2nd Year Law Student - Employment? (1 Viewer)

[trishan]

Hi guys,
Good to be back on BoS. I remember the hours I used to spend on BoS during Year 12. It's amazing how time flies as I am now getting into my second year at uni.

So to the issue at hand. I have spent the first year of my commerce/law degree doing jobs that are customer service/administration related mainly because these jobs pay relatively well.

Now in the second year of my degree I realise that for the sake of getting experience and filling my CV with course related employment I should take a hit to my pay and work at a legal firm or and accounting firm.

So for those of you who are in your 3rd year or above, what would you reccomend as the best place to start looking for such employement or the best type of job to get that will act as a stepping stone to bigger and better things...

I'd love to hear what your plan is to get the necessary experience to impress in future internship interviews.

 

[melsc]

Uni career sites are good, places like seek occasionally have suitable jobs but they are usually good for full-time students.

I've been emailing local firms and some respond, some don't but its worth a shot

 

[hfis]

Community Legal Centres are usually taking volunteers. As it's completely voluntary it'd be a big hit to your pay, but they tend to take people with little to no experience, and it looks good on resumes - especially as some good, paying jobs require you to have had some experience somewhere. Depending on what Centre you work at, the work varies from very hands on, dealing with clients kind of stuff, to organising files.

The NACLC website, http://www.naclc.org.au/, has details of Community Legal Centres and more info about volunteering.

 

[melsc]

Websites like the jobs section of the college of law also can be handy, they always have PLT jobs but the also seem to have some paralegal jobs as well.

There might also be some on your law society web page or www.alsanet.asn.au

http://www.collaw.edu.au/pp/legal_job_vacancies.asp

by far the best I have found is just emailing your CV or better going in person to as many places as possible

 

[youngone]

Yeh I'm keen to get a job in the legal field too as a 2nd yr law student. Haven't had much luck yet and have been emailing firms directly, but to no avail. Only about 2 responded to me and that was to say that we'll keep you on file, pfft.

I don't know if its my Cover letter and CV that sucks or that they just receive heaps of these emails.

 

[trishan]

Perhaps someone can share a pro forma of a good cover letter for approaching firms via email?

 

[MichaelJackson2]

A lot of universities are offering an elective called 'Clinical Legal Education' where students spend a whole day at a clinic (Legal Aid tends to be very popular) every week and have direct contact with clients, under the supervision of a solicitor from a city law firm. I was lucky to have been offered a place this semester (20 places every semester here at UQ). Reckon this is a good stepping stone in getting a vacation clerkship??

 

[mitsui]

Yeh I'm keen to get a job in the legal field too as a 2nd yr law student. Haven't had much luck yet and have been emailing firms directly, but to no avail. Only about 2 responded to me and that was to say that we'll keep you on file, pfft.

I don't know if its my Cover letter and CV that sucks or that they just receive heaps of these emails.

They receive heaps of these emails. Lol

I went to an interview, where the guy told me they receive about 50 emails during 3 days of advertising a position.

 

[subdued123]

it's easy to be disheartened when facing rejection - we've all been there.

two tips

1) Don't be dejected if they "put you on file" most of my friends who are paralegals at top firms did that. They really do keep it, and if you're a dazzler with marks, they will call you. It's about getting your name on the books. So send that cv far and wide. It's the only way.

2) If you are starting out fresh with no legal experience, don't shoot too high just yet, unless you have crazy marks. My tip is to rough it out in a smaller.

Sure, the pay can be rubbish and the bosses oppressive, but those environments are often quite educational and you'll be doing a range of tasks that can impress later on.

Moral - don't look down on any work and be prepared to put in the hard yards. At least you're thinking down the track which is good.

 

[subdued123]

oh, and by the way -

I know of quite a few who clerked at top tier firms who did not spend a minute inside a law firm before doing their clerkships.

So keeping your options open and doing interesting things is also not a dead end.

But I do stress the importance of keeping marks high, so don't overwork - most firms that use the online clerkship/job portals will cull on marks first - keep the average above 70+ if you can.

 

[RogueAcademic]

So for those of you who are in your 3rd year or above, what would you reccomend as the best place to start looking for such employement or the best type of job to get that will act as a stepping stone to bigger and better things...

In case you don't already know, UniMelb Law Faculty has their own dedicated Careers Office right on the Mezzanine level of the faculty building. They'll have a heap of info and advice there too.

http://careers.law.unimelb.edu.au/

 

[trishan]

In case you don't already know, UniMelb Law Faculty has their own dedicated Careers Office right on the Mezzanine level of the faculty building. They'll have a heap of info and advice there too.

http://careers.law.unimelb.edu.au/

Yes I did know about this but I thought it would be more focused towards later year students.

I will definitely look into this.

Thanks for the link.

 

[RogueAcademic]

I would laugh if you're sitting across from me at the LRC.

 

[mitsui]

Yub.

Time to photocopy my resume and send them everywhere now.

=)