This week we have a guest blog post by Evie Miller. Evie Miller is a second-year Law with Philosophy student at the University of Liverpool, who is working on developing practical legal skills in preparation for her legal career. She is particularly interested by Intellectual Property law, which stems from her study of epistemology in her philosophy modules. Evie has gained experience through working at her university law clinic, volunteering and completing a ‘Not Your Average Law’ placement with AWAY Wills. She shares insights to help fellow students develop their commercial awareness, skills and confidence for a career in law.
You can find Evie on Linkedin at Evie Miller | LinkedIn
Breaking into the legal profession feels increasingly difficult each year. Law feels like one of the most competitive paths out there, sometimes even more so than investment banking or medicine. At the beginning of university, I thought that law firms were looking for a good degree and a bit of work experience. This isn’t enough, law firms are looking for people who already think like junior lawyers. In this blog post, I am going to share six practical skills that you can start developing now to become ready for a legal career.
Figuring Out What It Takes to Become a Trainee/ Paralegal
Much of this is left to you to find out by completing your own research at university. That means you should study firms as if they are university modules and find out what they are looking for in a trainee. The reality is that a trainee solicitor is a huge investment for a firm. They fund your SQE and then provide two years of training during your seats in the hopes that you will become an excellent solicitor for them. The nature of it means that it’s essential for applicants to have a deep understanding of the firm’s values, business sectors and current work to stand out and be successful.
Six Practical Things You Need and How to Develop Them
- Commercial Awareness:
- The classic one. This can be developed by signing up for commercial awareness newsletters that come into your inbox and give you a breakdown of weekly news stories and how they affect law firms. Little Law and the Commercial Awareness Compass are good for this! However, don’t stop at reading them. Create a commercial awareness journal to note down what you have learnt and how firms are affected, you can tailor this to specific firms for your applications. Finally, follow TikTok accounts that give commercial awareness updates to ensure you are also passively developing the skill.
- Knowledge of the Firm:
- Set out some criteria that you are looking for in a firm and use this to assess them in your research. It’s not about designing an application to make it look like you align with the firm, it’s about finding a firm that truly matches your values and you as a person. Use the firm’s website to research their values, practice areas and DEI/ ESG initiatives to see if you’d be a good fit. Use LinkedIn to reach out to people who have already secured training contracts/ placements with the firm and ask them about their application experience and why they chose to apply. Research on Legal Cheek as this is a good indicator of what work-life balance is like at a law firm! Make sure you know who they partner with for the SQE and whether they want you to take it through one day a week study or if they want you to complete it full-time before commencing training. It is as much as about whether you feel like the firm is for you as it is about whether the firm think you are a good fit for them.
- Initiative:
- Thinking for yourself is hugely important, you don’t want to come across as someone who just follows instructions without thinking. As an aspiring solicitor, showing initiative is about identifying needs and taking action without being asked. A great way to show this is to identify a gap in the field and create something that provides a solution. Maybe your university doesn’t have a successful mentoring scheme, a student-run newsletter or good resources to help you write a legal CV. Organise something to fix this! Another way is to get involved with projects that already exist. I would recommend branching out into different areas, I volunteer with a gardening group who maintain my university’s green spaces.
- Dispute Resolution:
- You probably already have this skill without even knowing it. Part-time jobs are a great way to showcase dispute resolution. Working in any customer facing role will present you with problems that you need to provide solutions for. If you haven’t got a job, volunteer somewhere. This will show that you care enough about something to give up your free time for it and volunteering will help develop the skills that you usually get from part-time employment.
- Time Management:
- Law students have a multitude of tasks to get on with at any given moment. To deal with this, I track my motivation and productivity levels to find out the best time to do work. For me, I know I work better in the morning, so I pick up later shifts at my part time job to allow for this. I assign certain days to certain areas of my work to ensure that nothing is getting left behind. You can also show this skill by demonstrating all the extra-curriculars and careers-related activities you do and highlighting how you balance these with your studies. Pick between digital and analogue planning and do your best to stay consistent with one of them. Don’t attempt to do both, I made this mistake last year and ended up with two half planners which did not add up!
- Networking:
- Build a LinkedIn presence and connect with your peers from university and sixth form. When firms hold open evenings, go along and listen to the people working there. Showing up and putting yourself out there is the most important thing you can do. Connect with the people you speak with to follow up and thank them for their advice. Maintain relationships with people and show them that you value the time they have taken to speak to you. They will appreciate this so much more than a message asking for work experience and be much more willing to help! Use sites like Connectr, they give you the opportunity to message mentors who are already working in your target law firms. I would also recommend Zero Gravity.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully this post has provided a clearer idea of the practical skills you need to be ready for a career in law. My own experience with networking has been speaking with Trainee Solicitors and Paralegals all the way up to Managing Partners. Everyone has been approachable, interested in my journey and incredibly helpful. Building a practical skillset won’t happen overnight, but now you have somewhere to start. The best actions to take are improving on your skills, showing up and venturing outside your comfort zone.