LAW CAREERS SEMINARS

for second-year studentsNo. 2, 22nd November 2011

Jenny Keaveney, Careers Advisory Service

The slides from this presentation are available atwww.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm

A TASTE OF THE WORLD OF WORK

• Vacation work - including solicitors’ summer schemes; mini-pupillages

• The value of vacation work• How to find firms offering vacation work• What past Law graduates from Kent have

gone on to - and how they can help you• What else can you do with a law degree?• Postgraduate academic study (a brief

look)

Why vacation work?What sort of vacation work experience

can I get in law?Which firms run vacation placements?When and where are they available?How much will I be paid?What will I be expected to do?How do I find a summer vacation

placement?When should I start applying?What is a mini-pupillage?What should I do if I can't get a

placement?

WHY VACATION WORK?

• To look good on future application forms, showing employers:

- that you have some knowledge of law in practice

- that you are motivated towards a career in law

• To help you decide whether or not a career in law is right for you

• To earn money• To get to know people within the legal

profession and make contacts

THE IMPORTANCE OF VACATION

WORK • A study of College of Law students showed that:

– 92% of students enrolled on the LPC who had not obtained a training contract before the start of the course had no previous legal work experience …

– but only 24% of students enrolled on the LPC who had obtained a training contract before the start of the course had no previous legal work experience

• Lack of legal work experience can lead to:– Difficulty in making choices; weak focus in

applications;– Employers questioning your commitment to the

profession and your understanding of law in practice

WHAT SORT OF VACATION WORK EXPERIENCE CAN I GET IN LAW?

Summer placements with solicitors' firms Mini-pupillages Work for in-house law departments, etc Work in other jurisdictions

WHEN AND WHERE CAN I DO A VACATION PLACEMENT?

HOW MUCH WILL I BE PAID?

WHAT WILL I BE EXPECTED TO DO ON A VACATION

PLACEMENT?Legal research

• “analysing a clause from the Takeover Code, writing a company search report”

• “researching various aspects of hedge funds”

• “business development research, in particular opportunities for the firm in Brazil”

• “During my week in Hong Kong, I did some research into high-frequency training and the warrants market”

• “put together and circulated the weekly tax update in which I briefly summarised relevant new cases, legislation and articles”

WHAT WILL I BE EXPECTED TO DO ON A VACATION

PLACEMENT?Drafting

• “an email I drafted on behalf of a partner was sent directly to the client, Deutsche Bank, with no alterations needed”

• “drafting fund administration documents”

• “I drafted letters to major fashion houses and helped to amend agreements”

• “researched and drafted a client letter on a tricky charity law query”

• “I drafted a chronology of events preceding arbitration proceedings arising from the sale of defective steel”

WHAT WILL I BE EXPECTED TO DO ON A VACATION

PLACEMENT?Support work

• “proof-reading”

• “took and distributed the minutes of a departmental meeting”

• “compiling documents for the assignment of trademarks from one company to another”

• “I helped organise leases and documents to send to clients and this, while less exciting than other work I undertook, gave me an honest and complete picture of the life of a trainee and was much preferable to being given unnecessary tasks to keep me busy”

WHAT WILL I BE EXPECTED TO DO ON A VACATION

PLACEMENT?Project work

• “a mock trial was held based on an actual case involving patent infringement and synthetic grass”

• “a client pitch project, as part of which we interviewed people from across the firm, including heads of group and even the CEO

• “we were involved in a mock case throughout the two weeks, representing rival clients in a contentious probate matter”

• “I took on the role of finance editor of the vacation scheme guide”

• “preparing a pitch for a meeting – the Pharoah listened to our plans for her new pyramid with great interest!”

WHAT WILL I BE EXPECTED TO DO ON A VACATION

PLACEMENT?Visit:

• Courts

• City institutions – Lloyds, the Stock Exchange etc

• Other offices of your firm (Paris and Brussels

anybody?)

• The House of Lords

• Legal advice centres

• Clients

WHAT WILL I BE EXPECTED TO DO ON A VACATION

PLACEMENT?Have fun!

• “A lasting highlight will be seeing several senior associates wearing kneepads and hairnets while racing Segways”

• “an evening at the Comedy Store”

• “a wine tasting in Clifton village, a pub quiz, crazy golf and a BBQ overlooking the Clifton Suspension Bridge”

• “A surprise evening that involved designing and making structures from melted chocolate (and eating a bit too)”

• Curry nights, pub quizzes, drinks parties, softball, comedy nights, go-karting, treasure hunts, karaoke, barbeques ….

HOW DO I FIND A SUMMER VACATION PLACEMENT?

Some useful information sources:• Law Careers Net www.lawcareers.net and the

Training Contract & Pupillage Handbook• Target Jobs http://targetjobs.co.uk/law and

Target Work Experience Law• Chambers & Partners Student Guide

www.chambersstudent.co.uk/

Links to all the above from: www.kent.ac.uk/careers/siteslaw.htm

WHEN SHOULD I START APPLYING?

NOW!

Many deadlines for summer schemes are at the end ofJanuary or February.

Applications may be handledon a first-come-first servedbasis.

As we will see next week, application forms for these schemes take time.

HOW MANY PLACEMENTS SHOULD I DO?

• No set rules - 3 a good number to aim for

• Try and get a variety of experience - inside and outside the legal profession; with solicitors firms (of different kinds) and at the Bar

• Placements are not only available in summer, or only in vacations ..

PLACEMENTS IN SMALLER FIRMS

• Less likely to be advertised• More flexible – may range from a couple of days

to a couple of months• Often unpaid• Do not usually offer a structured programme –

may be lots of general office work!• “Small” does not have to equal “high-street”

there are plenty of small (or “niche”) commercial firms

• Make speculative approaches to firms – use www.solicitors-online.com to find local firms

WHAT IS A MINI-PUPILLAGE?

• Work experience in Chambers, normally lasting up to one week

• Usually unpaid• May be assessed or unassessed• Usually work-shadowing• Some structured mini-pupillages

provide a programme of experience, project work and social activities

My first encounter was sitting in on a conference with clients. I had twenty minutes to read the case papers, which is normal for a mini-pupil. Luckily the point is to let you know what everyone will be talking about, and not to test your knowledge! Like every other mini-pupillage experience, the conference itself was a chance to see the professionals in action, and hopefully notice some of the methods used to get the information they need or to explain the situation to the clients.  Following other members of Chambers to court is one of the highlights of anyone’s mini-pupillage. It’s the ideal chance to see varying styles of advocacy. Plus, mini-pupils usually get to hear what is said between the barristers and their clients before, during and after the proceedings.

WHAT HAPPENS IN A MINI-PUPILLAGE?

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I CAN'T GET A PLACEMENT?

1) Other ways to gain an insight into law - in term-time as well as vacations

Work shadowing Open Days and law fairs Law Clinic, Citizens’ Advice Bureau, etc Marshalling Personal involvement in legal issues

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I CAN'T GET A PLACEMENT?

2) Non-law vacation work is useful too!

Industrial, commercial or financial employers

Voluntary organisations Work with children Work abroad Anything!

WHAT WILL FIRMS THINK?

“If you have been employed scrubbing pots in a hot sticky kitchen we can see that you have resilience” (Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft)

“We are aware that students can’t always afford to spend a month doing unpaid work experience or shadowing, therefore we value other activities like stacking supermarket shelves”

(Stevens & Bolton)

WHAT ELSE CAN I DO WITH A LAW DEGREE?

WHAT DID 2010 LAW GRADUATES DO?

Parabis ParalegalTemple Court Chambers Chambers Assistant

Ortega-Medina Legal AssistantPwC Legal Client Services Administrator Laura Devine Solicitors Legal Assistant Castilla-La Mancha Univ. European Legal AssistantLaw Firm (Birmingham) Immigration Caseworker

Some were working in a legal role or in the legal profession ….

WHAT DID 2010 LAW GRADUATES DO?

Fisher House Library LibrarianKent County Council Engagement Support OfficerMAP Environmental Executive Ass’t - MarketingChantrey Vellacott Trainee Chartered AccountanySaga Marketing ExecutiveBruin Financial ResearcherNHS Deputy Info Governance ManagerC. Hoare Private Bank Graduate TraineeJon Glass Consultancy Researcher

… and others weren’t – or were they??

SOME CAREERS USING LAW without needing to qualify as a solictor or

barrister

• THE LAW COMMISSION

• LEGAL EXECUTIVE• PARALEGAL• LICENSED

CONVEYANCER

• TAX ADVICE

• TEACHING• INFORMATION WORK• LEGAL PUBLISHING• POLICE WORK• PROBATION WORK• PERSONNEL WORK

For more ideas and information, see the booklet "Careers for Law Graduates outside the Legal

Profession“www.kent.ac.uk/careers/pdf/lawalternatives.pdf

HOW USEFUL IS A LAW DEGREE OUTSIDE THE LEGAL

PROFESSION?

"The ability to digest a large volume of numerical and

written/verbal data in order to be left with only the

relevant information is invaluable in most business

disciplines and is developed within a law degree"

Business Analyst: Telecomms Company

"I rely strongly on my degree, especially my knowledge of

case law and employment law. I find that new developments

in law, such as the Disability Discrimination Act, are easy to

understand and follow and I am confident in giving advice"

Human Resources Officer, Textiles Manufacturing Co.

HOW USEFUL IS A LAW DEGREE OUTSIDE THE LEGAL

PROFESSION?"My degree has been very useful … it means I have experience of

looking at legislation and interpreting it. Tax involves lots of legal issues and requires referring frequently to statute law and case law"

Trainee Chartered Accountant

"My degree has helped in being able to communicate with lawyers in finding out residents' rights, which I feel I can research comfortably, and agencies take me seriously because of the letters after my name"

Project Worker, Womens' Refuge

"We need people with the ability to argue their case well and the sense to know when to stop arguing - lawyers are very good at this!"

Recruitment Manager, large blue-chip company

POSTGRADUATE STUDY

POSTGRADUATE ACADEMIC STUDY

• Different types of postgraduate study• You can continue your study of Law in

more depth or move into a new area• Funding is usually difficult• Apply at the beginning of your final year• Think about why you want to do PG

study and its implications in future

TAUGHT MASTERS DEGREES

• Higher degrees by taught course & dissertation• MA, LLM, etc• Length: one calendar year (September - September)• Seminars, coursework and exams over the academic

year• Followed by a dissertation prepared over the summer• May focus on a specific area of law (or other

subjects) or may allow considerable choice of options

POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH DEGREES

• M.Phil or PhD• Length: from one year for Masters to

at least three for PhD• Work independently to prepare a

thesis• Your supervisor will advise and guide

- who you choose is very important• Original research expected

FINDING OUT MORE• Prospects Postgrad

www.prospects.ac.uk/links/PGdbase; • www.postgrad.com • www.llmstudy.com

• Careers Advisory Service website www.kent.ac.uk/careers/postgradmenu.htm

• Careers Advisory Service presentation – Postgraduate study in humanities and social sciencesTuesday 29th November, 1.00 pm, KLT5

SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!

For advice on making successful applications for vacation work and training contracts

Careers Advisory ServiceOpening hours: 9am - 5pmMonday - Friday

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers