What law firms are looking for from new recruits. A survey of would-be lawyers has revealed the next generation has high expectations of the legal profession, with prospective trainees looking for both career advancement and work-life balance.
Legal Cheek » Incorrect tweet forces BPP to reveal how many of its grads bagged training contracts. Lawyer2B has a piece today detailing the employment rates of the biggest Legal Practice Course (LPC) providers.
For some reason, BPP Law School, the University of Law and City Law School have provided figures only for the percentage of their students who have found “legal work” six months after graduation, declining to reveal how many obtained actual training contracts (although the University of Law says that “around two thirds of those LPC graduates who had secured legal employment had a training contract”). As it happens, we know the full breakdown of the BPP figures. Hopefully, revealing it will encourage the other law schools to come forward and tell people exactly how many of their LPC graduates bagged training contracts… First, some brief background.
In May BPP published some “research” claiming that 89% of its LPC graduates had gained training contracts or other legal work within three months of graduating. Which doesn’t seem so bad. What law firms are looking for from new recruits. Being a lawyer involves more then legal knowledge, so get into the habit of reading the business pages.
Photograph: Mark Lennihan/AP. The Lex 100 student guide to law. Welcome to our monthly updated section featuring Q&A sessions with our regular panel of top UK law firm representatives, who'll tackle any topic to do with graduate recruitment, applications, interviews, training contracts, vacation schemes and much more.
If you have a question we haven't covered, just drop us a line, or tweet us @TheLex100, and we'll keep it in mind. If New Year’s Resolutions are your thing, what can you decide to do in your spare time in 2015 in order to develop new skills and strengthen your CV? Click here to meet our expert panel. What importance is placed on my extra curricular activities? Gemma Trott HR Officer, Graduate Recruitment Ashurst "Extra-curricular activities are crucial in shaping a candidate.
Applying for a training contract? Read this first. When are corporate law firms looking for gags on the application form?
Photograph: Frank Baron for the Guardian What skills do you believe you would need to have as a commercial lawyer? Firstly, commercial lawyers need to be good at exams, because without decent A-level and university grades they won't get through a firm's first round application form sift. They don't, however, need to be geniuses. AAB and a high-ish 2.1 from a Russell Group university, augmented by a bunch of extra-curricular achievements, is usually enough. Almost as important as the grades is that wannabes are comfortable being part of a big institution. Another key attribute is a capacity to defer gratification.
Plus, with many firms now boasting dozens of foreign offices, corporate law offers some of the best opportunities for travel of any career outside the aviation industry. Ultimate Law Guide - Apply yourself - application forms. Application forms are often long, exacting and daunting to begin, and this is why you must treat the application forms like a rigorous piece of coursework; in terms of the level of research and preparation that is involved in completing a quality application to a law firm.
Ultimate Law Guide believe application forms are challenging for the simple fact that they reflect the competitive and demanding (albeit worthwhile) nature of the legal profession. Law firms receive thousands of applications by students, for only a handful of places, so they can afford to be selective. Once you have completed one quality application, the rest become easier, so it is worth taking your time when drafting training contract application forms. You should aim to provide the graduate recruiter with infallible evidence on why they should choose to recruit you above any other candidate. This helps you stand out from the crowd, because many students fail to submit applications without errors. 1. 2. 3. 4.
LC.N's guide to formal writing - Features. According to recruiters, too many applications are let down by sloppy writing skills.
Read on for a quick crash course in the precise parlance of formal application writing. Shakespeare made up words, spelt his name however he pleased and is still praised for his mastery of language. However, if his CV was written along those lines today, every law firm would bin his application. All recruiters say the same; simple errors in spelling and grammar derail otherwise-competitive applications. Most hopefuls are no doubt able to spell to an acceptable standard, but despite continual reinforcement of the importance of good writing, simple mistakes are easy to make (and miss) when you're feeling under pressure and having to think about other things. Equally important is the tone in which you write your applications.
If you're not as confident with the rules of the writing game as you could be, read on. Spelling Let's start with the basics. Best of British Use British spellings, not American.