How To Get A Law Training Contract
There’s competition at every stage of a law career. Find out how to stay a step ahead and learn about getting a training contract with this blog.
Law is a competitive subject. From getting on to your university degree course, studying for your postgraduate qualification, and then getting that crucial training contract, there’s competition at every stage. For each available training contract there may be hundreds of applicants, so not everyone is statistically guaranteed to land a law training contract.
Ultimately, the best way to increase your chances of getting a training contract is to ensure that your grades, extracurricular activities and verbal reasoning performance tests demonstrate your commitment to the profession and make you stand out.
Find out what you should do before trying to get a training contact with the help of this article.
Build knowledge of the market
Knowledge of ongoing high-profile legal cases will help you to impress employers in your application as well as at interview. Having this knowledge proves that you are aware and interested in the law sector and demonstrates that you have put the time in to carry out your research.
You should have specific case examples ready to talk about depending on the area of law you are interested in. Choosing cases on a local, national, and international level means you’ll have a variety of examples to draw from.
Use websites like law.com, BBC Business, City A.M. and The Financial Times for research and interview prep on current affairs. Read around the topic and take notes in the run up to your interview so it is easier to remember them. It’s also possible to add Google alerts to your phone so that you can be notified with updates on topics you are interested in.
Be self-aware
Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses and work out how you can address your weaknesses to make them strengths. Becoming self-aware will help you to write your applications in a way that maximises the leverage you gain from your skills.
As with many other career paths, it’s helpful to build your soft skills like perseverance, attention to detail, time management, dedication, and communication, as well as strengthening vocational skills. Building resilience is also important: in the interview, stay still, calm and collected and remember what you know. Believe in what you are saying and make sure you speak clearly and with confidence to impress the interviewer.
If you find yourself getting stressed during your preparation, research organisational and workflow techniques to help you stay focused and calm under pressure.
Build experience
Experience relevant to your training contract application does not have to be directly in law – commercial experience or charity experience can provide real world insights and general commercial awareness which is valuable on applications. There are several ways you can build your relevant experience before pursuing a training contract.
Paralegal work
Paralegals are responsible for supporting solicitors, barristers and legal executives in research, negotiations, project management, document drafting and admin.
Working as a paralegal can build confidence and legal skills, give good workplace experience, and provide you with contacts in the legal world to help you build your network.
Do a legal internship
Internships or summer vacation schemes can help you to prove that you are serious about a career in law.
Legal interns will work in an in-house legal department within a large company, they will be involved in a variety of tasks like proofreading documents, attending meetings, document management and drafting correspondence and legal documents.
Perfect your application
Finally, make sure your cover letter and answers to questions are well structured and easy to read. Check spelling and grammar and proofread for mistakes. Employ the use of a friend to double check the application before you send it off.
Before your training contract application email is sent off, check who you should address the application to, so that you have somebody to follow up with if you don’t get an immediate response.
After your interview, follow up with the panel by sending a thank you note via email or letter to leave a good impression.
To find out more about our law courses: www.bpp.com/courses/law
