The following wiki articles discuss legal training contracts for solicitors at law firms and should be helpful, as part of your legal training contract or graduate job in law search process:
Legal training contract articles:
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Choosing a training contract can be difficult. To make things easier you should focus, by deciding on the key factors you are looking for in a training contract, and then search through law firms accordingly.
This is one of the most important factors for a candidate to consider when deciding which firms they want to apply to. There is a big difference between studying the law and practising it. As a law student, it is easy to believe that what you learn at university will correspond to the workplace. You may not find the books and lectures of a particular subject especially interesting, but the same subject may be much more dynamic and exciting when you are out in the field and working on real cases.
Whilst the larger firms may have departments that cover all practice areas, each department will be a different size and carry its own reputation within the industry. Whether you are looking to work in Corporate, Real Estate, Finance, Litigation, Employment, Incentives or Competition, doing your research about the different departments within your prospective firms will help you choose the best ones to apply to. It will also provide you with invaluable credibility when it comes to the training contract interview stage. You will probably not be given the exact combination of seats that you would like in your legal training contract. However, you can not go too far wrong if you have chosen a firm whose major practice areas match those that you are interested in.
The profile of a firm generally corresponds to the profile of its clients. Some people prefer to work with high profile organisations, but will usually have to contend with dealing with people from varying levels within the organisation. Smaller clients give you a chance to work more directly with the key people and your input will be more visible.
The practice areas and client base of a firm are very good predictors of its size. Firms range from commercial law practices working with major global corporations to high-street firms more accessible to the general public.
Large firms bring their own disadvantages as well benefits. The larger a firm is, the more likely it is to take on a greater number of trainees. A high profile firm can bring your CV strong brand value. On the other hand, if you are working for a smaller firm, there will probably be fewer trainees. This means that you may have more interaction with qualified solicitors at various levels within the firm.
This is something of a personal choice, with implications that will affect your quality of life and your career. The largest firms are based in London and the legal market which circles the capital's financial services industry is one of the most lucrative in the world. This translates into higher average pay packets for London solicitors. Aside from the careers benefits to choosing London, trainees can enjoy all the social and cultural activities that the cosmopolitan city has to offer.
However, the cost of living is higher in London and you will have to content with the traffic and rush hour crushes on the tube. Working hours are often longer at London firms and you may find a more attractive work-life balance at firms outside of the capital.
Traditional law training contract structures place trainees in fixed placement periods in different departments. However, there are variations in terms of the placement period, number of departments to be rotated through and the amount and type of work completed in each department. If you are undecided about which practice area you want to work in when you qualify, you may want to apply to firms which will place you in many different departments during your training contract.
You are far less likely to get a training contract with a top law firm, if you have not attained a first class, or 2.1 degree at university. It is much more sensible to apply to mid-size firms who accept applications from candidates with lower degree grades, than to apply to large firms. If you do well at a mid-size firm you will be able to transfer to a large firm later in your career, if this is your goal.
However, if you are only interested in getting a training contract at a top firm, you do still have a chance, although it is only slim. You will need to be persistent, will have to make contacts in organisation's HR departments and be able to demonstrate a range of non-academic skills (such as multiple languages) that your prospective employer would be interested in.
Candidates with 2.2's will often be sifted out of firm's recruitment processes at a very early stage, most commonly during the initial online application process. Law firms receive so many applications for training contracts that Human Resources staff usually set-up their systems to automatically filter out candidates with a 2.2 degree grade, or below.
When making applications to firms who state that they require a minimum of a 2.1 degree grade, always make sure you have made personal contact with a member of HR at that firm first. Most firms will be able to accept your application with lower than expected grades, but can only do so if you have made them aware of the situation.
If you have a 2.2, you will need to persuade employers to take a look at your CV and that you do have something to offer them. You will need to prove your motivation and commitment to career, which can sometimes be difficult.
If you have a genuine mitigating circumstance for not getting a 2.1 it is certainly worth making this clear to recruiters. HR will be lenient, but only if your circumstances really did make things difficult for you to study at university, and only if you can prove that you did have difficulties (e.g. with a doctor's note, or university letter).
If your degree qualification is not good, make sure you can prove yourself and your commitment to career in other ways. Work experience can really boost your applications and demonstrates real application to your desired career. Employers really like to hire candidates with experience because they need less training than other candidates and have much more commercial awareness.
By attending careers fairs you can meet current graduate trainees and HR employees that may be able to accept your application if they feel you are worth giving a chance to. Try to get as many names as you can at events like this and prove to them your value for their organisation, despite your low grades.
Before you embark on the long and drawn out process of applying for a Training Contract you need to do your research, and decide exactly who you want to work for. Practising family law in a small regional firm will be very different from handling billion pound mergers and acquisitions. If you’re not cut out for the corporate world, be realistic and don’t apply to corporate firms, but if this is what you've always dreamed of you need to start considering the Magic circle.
Think about the culture of the firm in question and whether you would fit into it, socially, culturally and academically. Don’t let rich firm's glossy brochures sway your judgement. The best way to find out what is right for you is to embark on work experience, or even better a Vacation Placement. Recruiters and HR at top law firms see the benefits of experience as unrivalled. It’s not a prerequisite to work at a firm, but you will get a practical insight on the job and the company and learn what’s right for you by working with different teams, social groups and specialised work areas.
It will be highly competitive to get a Vacation Placement (sometimes even more so than getting a Training Contract - there can be thousands of applications for less than 20 places. For this reason firms are very interested by candidates with work experience. It shows that you have something special to offer, and above all that their rivals (if you’re done work experience at different companies) are interested in hiring you.
Anything you do that is supplementary to studying shows that you are willing to learn new things and put yourself out. It also shows team work, organisational skills and that you might be a worthwhile person to have on board. So if you ran a marathon for charity, set up a break-dancing group or volunteer at the local Citizen’s Advice Bureau, use this to your advantage when applying for a job. If you still have the opportunity to get involved and do these things, the earlier you start the better.
It is important to know what's happening right now within the firm you’re applying to. If a firm is in a phase of expansion it's likely to be a more dynamic and exciting place to work than one which is downsizing and losing clients. Search for press coverage to see if there is anything significant to note when you are thinking about your applications.
Make sure you clearly understand the industry into which you want to go. For example, corporate law is very different from environmental law. You should have an understanding of how the firm to which you are applying fits into the industry, who its main clients are, and what substantial cases they have been involved with.
If you get a 2:2 when the firm requires a 2:1 then get in touch with the recruitment department before making your application and explain your circumstances. Get your personal tutor from University to confirm your situation and use any other collaborative sources of evidence that you can find. Law firms are not heartless and do understand that students do suffer from serious problems during their exams. Furthermore, law firms are clever. They want to interview the brightest candidates. They understand that there may be times when the best candidates are affected by issues out of their control and may consequently under perform. If you have other grades, qualities and attributes to back up your poor degree grade you are still likely to be called for interview.
On the other hand, if you do not have the best University grade, or even past grades, it might be a better idea to adjust your sights and apply outside the [Magic circle] and national firms. If you are constantly making unsuccessful applications, try applying to some firms in the tier below.
During your training contract at a firm you should be given experience in at least three distinctive substantive areas of English law, including both contentious and non-contentious work.
If your firm is unable to provide the requisite training, it must arrange a secondment for you to another training establishment, ensuring that the terms of the training code and contract are met during this period.
As well as giving you work experience, your firm must allow you to attend the Professional Skills Course fees: the firm will pay the course fees and grant you study leave to attend.
It’s a good idea to keep a record of your daily activities during the training contract, not only because it will document your work and progress but also because the SRA may ask to review it.
Your firm is required to conduct at least three formal appraisals with you during the two years of your training contract (one in the first year, one in the second year and one at the end of the training period). Ideally, however, your performance should be reviewed in every seat or every six months. If you have any concerns about your training, you should raise these with your training principal at the earliest opportunity.
Once you have been selected as a prospective trainee, your firm must send you an offer letter setting out the terms and conditions of your employment, including:
It is good practice and common courtesy to accept the offer in writing.
Registering your training contract
Within three months of starting your training, you and your firm should complete and sign the training contract form, and your firm should send it to be registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) within 28 days of being signed. The registration fee is covered by the firm. Until the contract is registered you are not regarded as a trainee and are not protected by the Training Contract Regulations 1990, so it is in your own interests to ensure that it is done. If your firm refuses or otherwise fails to register your training contract, think very carefully about whether you want to stay with them.
Within 30 days you will receive a letter from the SRA confirming the registration and the date of expiry of the contract.
The three mistakes most candidates make in their training contract applications are: poor spelling & grammar, copying & pasting (from previous applications) and using inappropriate language.
Making spelling and grammar mistakes in your initial application for a training contract shows a real lack of attention to detail, which will reflect very poorly on you in the eyes of prospective employers. Considering the type of service that Law firms provide to their clients, attention to detail is crucial if you want to be given the chance to attend an interview.
Errors in drafted legal documents could cause great problems for a law firm, and if you have not been responsible or conscientious enough to effectively check through your application form, you cannot expect a good law firm to consider employing you.
In a profession where a firm's reputation and the perceived quality of its work are the foundations for its business success, application form errors will not be accepted.
There are no short cuts to a well-written and well-constructed application. Cutting and pasting from one application to another is easy to spot, and is a waste of your time. This method may improve the time spent completing applications, but it will not improve their quality, and this is the key factor with training contract applications. Sending out a small number of well written, focussed applications, targeted to the firm in question, will result in more interview offers, than sending many unfocussed applications.
The tone and style of your writing should match the purpose. The prose you will be drafting during yor training contract will be for legal documents, and your application should reflect this. Avoid using colloquial language, write clearly, be objective and do not waste time with flowery language. Get to the point.
A Training Contract is offered by most large legal firms to all graduate hires. A Training Contract is an agreement (a written contract) between you and your employer that you can come and work for them for two years after successfully completing your LPC legal training. During this time you will receive further training and a decent starting salary, although you won't be considered to be a fully qualified solicitor.
Firms differ as to when they offer this contract to graduates. For some firms, particularly the Magic circle firms, you will need to apply two to three years before you plan to begin work with them. For other firms, you can apply one to two years before work, and others just a few months before.
Firms require candidates to make such early applications because of the overwhelming competition for places and because many firms offer a subsistence grant to graduates studying the GDL and LPC. For example, Magic circle firms tend to pay all GDL and LPC fees for graduate hires, whilst also providing approximately £7,000 per year as a grant for living costs.
Getting a training contract (TC) can be a difficult job, especially if you plan to study the GDL/CPE conversion course or have a limited legal background. The standard of applicants for TC's is always high and the competition fierce. It is not uncommon for applicants to outnumber TC's by 25 to 1 for the best and most prestigious firms. Candidates without the right A-level grades, a good 2:1 and a gleaming résumé full of relevant work experience will be at a serious disadvantage.
The good news however, is that according to BPP Professional Education there are enough training contracts available each year to accommodate almost every qualifying law student, although the majority of these aren't with the top firms.
A training contract is not normally required for anyone qualifying without a degree; non-graduates typically advance toward qualification by passing exams administered by the Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) – all the while working under the supervision of a solicitor.