Entering the world of work can be daunting. However, once it has been entered, you will soon realise the importance of work experience. With the field of law being extremely competitive, nothing is more pivotal than the work experience you will receive on your journey to become a successful lawyer. Gaining work experience would allow you to stand out to your future employers as you would have already portrayed that you possess some general understanding surrounding the work environment that you are going into, whilst also understanding what your employer expects of you as their employee. This can then provide future benefits as you would be able to understand specific aspects of the law firm, making it easier for you to apply in the future.

For law, this is pivotal. This is because you would be able to receive certain skills that is crucial for the world of law. For example, viewing how a lawyer converses with their client and handles their case would allow you to improve your rapport and communication skills. You would also adapt on your commercial awareness which is crucial when applying to any top law firm. By working in a team when aiding in a number of cases, your teamwork and organisation skills would have also beneficially adapted. Having some form of legal work experience would also allow you to expose yourself to tasks completed by typical trainees in which you can later decide whether this career path is really for you.

Once having completed your work experience, it is important you update you CV as soon as possible whilst everything is still fresh in your mind. Having a good CV is critical as this is what firms would essentially view first. So, always ensure that your CV is well prepared and up to date.

Being a penultimate year law student, I have learnt that having prior legal experience is important when applying to internships (in your first year of university), vacation schemes (penultimate year of university or later) and eventually when applying for training contracts. So, whenever you can, reach out to firms who would allow you to complete some work experience or even network with others in the legal field in order to gain an insight on how to gain some experience. Even the smallest placement can eventually make a big impact for your future career path.

Where to find experience and how to aid your law journey:

Muslim Lawyers Hub- This website will allow you to increase your commercial awareness through the daily news updates the site provides. Follow our socials- Instagram and LinkedIn: @Muslimlawyerhub. The ‘Helpful Organisations’ section on this site also provides detail on where you can find some work experience.

LinkedIn- Build your network. Connect with others who work in firms that interest you. Message them as one person can help take you a long way.

Bright Network- Subscribe here! This is where I found my internship at Clyde & Co and apply apply apply! Even when you don’t think you may get it, there is always a chance you will succeed.

Legal Cheek- This indicates internships, vacation schemes and training contracts etc, which top law firms are currently advertising.

By Sameera (@samslawjourney on Instagram).