The more connected the work experience is with the the type of firm the applicant is applying to, and the areas of law it works with, the more weight that work experience is likely to have with that firm.

It should also be remembered that many law firms use their vacation schemes as a way to pre-select candidates for interview for their training contract positions.  A vacation scheme gives the firm much more time to assess you than an interview affords and it also gives you much more time in which to make a positive impression.

Helping Your Decision Making

As well as adding power to a CV, vacation schemes also give candidates a chance to get to know specific firms better before deciding whether or not to apply for a training contract with them.  They also provide a more general insight into how law firms work.  This is often key for law students as the reality of practise is often quite different from the study of the same areas of law.

On a work placement you will get a much better sense of the culture of a firm and the people who work there.  This is invaluable information when it comes to deciding whether you want to apply to work there in the future.

Many students find that they had originally wanted to work for one type of firm but after doing a vacation scheme with that firm, or another firm for that matter, they changed their minds based on this practical experience.

Making Vacation Scheme Applications

Applications for vacation schemes are often even more competitive than for training contracts because candidates will seek to to do more than one placement.  With training contracts successful, however, candidates will only accept one position and reject any other offers they receive thus giving others the chance of receiving them.

Therefore, taking time to get your applications right is crucial.  Far too many candidates, however, do not take the application process seriously enough and try to rush off multiple applications which will have a very limited chance of success.

It is much better to spend some time researching the firms you want to apply to, what they are looking for in their vacation scheme candidates and putting together a well thought out and well presented application.  Quality rather than quantity is definitely the key here.

You should also ensure you take time over the presentation of your documents and get others to read over them for you to avoid simple mistakes such as spelling and grammar mistakes.  See the tips for CV’s and covering letters in the Training Contracts section of this site for some pointers you can equally apply to your applications for work experience.

Aim for Variation

Unless you absolutely know that you only want to work for a magic circle firm, try to add some variation into the work experience you go for.  This will help you with the decisions you make about where you ultimately want to train and work.

And Finally…

It really can’t be overstated how important it is to get a place on a vacation scheme, or gain some other form of work experience, given the current high level of competition for training contracts.

For more information about legal work experience placements and vacation schemes take a look at the legal work experience section of this site by clicking here:  Legal Work Experience & Vacation Schemes

For details of firms which are offering vacation schemes and have a deadline for applications of 31 March please click here:

Vacation Scheme Deadlines March 2010

Circumstances of firms as well as their vacancies and application procedures do change on occasion so you are advised to telephone each firm before making an application to check whether they are still accepting applications and, if so, when the deadline is, who you should address your application to and how you should apply.  This will immediately set you apart from those who do not check and do not therefore pick up on any changes the firm has made.

There are less and less opportunities still available for summer 2010 vacation schemes so you are strongly advised to make some applications before the end of the month if you have not already secured some legal work experience for the summer.

Unpaid Legal Work Experience Blog Post

Well, it seems that such unpaid work may be in breach of employment law, in particular the laws relating to the minimum wage.  Employment lawyer, Rebecca Fox, at Matthew Arnold & Baldwin solicitors has written a piece on this which is well worth checking out if you are considering taking up an unpaid position anywhere.  Click here to read Rebecca’s advice:

http://www.mablaw.com/2010/03/unsalaried-positions-whats-the-legal-position/

Roll on Friday reported the HS trainee’s ‘crime’ to be reading her supervising partner’s confidential emails about who was to be taken on by the firm upon qualification.

I would certainly advise against snooping around for confidential information whilst on a work experience placement and I would also advise against the following:

• Don’t try too hard to impress as its easy to overcompensate and end up coming across as loud and arrogant.

• You are bound to be given some menial and boring tasks to do – always be enthusiastic and never look unhappy about it.

• Don’t help with the spreading of harmful gossip around the firm.

• Don’t act in a way that causes you to become the source of firm gossip.  Socialising with your new colleagues is encouraged but try not to be the one everyone is talking about the day after the night before!

• Do not misuse the firm’s email system or spend lots of time using the internet/Facebook.

Having said all of this, you should always remember you are more than qualified and capable enough to be undertaking work experience placements.  So throw yourself into them and enjoy them!

Hammonds have made a habit of being at the forefront of recruiting practices including assessment days and psychometric testing.  Now they are going one further with Apprentice style interviews of their vacation schemers by the firm’s clients.  This is reminiscent of the Apprentice where Lord Sugar calls on various captains of industry to interview and assess the candidates.

Hammonds actively use their vacation schemes as part of their ongoing recruitment process.  Personally, I’m looking forward to the next developments in trainee recruitment where all vacation schemers are called into the managing partner’s office on a Friday afternoon for one of them to receive a dramatic finger point and hear the words “You’re fired!”

Click here to read the full story on Lawyer2B – Hammonds Vacation Schemes

It appears that some firms are actually asking individuals to pay to get legal work experience with them.  In one instance, reported on one of the forums recently, a candidate was asked to pay a small high street firm £6000 in return for work experience and some training for 6 months.  They were also told that it would lead to a paid position after the 6 months.

Work experience has traditionally been unpaid work (except for certain formal vacation schemes where the firm might pay you).  I can think of no reason that would ever justify a firm seeking payment from a work experience person.  After all, an unpaid work experience placement is not just for the benefit of the person gaining the experience.  The firm also benefits by getting some additional support at no cost, and also a chance to assess the skills and capabilities of the individual to help them decide whether they might like to formally employ them in the future.

For anyone who encounters this sort of practice, my advice would be to avoid it like the plague.  I would also give the Law Society a call with the name of the firm firstly to see whether they are properly registered and, if so, to alert the Society to this practice.

The good news remains, however, that there are still many firms who would be more than willing to offer you some unpaid legal work experience to help you with your research and decision making and to boost your CV.

As with most things connected to the pursuit of a legal career, time spent at the researching stage will stand you in good stead down the line.  Ensure that you research the different law firms that offer formal vacation schemes and make sure you only apply to those that are a good fit for your background and personality and the type of law you might want to train in.  Also consider which are the ones that will have the most positive influence on your career and can offer you the  broadest experience.

A good way to pre-select which firms you might want to apply to for vacation schemes is to attend law fairs and firm open days.  These allow you to talk to representatives from the firms in order to get a flavour of what they are all about.

As with training contracts, competition for vacation scheme places is high with some firms getting as many as 2000 applications for around 200 places.  It is therefore essential that you spend time on your applications so that those you submit are of a high quality.

Similar considerations to training contract applications will be applied by the firms such as:

• good academics (often a minimum of a 2:1 degree or degree marks so far)

• connections with, and a commitment to, the local area

• positions of responsibility held

• evidence you have thought out your preferred career direction

• possession of a genuine interest in the specific firm and their vacation scheme

Your applications should seek to set you apart from the competition by specifically letting the firm know how your experience to date, coupled with your skills, can benefit them.

Always aim for quality of applications as opposed to quantity and ensure they are absolutely error free – re-read them several times and get someone else to review them also.

For some more information about vacation schemes take a look at the legal work experience section of this site.

Whilst there are more vacation scheme places on offer than there are training contracts, competition for them is still fierce as many candidates apply to do more than one.  It is therefore essential that you spend a good amount of time producing high quality applications to stand a chance of bagging one yourself.

The importance of getting some good work experience behind you cannot be overstated.  As Deborah Dalgleish, Head of Trainee Recruitment at Freshfields, told Times Online previously: “A vacation scheme doubles your chances of being taken on as a trainee.”

So now that the Christmas holidays are out of the way and you are back into the flow of study or work this is the time to be researching where you want to apply to for your legal work experience.  You then need to put some time aside to make some applications – and remember its much better to go for quality than quantity.

For some more information about vacation schemes take a look at the legal work experience section of this site.

The majority of people thought it was unfair although there were 17% of people who thought it fair.  There was also some interesting discussion about this subject between those who were polled.

Click here to see the results of the JLD poll and the subsequent discussion.

This is certainly a sensitive area and one which is far from black and white.  My opinion is that unpaid work has its place and will very much depend on a variety of factors such as: the stage the person is at in their legal career/studies, how long the period of work is to be, what type of work is to be undertaken.

At one end of the spectrum, if the work is to be for several months and the person has legal skills that are to be utilised solely for fee earning work then alarm bells may start to ring.

However, if the work placement is for a shorter period and involves basic legal research and administrative support together with a chance to work shadow qualified solicitors then I would encourage this as a way to increase experience and improve the CV.  Obviously, if payment can be arranged (even just for expenses) then this would be preferable.

As with many of these things, it depends on the individual circumstances and each person should make their own judgment about the situation.

If you find yourself in this situation and are unsure about it you can always put a call into the Junior Lawyers Division helpline to discuss things.

Next week is National Pro Bono Week so why not get involved in some pro bono activity and make the week a success.

Take a look at the ProBonoUK website for a list of events taking place next week and see if there something you could join in with or just use it as a way to find out more about how you could get involved going forward.

Click here for the ProBonoUK website.