areas of interest to you and determine your areas of strength. This will help you to give strong application answers because you have already experienced the firm’s practice area(s) first-hand. It also shows recruiters your ambition to gain exposure to a legal business environment and commitment to a career in law. Moreover, it is a great way to showcase that you have been proactively trying to advance in your legal career between studying, applying for and beginning your training contract.

Alternatively, it’s ok not to know for certain if a career as a solicitor is for you when you are fresh from uni. Getting a paralegal job is a great way to explore what it’s like to be a solicitor before you commit yourself to the unforgiving TC application process, and further, to a two-year training. Also, many big law firms tend to recruit two years in advance, so it’s a great way to keep your legal knowledge and skills refreshed.

Lastly, as every law firm irrespective of the size and areas of specialism, is a business, a paralegal role will help you to appreciate the importance of staying commercially aware as a legal professional. For example, working with the legal document management system, which allows you to search through online documents and find what you are looking for in seconds, will help you to show an in-depth understanding of how lawtech advances the delivery of legal services.

How to secure a paralegal role?

The first thing you need to do before you even start applying is to get the basics right, i.e. to make sure that your core CV has a clear structure: Personal Details are set out at the top of your CV -> Education section -> Legal Experience section -> Other Work Experience -> Positions of Responsibility -> Achievements and Awards -> Hobbies and Interests. Note, that the general consensus as to the optimal length of a legal CV is that it should not exceed two A4 pages.

When the structure element is out of the way, you can start adjusting your CV to match it with the specific job description. The purpose of this is to showcase your alignment with the job. Here are some tips on how to do so:

• Review the job description to understand what skills and qualities the employer is looking for and the qualifications required to perform the job. Write down all significant keywords related to skills – words or phrases that seem unique to the job or reoccur throughout the posting.
• If you use a summary at the top of your resume, use it to showcase your most relevant skills and accomplishments based on the keywords you highlighted. You should also mention the title of the job you are applying to, proving that this is a personalised CV.
• Customise your work history so that the recruiter is able to tell immediately that you have relevant experience. If you have a very long work history, you may need to minimise or remove positions that do not align. Or, if your work experience is not extensive, try to identify involvements that you think are most aligned with the job, or where you have gained the most of transferrable skills necessary to succeed in the role.
• The bullet points under each position should always replicate the keywords mentioned in the job description, showing that you will start the job with the required skills and experience.
• Another great trick is to ensure that the first bullet points represent the most relevant responsibilities or tasks. To do so, look at the order of the responsibilities listed in the job description (as those mentioned first may be more of a priority for the employer), and try to mirror the employer’s priorities when organising your CV — the first items they mention should be some of the first items you mention.

To find specific guidance on how to create a perfect cover letter, click here.

Where can you find paralegal roles?

When I began to look for a paralegal role back in the Summer of 2022, I had very limited legal work experience. Even more frustrating was that most job descriptions required at least 6 months of previous work experience as a paralegal. This was a very depressing realisation at the time but now that I have finally secured a paralegal role, I can certainly say that it is absolutely possible if you keep trying and persevere.

Here are some tips on where you can find Paralegal roles:

Local law firms

If you have no prior paralegal experience, local firms are a great place to start. You can make a speculative application by reaching out to the firm via email, explaining why you are applying and what skills you can bring to the table. Don’t forget to attach your CV and, potentially, a tailored cover letter.

Remember, it does not make much difference whether your first paralegal role is in a big/well-known law firm or in a small/high-street law firm. Whichever it is, you will gain invaluable exposure to legal work, begin to develop vital professional skills and boost your legal knowledge. The most important thing is to get your foot through the door and, as soon as you feel you have taken everything from the opportunity at hand, you can then apply for another paralegal role in a different firm.

Firm’s website

If you have a specific firm in mind, potentially following your first-hand experience with the firm through attending an open day or a legal law fair, you may visit their website to see if they offer paralegal roles. It may be worth subscribing to their email job alerts if there is such an option. This way, you will never miss a new role. Alternatively, if you are brave enough, you could give the firm’s HR a ring/send an email and explain why you are interested in the role and why will be a perfect candidate. It adds a personal touch and attests to your determination to get the role.

Linkedin/ other recruitment databases

When I was looking for a paralegal role, I mostly used LinkedIn to search for vacancies. I set up a tailored filter based on the type of roles I was interested in, the tenure of work (eg. full-time) and the preferred locations to receive daily emails with the new opportunities. This is a particularly helpful tool when you are not in a rush and are looking for a “perfect” role. Moreover, by having your notifications on and your profile set up correctly, you will be able to apply ahead of the competition (in some cases), as soon as the position becomes open.

Another important trick is to set up your LinkedIn profile to “open to work” status and update your bio so that it tells the visitors of your profile: what stage you are at; what you are looking for; and when.

Also, law firms’ recruiters often post updates on the roles that are open or are about to open, so it is worth connecting with a few on Linkedin and getting your name/face out there. Even if they do not have any roles on offer at the moment, you can message them, asking them to add your name to their file. To ensure that you are added to their connections, it may be worth sending a personalised invite briefly introducing yourself and saying why you want to connect.

Our founder, Meg, for example, found her first paralegal job straight out of university from LinkedIn. She posted on LinkedIn that she was finding it hard to secure a role with no experience and someone reached out to her in the comments and offered an interview.

In my case, LinkedIn also played an important role in my securing a paralegal role, albeit indirectly. Although I secured my paralegal role through a connection I made at university while running the International Students’ Society, I later learned that the main reason this person reached out to me was because I congratulated them on securing a new role in the firm.

LinkedIn is an extremely powerful tool – don’t underestimate it and utilise it to the fullest!

Other resources: Reed, Targetjobs, Totaljobs, Totallylegal.

Recruitment Agencies

Flex Legal: Flex is an online platform that connects you to flexible roles in the legal industry. To join, you have to send your CV to them and if your previous work experience and skills are considered to be a good fit for paralegal roles, they will onboard you to Flex’s network. You will then be paid on demand for your work when matched with a firm.

Legal recruitment agencies: search for local recruiters in your area (either by googling or via LinkedIn). There are lots of very reputable recruiters all across the country that have very helpful connections with law firms. When speaking with recruiters be clear and decisive when explaining why you want the role and why your skills are perfect for the role. If you do sign up, ensure that you maintain regular contact with recruiters on the available opportunities. I have a personal positive experience with recruitment agencies, and some recruiters still keep reaching out to me to offer opportunities.

Lastly, don’t give up if you can’t secure a paralegal role straight away

There are so many amazing opportunities to build up the transferrable skills that will help you on your unique path to becoming a solicitor, whether it’s a business development or admin role or a role in retail or hospitality. Think communication skills, teamwork, creative problem solving and much more.

You will gain an immense amount of transferable skills from working in any type of business in any industry. Just think for a second: almost all retailers, hotels, TMT companies (e.t.c) are clients of law firms and you get to see the ins and outs of their business operations. This insight and knowledge will add so much value to your CV.

Volunteering is equally an incredible way to build up your CV and learn new skills. You can sign up to volunteer with the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, in a local court (e.g. Support Through Court) or any other Pro Bono initiatives available locally. Not only will you be able to gain a vast amount of invaluable professional skills, but also showcase your commitment to adding value and helping others. In addition, you never know who may be volunteering alongside you – it is a great way to build up your network, which opens up the potential for unexpected opportunities.

Finally, don’t underestimate the benefits of online legal events, whether it’s a themed workshop hosted by a law firm, an open day, or a law fair. These are all activities that will allow you to expand your knowledge about the legal profession, build up connections and just broaden your horizons.

Remember, your experience is unique to you and it absolutely does not matter what you do, so long as you take every opportunity to learn, develop and grow as a person.

To conclude…

I hope that you found this article useful and that the tips discussed herein will assist you on your way to securing a paralegal job, or any other job of your choice. I would like to finish by sharing an amazing quote that nicely fits into the discussion:

In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.

Coco Chanel

• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Top 10 podcasts to listen to as an aspiring lawyer

Written by Polina Krivosejeva

Podcasts are a great medium for aspiring lawyers to boost an understanding of the legal profession in general, get unique insights into law firms and learn about application strategies. Equally, podcasts are very helpful if you are working on building up your commercial awareness, which is very important if you aspire to pursue a career in commercial law.

One of the best things about listening to podcasts is that you can fit them into your busy schedule and listen to them on the go. I tend to listen to at least one podcast every morning on my way to work or when I cook or clean the house – multitasking is key these days. It is a perfect way to combine business with pleasure.

With that in mind, we have compiled 10 podcasts that we believe will help you on your journey to becoming a lawyer.

1. Wake Up to Money (BBC Radio 5 Live)

This podcast is my absolute favourite. It is hosted by Sean Farrington and Felicity Hannah and covers developments and recent trends in the business world, as well as the very latest from the financial markets around the globe. This podcast is very easy to listen to not least because Sean and Hannah are relentless in inviting their guests to unpack technical concepts. Equally impressive is the breadth of coverage. One episode covers news in multiple industries and countries. This is extremely helpful as you get to understand how events happening/trends emerging in one country spread or have effects around the world. Wake Up to Money is your go-to for developing commercial awareness, which is essential skill aspiring lawyers need to demonstrate in applications, during interviews and assessment centres.

2. Commercial Awareness with Watson’s Daily business and financial news

If you are pursuing a career in commercial law, or any other career that involves advising businesses a former stockbroker, Peter Watson, and his Watson’s Daily newsletter and podcast, are worth checking out. Watson’s Daily is a go-to podcast for those looking to improve commercial awareness. Peter and his ambassadors release daily episodes, where they choose a couple of headlines (WHAT) and analyse them in detail (SO WHAT). This podcast is a great resource for aspiring lawyers as it teaches listeners how to analyse wider implications of business/economic/political news and market trends on law firms and their clients.

3. The Allen & Overy Podcast

A&O, one of the five Magic Circle law firms, have a great podcast, where the firm’s lawyers discuss and analyse the most significant legal, regulatory and commercial news. From ESG, data protection and M&A to the latest developments in the capital markets and the wider financial services industry. This podcast is quite technical but it’s a great way to put into context the way business news and global developments shape legal advice, given by lawyers. You can also check out Allen & Overy Launch: The Careers Podcast hosted by A&O’s associate, Bianca Vasilache. It gives a brilliant insight into commercial areas of law and what job of lawyers/trainees in those areas involves. Many law firms have their own podcast that will provide you with similar insights. You can choose your own list of podcasts hosted by law firms based on your own criteria, such as firms you are interested in applying to or areas of law in which they specialise.

4. Legally Speaking Podcast

Legally Speaking is hosted by Rob Hanna and is a great source of inspiration. Robert is an expert in legal careers and content creation, he is a proud CEO & Founder of a variety of business ventures and regularly speaks to notable organisations within the global legal industry. Guests of the podcast range from qualified lawyers to legal consultants, entrepreneurs, policy makers, coaches and influencers. This podcast is a testament that the world of legal is well placed to question the status quo and drive creative solutions. It is a go to whether you are a lawyer, aspiring lawyer, involved in the legal industry or simply curious to know more about the world of legal. Episodes include exciting interviews, intriguing stories, tips to supercharge your legal career and so much more. Our founder, Meg, featured in one of the episodes and it’s a must listen!

5. Chambers Student Podcast

If you are applying/considering to apply for legal vacation schemes or training contract, you are 99% very well familiar with Chambers Student’s True Picture page, which provides life-saving insights into the leading law firms in the UK. Chambers Student Podcast is equally as great resource for aspiring lawyers. I like this podcast because its guests are lawyers who are working in the firm. It’s a great way to get a better understanding of the firm’s leading practice areas, the type of clients they work with, the challenges those clients face in their respective industries and the type of work lawyers do to help their clients.

6. FT News Briefing

The Financial Times can sometimes be overwhelming but the FT News Briefing podcast, hosted by Marc Filippino, is smooth and an easy listen. One of the greatest things about this podcast is that it provides you with a rundown of business news within 10 minutes. When I studied at university, I remember only listening to this podcast because time was always of the essence. I would then do further reading on the headlines that caught my attention when I had a minute to spare to increase and refine my commercial awareness further.

7. The Next Five Podcast

The Next 5 Podcast launched just last winter and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times’ Commercial Department. I can’t find words to describe the depth with which it covers the most pressing global issues. Although the episodes are very infrequent, one episode will leave you with the desire to find out more about thought-provoking topics it covers. For example, one of the discussion points in “The Future of Energy” episode is fusion, an alternative form of power generation. There is a lot of practical and technological difficulties to make this source of energy commercially viable at this stage but it certainly blew my mind that, as a humanity, we will potentially reproduce the process powering the Sun and all other stars. Maybe, in 10 years time, current generation of aspiring lawyers will be at the fore front of advising on formation of joint ventures to fund fusion power stations?

8. The Legal Room UK

Herrington Carmichael’s Legal Room UK Podcast features a diverse range of practising lawyers offering expertise and insight on a wide range of legal topics, such as Employment, Corporate Governance, Data Protection, Insolvency, NFTs and Real Estate. The episodes are short yet very comprehensive and easily digestible. It explains technical legal concepts and issues that lawyers must consider when advising their clients. This is an amazing channel for aspiring lawyers to follow!

9. The LawCareers.Net Podcast 

If you are an aspiring lawyer, you are most likely very well familiar with the LCN platform which provides a lot of great resources for those pursuing a career in law. The LCN Podcast covers a different topic each month. The guests of the podcast are lawyers, recruiters, students and members of the LCN team. It provides insights into various practice areas and gives listeners valuable tips on the application process and interviews. It also covers wider trends in the legal industry, such as D&I, Social Mobility and benefits of Pro Bono work.

10. UK Law Weekly

UK Law Weekly is, as the name suggests, a weekly podcast on legal decisions and news. Marcus Cleaver, a former university lecturer in law looks at the latest cases and reviews from the courts. This channel will help you to stay on top of new updates and legal precedents across all legal markets. Another huge advantage of this podcast is that all the episodes are no more than 10 minutes long, so listening to them will not overwhelm you. One of the recent episodes looks at the insolvency case of BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SA [2022] UKSC 25. The point of discussion considers a difficulty of striking the right balance between the duties that companies’ directors owe to its shareholders vs its creditors. At what point is a company deemed to be probably heading towards insolvency? Find the answer in the episode.

As you can imagine, the list of podcasts in this article is by no means exhaustive. There are so many great channels out there and it’s simply impossible to cover them all in one post. If you have a favourite podcast that you think is a must-listen for an aspiring lawyer, feel free to share it in the comments. I hope that list will help you find, or encourage you to revisit, a podcast that aligns with your interests and help you on your career journey or simply stay on top of the latest legal and business trends.

For further suggestions, please check out It’s All Hearsay’s two-part series on Instagram:

PART ONE:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Meg | Law Mentor & Litigation Solicitor (@itsallhearsay)

PART TWO:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Meg | Law Mentor & Litigation Solicitor (@itsallhearsay)

Study tips for aspiring lawyers

Written by Polina Krivoshejeva

A little bit about me:

I am a first class graduate from the University of Law, where I studied LLB. I will soon be joining DAC Beachcroft as a paralegal in their property recoveries team to gain more practical experience before undertaking the SQE path to qualification in a couple of years’ time. While completing my undergraduate degree, I run the International Students’ Society for two years and I really enjoyed supporting and engaging with international students from diverse backgrounds. Therefore, I am excited to join It’s All Hearsay, as a blogger to assist our wonderful founder, Meg, in supporting such an amazing community of aspiring lawyers on your unique paths to a career in law.

LET’S GET INTO IT!

As the new academic year is in full force,  we think this is the perfect opportunity to set out, or if you have already, to polish your strategy and study plan. At this point, we often have a little more time to get our thoughts together and think about how we are going to tackle not only the crunch points, but also the endless amounts of consolidation and revision that comes with it.

In this article, we will cover our top tips for studying, as well as, how you can really excel throughout the year.

Figuring out workable study tips and tricks will certainly help you to stay on top of things and have a great time at uni. That said, it took me a whole year to find an approach that works. Therefore, I am excited to be sharing with you tips that I have discovered much later in my degree. Both myself and our founder, Meg, were able to obtain first-class honour degrees at university with these tips.

PLEASE remember, though, that everyone has their own learning style and this method should be adapted to fit one’s own preferences.

First and foremost…

THE MINDSET IS KEY! 

Doing well throughout your degree is not a crash course, it’s a pipeline. Therefore, it’s very helpful to set a learning-oriented, rather than a performance-oriented mindset.

And this is why: if you set a performance-oriented mindset, this means that your focus is essentially set on achieving praise for your knowledge and competencies. If you are solely focused on your performance, it is harder to accept the importance of making mistakes and getting constructive feedback for mistakes you make. Conversely, a learning-oriented mindset helps you to shift focus on long-term development and on building up the skills necessary to attain high performance. And what do we mean by a learning-oriented mindset in practice? For example, I never strived to top the course to begin with, rather I would set myself to enjoy every single day of the course by “learning less but more productively” over “cramming when the deadlines are tight”. I took time to learn from my mistakes and acknowledge a need for improvement does not equal failure. Equally, I found it very helpful to take time to reflect on whether my current approach yielded desired results and adjusted it regularly.

Additional tip:

Don’t set yourself to compete with your peers, they are your main support bubble as you are working towards the same goal. We can’t stress this enough. If you are set to compete with your peers, it creates an unhealthy mindset from the outset. Keep in touch and help each other out. Moreover, it boosts important transferrable skills that will help you in the future (think teamwork, collaboration, and communication).

NOW LET’S CONSIDER TWO WORKING STUDY TECHNIQUES: ACTIVE LEARNING AND SPACED MEMORY REPETITION

It’s been scientifically proven that these two methods are very powerful for university students to utilise. They are particularly helpful when you are required to learn, process and memorise a lot of information (which is exactly what law students are required to do).

Active learning involves using your brain power to retrieve information that you have already learned. It helps you to keep knowledge of the subject for a longer period of time. Here are two methods of active learning that I personally found very useful:

• Flashcards – start preparing them early in the year as you progress with the course and, once a week, spend 10-30 minutes revising materials that you’ve already covered in the course. IMPORTANT TIP: when you write flashcards, write down the number of points you’re trying to remember (for example, put the question on the front side, e.g. – is there a contract? Right below this question you put the number that refers to the number of points you are trying to remember, so we put 4, i.e. offer, acceptance, consideration and intention to create legal relations). That number will help you so much if you go over the flashcards multiple times. You’ll subconsciously recall that there are four key things to remember when you are setting out the law on whether there is a contract.

• “Explain to self” – this is a very helpful tip when you are making notes on complex concepts. Essentially, after taking notes on key concepts from every module you ask yourself – can I explain what [insert the concept] means? For example, what are the key ingredients to establish a claim of negligence? (duty of care, breach of that duty, damage caused by the breach, and foreseeability of such damage). You could go further and think about whether you can explain the tests necessary to establish each element. If you can’t – nothing to worry about, go back to your notes and try later.

Spaced repetition technique speaks for itself – you space your repetition of particular subjects over a period of time. It’s in contrast to cramming, which is a very approach to completing prep tasks. When you cram right before your workshop, you can probably remember quite a lot of what you’ve crammed, because it’s a short-term memory but by a few days, you’ve completely forgotten all of it. So cramming is not ideal, especially for law students because quite frankly we’d need to cram a lot and there are usually multiple unrelated subjects to prepare for.

NOW LET’S LOOK AT SOME PRACTICAL TIPS’S

Work smart, not hard!

This may sound silly but it is a really important trait for an aspiring lawyer to grasp early on. Lawyers can face immense workloads and if you are trying to work to your absolute hardest for every single task, then you are going to waste your time and burn out quickly. Therefore, you must know when to stop and this applies to studying! 

So what do we mean by that?

Reading

One example of working smart, not hard, is to: only read what is required for each workshop and lecture. This will give you bitesize insights into the current subject and set you up with the necessary knowledge to do the initial work.

I used to read all the prep reading, but kept my focus on the most important parts (i.e. the substantive law and legal principles, or concepts I found difficult to understand in a lecture) and avoided becoming too caught up in the less essential arguments. Sometimes I did extra reading by googling articles written by scholars to get to the bottom of how the law came about and how historical events shaped it over time. This approach helped me to build stronger arguments in my essays. More specifically, it allowed me to argue desired changes in the law factoring in changes in societal norms and values. However, this approach is not sustainable if you adopt it to prepare for every workshop. So, I did extra reading only for the topics that may be assessed in an essay format. Reading too much will almost certainly overcrowd your learning and slow you down.

So, what is important, is to read the right things. For example, you may consider reading only the core textbook chapters and only recommended case law or journal articles for any workshop prep. If you pick your resources carefully, you will be able to read at an advanced analytical level with minimum effort.

Meg only read the reading that was set out each week while studying and found this to be plentiful. However, when it came to doing assignments or coursework, Meg would use the reading that was set to explore other journal articles and books through the references at the bottom of the page. This would help to expand on the knowledge that was already learnt and to find more reputable authors and opinions that would help extend the arguments being made.

Notes

Your notes are your best friend. Make sure they are presentable and easy to read and, importantly, are written in a way that matches your learning style, whether it’s bullet pointing your thoughts, drawing tables or using spider diagrams. If you stay on top of things and create summaries and useful guides early on, your future self will thank you when it comes to revision.

The @thelegalnortherner is a fantastic example for this. Jordon, throughout the LLB and LPC, has spent time perfecting his layout and the way in which he likes his notes to look. Jordon was incredibly consistent with using the same formatting, fonts and highlights to make his work smart and easy to navigate.

An example can be seen below:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jordon Goodman (@thelegalnortherner)

@thelegalnorthener

This might not be for everyone but there are lots of great studies that have shown writing your notes in a form that stands out to you or that is aesthetically pleasing, can help you to remember the information and locate it in your long-term memory more easily!

Meg found typing her reading and notes helped to retain information and then after the prep, lecture and workshop would consolidate all her notes into one document for future use (blog article on revision techniques in more detail coming soon). Whereas I used to handwrite my notes and bullet point important points, as I remember and interact with the information better when I handwrite things down. So, try different methods and find what works best for you. 

Summaries

Writing summaries of key case law is a vital use of time. Understanding the facts of each case/reasoning behind judgments will help you to develop a deeper understanding of the subject matter to make stronger arguments in the essays and show a broader understanding of the law in the problem questions.

That said, you don’t have to always read the full law report unless the task specifically asks you to analyse reasoning behind the decision. Otherwise, read case digests first to give you a snapshot of what the case is all about and when you’re reading the judgment itself refer to subheadings or key word searches to navigate through the essential parts including (but not limited to) factual background, relevant law and the outcome.

Have a look at All About Law’s article on tips on how you can read statutes and cases to get the most out of them when writing essays and answering problem questions.

The article suggests that while headnotes are useful, it may be worth reading as much of the case as possible to understand legal reasoning, and potentially read similar cases to build stronger arguments. Again, it’s important that you constantly think about what works best for you.

Other resources

Use stick notes to help you navigate through your student guides and colour code everything.

We mean EVERYTHING: folders, notebooks, highlighters, key words etc. It is psychologically proven that if you match specific colours to certain topics you remember things better. This can even work with your music choices so stick on certain playlists when you are doing certain modules!

Our Founder’s secret to gaining top marks

Meg’s biggest studying secret is to record yourself reading your notes.

This will create useful snapshots that you can listen to at any point. You can listen to them while you are cooking dinner, while you are in the shower, walking to university or even in the gym. These recordings will allow for less study time and more socials too: win, win.

It may seem like quite a laboursome task at first but it really does help with consolidation and keeping your revision in the front of your mind.

AND LASTLY… DON’T JUST STUDY

It’s vital to do what you love and what brings you joy – dedicate some of your time to your favourite hobbies, get involved in extracurricular activities and volunteering opportunities and don’t forget to rest – give yourself an opportunity to recharge your batteries. I believe that dedicating time to my hobbies was one of the most important factors in my academic success because it helps to boost creativity and enhances productivity.

TO CONCLUDE

It is crucial to set up your mindset for success as early as possible in the study year. Identifying a learning style that works for you and using the right learning strategies will help you develop a growth mindset. Finding the best techniques to enrich your learning process will increase your mastery of new concepts and your motivation for lifelong learning which will lead to higher levels of achievement both at the university and, more generally, in your career.

There’s no one prescribed formula as to how you approach your studies – what works for one may not work for another as we are all unique in the way we approach doing things. But we hope that you found some useful tips that you may wish to implement and that they will help you to achieve your study goals, as well as allow you to spare more time for your hobbies. Remember, it’s crucial that you take time off from your studies. It will help you to work productively and achieve the goals you have set for yourself.

Useful stationery for lawyers

The best stationery to use for your legal studies 

For whatever level you are at in your legal studies, you need to have a fab selection of stationery! 

This means out with the old MacBook and in with the new BIC pens – kidding (kind of)… 

Stationary  

With legal studies, it is essential that you are organised. The level of organisation required does mean that you can’t get away with a chaotic spread of folders and documents on your laptop. Being meticulous at the beginning of university and creating a strong filing routine and system will help you out in the long run – even if it seems overwhelming in the beginning.  

Starting with the basics, it is good to have a selection of coloured original fine ballpoint BIC pens (or the like).  I found it super useful to write notes on printed paper with coloured ink and mark them up so it was easier to spot errors, proof-read effectively and improve my notes. I also found that using coloured pens made me concentrate more on what I was looking at, underling, noting down or editing.  

Some of my favourite study pens can be found here (standard black ink) and here (coloured pens).  

I also used highlighters to highlight my textbooks and other notes. It is really good to find a set that doesn’t run out easily or is very weak on the page so I suggest using these or these. The pastel and neon selection within the sets are so good and having a big pack of them means there are enough to colour code different modules (if you fancy going that far).  

Moving onto folders, I would have two folders for each module (in the same colour). This was great for keeping track of which module was what. I would have one for the main preparation and consolidatory work and then one for revision later in the term.  

I recommend A4 lever-arch folders for your main folders from brands like WHSmith or any standard supermarket as they have a great selection of colours, 50mm capacity and are affordable. It is helpful not to go for the cheapest folders for your core modules (as I am sure you are aware); lever-arched folders are prone to breaking so invest wisely!  Some great examples can be found here and here.  

Each topic would be divided by a coloured tab. I recommend these tabs and/or subject dividers, as they are easy to write on and easy to replace if you need to reorder your folders or make a mistake.  

Sticky tabs are hugely helpful for tabbing up your textbooks. If there is one thing I find extremely satisfying, it is tabbing! The sooner you embrace it the better – it is a great skill to have under your toolkit (such as bundling case files as a paralegal). I would use the same colour for the same topic and put the tabs in the same place so you would end up with a perfectly colour-coded textbook for important parts. If you do this as you go along, you will have a fantastic revision tool for those open book exams. 

I would definitely recommend getting plastic sticky tabs otherwise you may find the paper ones break off or crease – for example, these were great for my studies.  

Flashcards are really good for writing out case summaries and statutes. There are a wide range of flashcards to choose from. Coloured flashcards are softer on the eyes; especially for those who are dyslexic. Writing or typing notes in black ink onto white paper can be quite harsh and means the words move so if you find you struggle reading black text then try and find lightly coloured flashcards (this can even be a strategy for printing notes). Some great ones are these or these.  

Planners/timetables are amazing for keeping you organised and focused. Making lists and always making sure to have your deadlines scheduled into your laptop diary or planner is incredibly useful. I did write down my daily and weekly lists on a small notepad every day outlining what I needed to do. 

Some fantastic templates that you can print off can be found here.  

For my weekly plans (and as seen on @itsallhearsay), I use this planner.

However, I’ve recently switched to doing my lists on an app called Notion. This app is very good for keeping an electronic note of everything and can be accessed both on your phone and your laptop.  

Notebooks are great for consolidating your notes and revising. I wouldn’t go with any fancy or spenny here because what is important is getting your notes in consistently. Cheap and efficient notebooks are these and these.  

Having said that, some fantastic aesthetic and fantastic quality notebooks are The Lawyer’s Spot notebooks, which can be found here. These notebooks are for those that want their notes to look professional, sophisticated and put together!! 

The total spend for a good set of stationery (using the links we have implemented) would come to just under £150 for the year!!  

My journey to becoming a trainee solicitor

(9 minute read)

Hi! I am Meg Hulme. I am 25 years old and currently a second seat Trainee at an International Law Firm in London. I graduated from the University of Lincoln in 2017 with First Class Honours LLB. I then went on to take the LPC full time while working part time as a Paralegal for three years. After four years of training contract applications, I secured my training contract in 2019.  

Writing those last few sentences makes me incredibly proud! My journey to this point wasn’t the easiest (although certainly wasn’t the hardest) but I am very grateful for the experiences and perspectives I have gained. My journey has set me up with invaluable life lessons and I hope to explain a few of the best ones here.  

So, where to start?! 

At school, I didn’t take my GCSEs very seriously and I wasn’t very academic at all. I messed around a lot and enjoyed getting into trouble. This didn’t set me up well for A-Levels and I was very limited in my choices. However, as most things go, this worked out for the best.  

I am sure you can tell already; I didn’t know what I wanted to do in life. To be honest, I had never really given it much thought! When I was younger, I was very sporty. Between the ages of 3 and 10, I was a gymnast – training 16-24 hours a week. By the time I was 10, I was a County Gymnast. At this point, my parents were considering home schooling me and training me for the Olympics but as most things go when you are younger, I just fell out of love with it and gave up (oh, how different my life would have been if I had pursued that angle). I then became a dancer, partaking in many competitions and classes, I then went on to do athletics, Taekwon-do, swimming – the list goes on.  

At school, I was never interested in learning and felt that the only way to entertain myself was to argue with teachers. I got mediocre grades at GCSE and it wasn’t until my A-Levels that I realised I enjoyed subjects that focused on human behaviours and real-life application, such as: Psychology and Business Studies. My teacher at the time said that I would probably enjoy a career as a Lawyer, and something just clicked in me. Being limited in my options somehow set me up perfectly with all the requisite skills for pursuing a career in law. 

At the end of 2014, I became focused on pursing a legal career and headed to the University of Lincoln (a non-Russell Group University) to study Law. It may sound cliché but I found this experience extremely fulfilling and rewarding. I met fantastic people, got involved with lots of fun activities, made some truly wonderful memories all alongside securing a First Class degree.  

Securing the First Class Honours was tough, I spent countless nights in the library trying to prove that I was academic and committed to something. After becoming increasingly frustrated with my initial performance, I reached out to my university’s career services. My career services team referred me to do some testing and low and behold it turned out I was extremely dyslexic. It all started to make sense to me, as to why I couldn’t focus on school and why I was unable to do well in exams and assignments. I was very shocked to learn that I had been struggling all this time and, in reality, all I needed was the right help, extra time and some supportive software to help me excel. I also felt disappointed that through all the years of education, no one had been able to spot my dyslexia or provide me with the necessary tools but I guess that is what happens when you are labelled the ‘naughty kid’.   

After a few months of using my new learning techniques and equipment, I started to see results and I was able to retain information better and focus more. However, I had to do this all while working part-time at Nando’s to fund my degree and living costs and applying for training contracts. This was all very overwhelming to juggle (especially with all the rejections I received) but through dedication and a strong routine I came out the other side fighting. 

The application strategy I took while in second and third year was messy, aka non-existent. I applied to whatever firm I came across (infamously known as the scattergun approach) and certainly didn’t tailor each one or add unique perspectives. I just knew I wanted to be a lawyer in London and so that’s all the thought I gave to it. It was a copy and paste job and a poor one at that. I had no comprehension of the amount of time and effort each one should take and how each firm was very different but I put this down to how competitive the industry seemed to be and the lack of information available. At this time, I found a lot of people within the industry to be extremely unhelpful and unwilling to assist others (even after they had made it themselves).  I felt alone and all the time was completely ignorant to what I was doing or how the application process worked. Nevertheless, I kept using the same approach and received rejection after rejection after rejection.  

This was so disheartening. I had finally found my purpose and yet I was being struck down time after time again. There were many tears and tantrums and it felt like I would never get there. Yet, I was finally committed to proving that I could see something through. It seemed I had finally found some luck in my second year of university when I got through to the final interview stage at Slaughter and May. I was absolutely beside myself to finally have a win and see my application get through to the next stages (especially at a Magic Circle firm). However, I went into this interview embarrassingly underprepared and completely blew it for myself, which sent me spirally back to square one. 

You can see from this journey so far that I really did find my feet and settle into my personality at university and despite the barriers and knock backs, all of these new life skills set me up perfectly with resilience and the drive to propel all my focus and determination into securing a training contract. I just had to pick myself up and keep moving forward. 

In pursuing my aspirations to be in a City firm, in 2017, I made the brave decision to move to London and take the LPC at the University of Law (Moorgate) full-time without securing a training contract or any prospect of a vacation scheme, as I was certain a career in law was for me. Crazy right?! I knew that this was a steppingstone that had to be completed and I wasn’t going to wait. For most, this may seem illogical due to the student debt and finances involved but I was so sure that it would all work out for the best (and it really did… which I will come back to later).  

To help with the initial cost, I transferred my role at Nando’s to the Canary Wharf branch and worked as many hours as I could over the summer to save up some money. I used this experience to start networking, as luckily, this Nando’s was located directly under Clifford Chance… this set me up with the perfect opportunity to subtly try out my networking skills with those lawyers that would come down on their lunch breaks. Everyone I met was very supportive and I even got a couple of email addresses to send some questions to. I am a big believer of creating your own opportunities and this experience showcases that you do not need to have legal work experience to gain skills, it’s all about outlook and perspective. You can turn anything into a springboard if you think about it carefully enough (my gymnastics skills also taught me that). I then applied for a couple of summer placements and was lucky enough to find a three-month temporary contract at an investment bank in St Paul’s. This was the perfect taster of what working in the city was like. 

In September 2017, I gained my first paralegal role through LinkedIn. After many applications, speculative emails and job searching I found myself ranting about the disparities in the recruitment processes and asking for advice on what industry professionals thought I was missing.  Luckily, someone reached out to me in the comments and asked me to come to an interview. A huge lesson was learnt; LinkedIn is a very powerful tool and shouldn’t be underestimated. I was over the moon to have secured this role, in a Private Client Firm in Stoke Newington and this really kick started the next chapter of my journey. I bet you are wondering how did I find that? Well, all I can say is that I did really underestimate the intensity of completing the LPC full-time alongside working as a Paralegal. This year was extremely hard for me and, in hindsight, even I am not quite sure how I managed to see it through. 

Following the completion of my LPC in June 2018, I finessed my CV and signed up to some recruitment agencies, as I wanted to find a commercial firm closer to the city. I was not prepared for the fight I had to have with the representatives of these agencies. Many would say they would keep me updated with any roles that came up but would then ignore my emails and forget about me along with the endless other applicants. It took various phone calls to prove my worth, demonstrating my experience and being confident in my own work ethic for any of them to start considering me. Once I had drilled down into why I deserved the opportunity, I soon started getting notified of exciting opportunities.  

One that piqued my interest was a Tax Litigation Paralegal at Mishcon de Reya. I certainly wasn’t interested in Tax (nor was I interested in Private Client at the previous firm) but I recognised the importance of getting your foot in the door and Mishcon was an upcoming household name. This seemed like a very smart career move and boy was I right! I absolutely loved my time at Mishcon. I spent two and a half years moving around the departments and being exposed to brilliant lawyers, exciting clients and high value matters. The skills and experiences I learnt at this stage were truly invaluable and I am so grateful for the time I spent there.  

Having the routine of working as a paralegal helped me to really concentrate on my training contract applications. I had been unsuccessful for many years prior to this but all because I hadn’t really applied myself. As mentioned before, I was going through the motions without much direction and becoming a paralegal helped me to develop that direction. I was lucky enough to be supported by my team and given unofficial mentoring by some of my colleagues.  

Throughout 2018, I attended lots of open days, networking events and started working on my personal branding through LinkedIn. I researched many, many firms and started to draw up a criteria of what I wanted in a law firm. I started to think carefully about my skills and experiences and how I could showcase these effectively on my applications and importantly how they linked to my chosen firm. I started to sell myself and present key facts as to why I stood out from the other applicants. I demonstrated in-depth research covering areas that were unique and personal to me. I started to land some interviews and then assessment centres and then vacation schemes. My new improved tactics were working and I was developing a greater understanding of the process as time went on; all making me a more refined applicant. Each stage I got through to made me a better and more refined candidate.  

However, the rejections didn’t stop. Some firms would like me and progress me to the second and third stages and some firms would reject me at the first stage. It was confusing and irritating but I soon learnt that it was a two-way street. I had to like the firm and the firm had to like me and when it was a match was when I was successful. It was a bitter pill to swallow that some of my favourite firms didn’t like me but that is just the way things work and you can’t always get what you want. It becomes a bit of a compromise but things do work out well and sometimes better than you ordinarily thought because how do you really know what firms you like if you haven’t worked there? The other angle is that training contracts are not the end of your career and when you are qualified, you become an asset to the market, therefore, if you work hard, you can have the ability to move to whatever firm you want – there are always other options!  

During the summer of 2019, I landed two vacation schemes, one of them being at the firm I am at now. I had two two-week placements back-to-back and the experience was deeply tiring and intense. I felt like this was my last shot to get a training contract and had set myself an ultimatum of securing one this cycle or choosing a different career path.  

I waited nearly two months for a decision on both vacation schemes and I was at the end of my tether one day, ranting to my poor boyfriend about the anxiety and despair I was feeling being left in the dark this long. It was at that very moment; I received THE phone call that confirmed all the tears had been worth it. I had finally bagged myself a training contract and at a great firm. It was all worth it! The relief and sheer happiness I felt in this moment cannot be put into words. I finally did it!  

Now, coming back to the point I raised earlier about taking my LPC without securing a training contract (I bet you had forgotten just like I nearly had), this huge risk was about to be cashed in some two years later. Not only had I secured a training contract but I had also been bumped up the list to start a year earlier than I had originally applied for; all because I was ready to go. I no longer had to wait an agonising two years to start my next chapter – what a bonus! The life lesson here was that sometimes the reward will not always be immediately obvious but making the right decisions and doing what is best for you and your objectives will always put you on the right path.  

I guess a long story short is that even though the journey was bumpy, I made it in the end, I didn’t give up and it was all worth the wait. Each rejection gave me something to work and reflect on and ultimately made me a better candidate. The time it took in getting a training contract allowed me to earn money and build up my skills as a paralegal. This was helpful in helping me to hit the ground running when starting at my new firm as a trainee solicitor. The resilience built up my character and made me into who I am today.  

Without all of these experiences, I would not have been able to be a good mentor, a helpful tutor or set up It’s All Hearsay with the purpose of giving back, sharing my perspectives, providing tips and tricks I picked up along the way and help those in the position that I once was.  

I now hope to motivate and inspire other aspiring lawyers to chase their career dreams and hopefully get there with a few less hiccups. Because if I can do it, then you can too. 

If you need any help or would like to speak about your journey in detail, please do send me a DM on Instagram. I am always happy to chat! 

Best of luck 

Meg 

Law Firm Research and Comparison Table

My team and I have created a law firm research table in order to not only help you identify the detail but also really up your research game for both applications and interviews.

Research is probably one of the most important things, as an applicant, and it can really make you stand out if done correctly. Therefore, we have included as much as we can to really give you the ultimate law firm crib sheet.

Some of the information we ask might not be readily available; don’t panic! This table can also act as a gaps list and a question prompter. If you struggling to find something then ask for further information at interview or use it to weigh up pros and cons about your chosen firm – it could be very telling why some information is not published on their website…

The Comparison table is a helpful tool for you to be able to spot patterns and start to form likes and dislikes between the firms you are applying to.

We hope this helps in narrowing your ideas and helping you to find things that other candidates might not know!

Let us know your thoughts 🙂

Download the resource

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Link to the word version:

Processing…

Success! You're on the list.

Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.

firm-research-resource-and-comparison-table-word-1Download

Link to the pdf version:

firm-research-resource-and-comparison-table-pdf-2Download