Researching your law career

Knowing the law sector well is an important part of a successful route through the application process. The more you know about:

The areas of law, the more confident you will appear when asked questions such as 'What areas of law are you interested in and why?'.
The employer, the strong your motivation appears to employers and the more confidently you can address questions such as 'Why are you applying for this firm?'.
The sector and current trends and news, the more able you will be to show your commercial awareness, when asked questions such as 'What legal matters, changes to the law have you noticed of late and why?'.

Apply your knowledge and research to writing successful and professional CVs, cover letters and applications.

Areas of law

Before you get started on applying for jobs in law it is important that you research the different areas of the law sector to decide which career path would best suit you. Areas of law include employment, private equity, real estate, IP, immigration, family, criminal to name but a few.

Researching employers and individuals

When applying for jobs it's important to know the employer you're applying to well (knowing their competitors can be important too). This can help in writing intelligent and quality applications, and will be useful when it comes to the interview process. The following are suggested ways to research legal employers and specific individuals:

Information published by the firm/chambers

Most firms/chambers will have a website containing information about them, their recruitment processes, their successes and their focus (specific areas of law, or related to internal schemes such as people development, diversity, etc.). These employers will also have promotional materials for you to collect at events they run or careers fairs they attend.

Some may even appear in careers resources such as TARGETjobs, Times 100, Guardian 300, Lex 100, available for you to pick up for free from Tower 3, Floor 3.

This is the minimum information you should know about an employer.

Speak to employers

This will give you information not available on their website and can be something you refer to in a cover letter or personal statement. Attend:

Law Fairs - book the LSE Careers Law Fair via LSE CareerHub (takes place each Michaelmas Term)
Employer talks - many advertised on LSE CareerHub
Open days - see employer websites
Work experience with them through vacation schemes and mini pupillages

Advice for law fairs from legal employers

Approach the stand when it's not that busy and get into a conversation
Employers are not impressed by students asking "who are you" "what do you do" "what is your deadline" - do your research beyond the website
Students need to talk to the trainees on the stand, not to the HR staff; this is the way to find out about the culture, atmosphere etc.
Do not ask the recruiter "what will make me stand out?"; how would they know having only just met you?
Remember employers are there to ensure students are accurately informed but also to recruit; it is their chance to see whether you come across like a potential lawyer who they could put in front of clients
Some graduate recruiters ask the trainees to keep a mental note of a student's name when they are talking to them and then jot it down after
If a student impresses them at a fair they will keep their eye open for their application form but the form still has to be good.
However, some firms do the same with students who do not impress

Information interviews

If you know someone who works within the profession, speak to them! Similarly, if you don't have existing contacts make some via LinkedIn; LSE alumni working in the law field are particularly good people to approach. Conduct an information interview; ask them how they got in, what experience they gained first, what important trends and news is having an affect on their everyday work, which area of law they work in. All this information can be useful to help you make decisions about your career, and great for an informed application.

Keep up to date with legal news

Commercial awareness is important in any career, but especially so in law. News stories about employers you are interested in applying to will appear in the national and commercial press and within sector specific publications.

Applying your research to applications

The research you have conducted about employers, the sector and areas of law and the news you have followed can all be used as part of the application and interview process. The following example questions are followed by ways in which this information can be applied:

Why are you applying to this firm?

Think about why you applying to them and not their competitors
Anything you say needs to be substantiated by saying why it is important to you
Think about what makes them different and demonstrate that you have researched the firm (see list below)
Show depth in your answer - don't quote the website, don't point to the obvious e.g. I want to work for you because you are a really well known firm
There is no right answer e.g. if the attraction is a smaller number of trainees, say why

You may want to consider

Their areas of specialism
Range/size of clients; maybe national, international firms in addition to individuals; local businesses; clients dependent upon legal aid
Size - more interested in working in a smaller team/larger team, working more individually i.e. smaller number of trainees, earlier responsibility
Are they newly merged or expanding? Are they ambitious, maybe entering new markets?
Have they been recommended to you?
Did you attend an open day, talk at the LSE, speak to them at a fair?
Reputation; have they won awards? Do they get good trainee reports in publications such as True Picture, Lex 100?
Cases they have been involved in
The reputation of individuals
Career prospects/future of the firm e.g. retention rate, training provided
Anything unusual/interesting about their training contract - 5 seats instead of 4, chance of overseas secondment etc.

Why are you interested in this area of law?

Use your research and knowledge from your work experience and education to identify a solid reason for your chosen area of law.

Anything you say needs to be substantiated by referring to your education, work experience and extra curricular activities (if applicable)
Demonstrate your understand of the area of law
There is no right answer, just be honest!

You may want to consider

Links to any experience that helped you come to your decision
Examples of cases you admire from the firm from your chosen area
Reasons related to the current news and trends within the area of law

Why are you applying to this chambers?

Think about why you applying to them and not their competitors
Anything you say needs to be substantiated by saying why it is important to you
Think about what makes them different and demonstrate that you have researched the chambers (see list below)
Show depth in your answer - don't quote the website, don't point to the obvious
There is no right answer e.g. if the attraction is a smaller number of trainees, say why

You may want to consider

Links to any experience that has helped you come to your decision about why this set, e.g. a mini pupillage
Do they have a mission statement?
The people in the set - look at the profiles as an indicator of the background and quality of their pupils
Feel of the set - friendly, young or old, gender balance, background of barristers (information often gleaned from mini pupillages)
What work do they do? What cases they have been involved in?
Barrister profiles will give you an idea of the practice areas that the Chambers focuses on - their website may list many areas but it pays to research just how much they do in certain areas of law
Is the work primarily defence, prosecution or a mixture of both?
Number of pupillages on offer and conversion rate
Ratio of silks to juniors - high ratio may indicate reputation, lots of junior work. However, in many areas of law there are fewer silks so only compare number of silks in same area of country and law
Recommendations/reputation of the set - high quality cases, opportunity to work with and learn from good people
Have you heard from members of the set at forums, Law Fair, National Pupillage Fair?
Size of pupillage award
Where they practise i.e. their circuits
If the Chambers are outside of London you will need to make the case for a connection to the area
Whether they are an established or growing set

What caught your eye in the press recently?

This question is a great opportunity to show your commercial awareness, your interest in the sector and, therefore, your motivation for a career in law.

Consider what you have recently read in the national or commercial press
Think about any matters your lecturers have mentioned in class
Show your level of understanding of the issue you decide to discuss by giving details (technical and non-technical)
Think about how this could affect the employer, their business or their clients and communicate your thoughts