Gaining legal experience

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Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment is an online legal recruitment agency for lawyers. The website has a vacancy database, a candidate database, over 100 pages of detailed information on careers, CVs, interviews, and advice on how to be recruited and interviewed by a good law firm. There is also a section on the recruitment and retention of staff for legal employers. The company donates 10% of its profits every year to charity - hence its name - and over 3,800 solicitors and legal executives have registered with them since 2000.

Each week, Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment will answer one of your randomly selected career questions. To ask a question, email your question to careers@traineesolicitor.co.uk.

Here's this week's question:

"Some advice on the following would be much appreciated. Thank you!

I have just completed my Law degree and have moved back home from university. In the town I live, and in the surrounding areas, I have access to a number of high street firms. I want to do my LPC next year, and in the meantime I want to gain some legal work experience. I was thinking of sending off some speculative C.V.s to a selection of firms, and although I would appreciate the experience (as I don't have very much!), I would more than welcome any suitable legal work with a salary! Now, how do I politely convey this in a covering letter for a speculative application? Any ideas??

Also, unfortunately I only got a 2.2 for my degree. This was due to me having a medical condition, which meant I was unable to attend lectures and seminars at all for my final two years at university. How do I convey mitigating circumstances in a C.V. or covering letter etc.? I would like a potential employer to bear this in mind as I know I was capable of a much better mark but due to illness I was not able to perform to my full potential, and do not want to be (automatically) rejected (as some firms do) for obtaining marks lower than an upper second class qualification.

Thank you all in advance!

Kind regards,

Sajda"

Response

Firstly, have a read of our guide to obtaining work experience and training contracts. I can point to anecdotal evidence of it working, having been in practice and taking on work experience students as a result of the method, but also from my own experiences many years ago! You can find it at this link:

http://www.ten-percent.co.uk/Advice_for ... ntract.pdf

Make sure you visit http://www.solicitors-online.com and get details of all the firms in the area. It is very important to draw up a plan of action, and ensure that you have a method to your approach. Write a letter to each firm, explaining what ***** you are at, and what you are looking for (covering letter should contain no waffle and not more than 4 paragraphs). Your CV should have a quick note on it to say what you are looking for as well.

Forget earning money in legal posts from the outset - the aim has to be longer term and in the interests of your legal career - if you are looking to get paid from the start, you are probably better going for casual work. Perhaps fit both in - legal during the week, and non-legal at weekends. If you can type, register with Office Angels, Pertemps and the like, as you may get links to law firms that way as well.

Once you have written, follow the advice in our guide above - ie call each firm, turn up at each firm - 99.9% of graduates and LPC students will not do this - too scared etc.. - so you will immediately have a rather dramatic advantage.

Re your 2.2 - I was lecturing at Huddersfield Uni this week to their LPC students about CV preparation, and the issue came up - I strongly advise not mentioning any illnesses on your CV or during interview and using this as an excuse, even if it genuinely was. The difficulty is that when you are selected or interviewed, you will be remembered as the person who had x illness, rather than the person with an interest in commercial work and captain of her local netball team. Harsh, but unfortunately fairly important. A 2.2 is not the end of the world - although it will make life a lot harder...

You can also visit our website with over 100 pages of careers advice and articles for law graduates and paralegals on a whole range of topics. Legal recruitment consultants only tend to be able to assist experienced fee earners, but it may be that we are able to help you as a candidate with your experience to date.

Good luck with your search.

Jonathan Fagan


Jonathan Fagan LLM MREC Cert RP is the Founder and Managing Director, and is a non-practising solicitor with over 7 years experience as a legal recruitment consultant. He has personally advised and prepared CVs for many 100's of solicitors and law graduates, and has assisted lawyers throughout their careers to date.