Application season is upon us, and the Hughes Hall Law Society gathered a few resources to help students in their first steps to a law career.
Insight and Vacation scheme opportunities
The best place to find opportunities is on a firm’s graduate recruitment website, however, there are a lot of firms out there, so I recommend Legal Cheek and All About Law (links below) for a comprehensive list of opportunities available.
https://www.legalcheek.com/key-deadlines-calendar/
https://www.allaboutlaw.co.uk/law-jobs/vacation-schemes
Law fairs are also a great resource and an opportunity to let the firms see your face and for you to gather information about them that you may not otherwise find online.
Cambridge careers team – Law fairs
In-person Fair – Tuesday 18 October 13:00 – 17:00
Virtual Fair – Wednesday 19 October 13:00 – 15:00
Barristers Event – Thursday 24th November – 12:30 – 15:30
Other career fairs:
Legal Cheek virtual law fair – 11 October, 22 November – 14:00-17:00
Application Tips
The top pieces of advice that have been given by graduate recruitment for applications are the following:
- Know the firm.
- It is better to submit ten well-researched applications than to have one hundred mediocre applications. (If you can do one hundred great applications though it will definitely help!) Try attending some events with legal cheek for firms you are interested in.
- https://www.legalcheek.com/events/
- Or, if you join (for a membership fee), Cambridge University Law Society (CULS) also hosts events with firms where you have the opportunity to mingle and ask questions.
- Personalise your applications and cover letters.
- When asked a question in an application, try to include a case that the firm has worked on in your answer. But remember you could be interviewed by someone who worked on that case, so don’t exaggerate your knowledge, also be sure that the office you are working at handled that case. For example, if you are applying to London, don’t use a case from the New York office.
- Don’t be tempted to copy your cover letter and add the firm’s name. Many recruiters now use software to see how many times you mention the firm in your cover letter. To try and catch these ones out. We have heard embarrassing stories of the forgotten “Insert name here” or a wrong firm name used in a cover letter. This is sure to spoil your chances.
- Proofread. Proofread and proofread again!
- Shearman and Sterling announced at their application workshop that they stop reading when they see an application error. Errors include spelling and grammar, leaving questions unanswered, checking a box but not completing the additional information required etc.
- Therefore, you must read the application carefully and triple-check for mistakes. You don’t want an amazing application to be wasted because you misspelt it chremistry! (That is a real example)
- Prepare for any tests
- Many firms use either the Watson Glaser or a mental agility test during the application process. It is best if you know what to expect going into applications and can usually find this information on the firm’s website. Below I have included some Law firm recommended practice sites for these tests.
- Know your commercial awareness.
- Commercial awareness is vital if you want to practice in corporate or commercial areas. A barrister personally recommended listening to the Today show on BBC Radio 4. You can do this online. Other great resources are FT (they also have a daily 10min podcast), the Economist and Bloomberg News. You can find the subscriptions you have access to as a Cambridge student here: https://www.libraries.cam.ac.uk/eresources/newspapers/british-newspapers.
- Trainees at Cleary Gottlieb have recommended using Finimize. This is both a website and an app. There is an option to sign up for a fee but this is not necessary to use the app/site which provides brief updates you can read to keep up to date.
Other application tips
| Application tips for barristers | https://www.chambersstudent.co.uk/law-firms/getting-a-training-contract/making-successful-applications |
| Application tips for solicitors | https://www.thelawyerportal.com/solicitor/training-contract-overview/training-contract-applications/ |
| Watson Glaser practice | https://www.thelawyerportal.com/e-learning/free-watson-glaser-practice-test/ |
| Mental agility practice | https://www.practice4me.co.uk/mcquaig-mental-agility-test/ https://www.assessmentcentrehq.com/mcquaig-mental-agility-test/ |
Online work experience
Can’t wait to get started? Join Forage, an online work experience platform that many firms use. The firm can see the work you have completed, showing that you are interested in their firm.
Other resources
Cambridge careers service – https://www.careers.cam.ac.uk/ and https://cam.joinhandshake.co.uk/edu/articles/491 are great resources available to you as a student.
Law firms are becoming much more socially aware, and there are now multiple charities working alongside firms to promote diversity and give additional opportunities to underrepresented people in the law profession. These are great resources if you do fit the criteria, and we recommend registering your interest if you feel that you do. The opportunities available can vary from application advice to work experience and mentorship schemes.
SEO London – https://www.seo-london.org/
Unpreach – https://upreach.org.uk/
AS Aspire – https://www.aspiringsolicitors.co.uk/as-aspire/
Mentoring for Underrepresented Groups (commercial bar, top chambers) – https://www.combar.com/mentoring-for-underrepresented-groups/
Hughes Hall Law Society 