Career Decisions

Whether you are an LLB fresher on the starting line of the legal career race, or a hardened Trainee who has finally secured that coveted Training Contract, you will undoubtedly be aware of the seemingly endless career decisions and worries involved in a legal career. I thought I would use this blog to reflect back on some of the best and worst decisions that I have made over the past 5 years and wonder at all the infinite "shoulda, woulda, coulda"s.

The Decision To Do All My Lectures At Home

At my University all lectures were available online, both audio recordings and slides, and I took the decision in my first year that attending University for the purpose of lectures was simply not an efficient or effective use of my time. Of course, neither was Jeremy Kyle, beer gardens and an extra couple of hours sleep in the morning but apparently these were overlooked in the "time-wasting-activities" cull. The result? Minimum lectures completed and a serious gap in the majority of my legal knowledge. 

BAD DECISION

(n.b. I also employed this tactic in my second and third years at uni but, appealing to my love of organisation, created a colour coded chart and ticked them off as I went- GOOD DECISION)

The Decision To Apply For Every Legal Work Placement/Experience Going

I feel very privileged to be able to say that I have had no less than 6 opportunities to gain experience in the legal sector. From 6 weeks full time and unpaid court clerking to 6 months as a paid legal assistant I have definitely grabbed every opportunity that has come my way. My advice: apply for anything and everything. How will you know what you like until you've had a little taster. Couldn't think of anything worse than a corporate firm in the big smoke? Try it! Convinced you want to work in legal aid? Intern at a high street firm. Obviously, once you have really decided, it would be wise to get experience in that area, but until then, have a little dabble. You might surprise yourself.

GOOD DECISION

The Decision To Not Apply For Training Contracts Until My First Year of LPC

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. I think my trail of thought here was that I would be far more experienced by the time I had started the LPC and would therefore be more desirable to firms. However, this has actually equated to financial difficulty and yet another year before I can actually start my dream job! Had I secured a TC before the LPC it may have been funded by my firm and possibly even a maintenance grant too. My electives could have been directed by the firm in line with their needs rather than me second guessing what this imaginary employer might want. On the other hand, I am now much more certain about the areas of law I am interested in and so this will mean I am a stronger and more passionate interviewee. I have also been able to work through my LPC so have that great work experience that is oh-so-valuable to firms. Peaks and troughs. 

GOOD AND BAD DECISION

The Decison To Study At The University of Law (Formerly College of Law)

I would never in a million years change this decision. I cannot fault my LPC provider and absolutely love the course, the tutors and the campus. Biased you say? Me? Never!

GOOD DECISION

And since a lot of my decisions seem to have come out as good, I thought I would share a few generally bad decisions:

• Revising Equity and Trusts 24 hours before the exam
• Nattering in class so that when you are asked a question and your friend whispers in your aid "Pompeii", you confidently shout "Bombay"
• Walking out of the Public Law exam an hour before the end 
• Failing to employ the handbrake after parking in the student car park and returning to find your car had rolled into another parked car
• Pairing up with a student known for truanting, leaving you to plan, prepare and perform your entire EU Law presentation alone
• Missing every single Lexis and Westlaw sessions in your first year so that your idea of research involves Google, Wikipedia and the Core Text Book (if they're lucky)
• Vending machine soup. Always, always a terrible decision.