The Last First Day

School is back! And without wanting to get too sentimental and yucky, Wednesday was my last ever first day back at "school". Never again will I feel the excitement over new planners and timetables. Never again will we eagerly discuss our potential new tutor or lay out your first-day-back outfit the night before. I must say that the thing I will certainly miss the most is the new stationery. 

But onwards and upwards. 

The first day back consisted of registration with our new tutor, book collection and the first Civil Litigation workshop. 

Our new tutor is honestly amazing. I was sad to see that we were getting a new tutor as our last one was so approachable and a bit of a laugh but I am more than happy with his replacement. She is also the head of Civil Litigation which is great if we have any queries. 

Unlike last year I was a bloody idiot and didn't take my suitcase in anticipation of new books. Luckily for me, there was no book similar in size to the one of dreaded BLP legislation so I just about managed to lug my plastic package of first term books to class. Rookie mistake one. 

My second rookie mistake came in the form of the tiddly folder I thought was appropriate for the first session. My usual lever arches had a day off and stayed in their warm and cosy home on my bookshelf while this teeny weeny ring binder got a trip out to university to aid me in my Civil Lit endeavours. I was sorely mistaken to think this poor excuse for a folder could hold anywhere near the amount of paper we received and in the end I bundled it as best I could into my bag. Inconvenient. 

Civil Litigation was not at all what I expected. For some reason, many students tend to dread Civil Lit. I personally think it has to do with the two Advocacy workshops in the module. Either way, those students are wrong. I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed both the prep and the workshop. So far we have only really begun to cover the general litigation process and writing a letter of advice/response in the initial stages of a claim. I am very much looking forward to the progression of this module. 

One thing I am most definitely NOT looking forward to is Property Law and Practice (PLP). Anyone who has taken the time to read this blog from the beginning will know my history with Land Law and I am afraid that I never have, and probably never will, enjoy this area of the law. We have all gotta hate something right? Anyway, this wretched module does not begin for a couple more weeks so I am granted a brief reprieve. 

Other News

I was surprised to learn that not one single member of my class managed to secure a training contract this summer. In fact, surprised is an understatement; I was downright shocked.  There are some fantastically talented and dedicated individuals in the LPC classes, which is the case with every provider. My class is no different. I have no idea what happened but I am guessing that at least a small part of it is the sheer competitiveness in recent years and the ensuing bottle-neck of applicants. I genuinely have no idea what has happened to the world when students achieving high grades at degree and LPC level, volunteering and working 30+ hours, all maintained over a period of 3-5 years, cannot get a job in the legal sector. Who are the people getting these jobs?

My first assessment centre

Phew! What a busy month it has been. With my new job and plenty of overtime at my second job it doesn't really feel like there has been a summer break at all. In the midst of all of this I also got the opportunity to have my first assessment centre experience, and I can tell you from the off (to avoid any false hopes!) I unfortunately wasn't successful. However, every cloud has a silver lining and, now that I am two weeks on from the disappointment, I am confident that I can use the experience for a successful experience next year.

Now, I wasn't sure whether it is the "done thing" to publicly name the firm you're interviewing for but having desperately searched the web for info on this particular organisation's assessment centre (info not provided in the assessment centre pack of course) I was bitterly disappointed. So on that note, the organisation I am writing about today was the Government Legal Service and I hope that my experience can provide an insight to any future hopefuls. 

As background, the application process for the GLS includes an application form and Situational Judgment Test, successful applicants are then invited to complete a Verbal Reasoning Test and, if successful in that, a Critical Reasoning Test. Finally, there is the assessment centre which includes a written task and an interview with a panel. 

The assessment centre is held in London across four days. We found out upon arrival that they were interviewing 112 candidates in groups of seven (four sessions per day) and that over 3000 people had applied; these were incredible statistics and indicative of just how fierce the competition to obtain a training contract is. 

The written task involved advising a minister on a proposed piece of fictional legislation, particularly in relation to four specific members of the public's concerns, within a one hour time frame. The task was typed and we were given a hard copy of the materials and permitted to make notes. Generally, I found the task okay. I finished just in time but felt comfortable and not flustered throughout that hour. 

We then had a 20 minute break in order to have a drink or snack before being called for our individual interviews. Interviews were held by a panel of three (two GLS lawyers and one independent person). They were very friendly and definitely put me at ease. That was until the questions began! 

The first 15 minutes consisted of questioning on the written task. I had expected to be questioned on the rationale behind my answers but the questions seemed to be more technical:

"You have suggested an exemption to this section 13(b), how would you implement it?"

"Who would be better to decide the annual fee in the legislation, the local council or wider government?"

I think I fared okay but my unpreparedness for these types of questions definitely showed and I actually had a moment of complete blankness, which completely threw me off. 

The remaining 55 minutes of the interview consisted of competency based questions requiring the applicant to give an example of a time when they have demonstrated particular competencies, in this case decision making, leading and communication, team working and working to deadlines. These questions were testing. I was obviously aware of the types of questions I would be asked and had thought long and hard about examples I could give, however, I wasn't sufficiently prepared for the depth I would be questioned into these examples and they ended up coming off a little shallow. I often had to stretch the example to fit the question they were asking and it all felt strained. Advice to any future applicants: talk through your examples, write them out, dissect them in every way and analyse them at a great depth before the interview so that you know them inside out and can in turn discuss them in better detail. 

In addition to the competency questions, we were asked to discuss a current legal issue which interests us (I spoke about David Miranda) and finally our motivation for working for the Government, particularly in public law. 

It was intense.

I left the building feeling entirely shell shocked. In my defence, it was my first experience! The questions were relentless and just when you thought you had cracked it they threw in a curve ball. The panel took it in turns to ask the questions giving you little time between questions to compose yourself and I often asked for a moment to think or take a sip of water. With that said, the conversations with other applicants seemed to suggest that private training contract interviews for top firms were even more intense so perhaps I got off lightly!

The GLS recruit on a top down basis. Everybody gets a mark for their written task and interview and then they take the top 30-35 so it really is a case of "may the best man win". I was completely gutted not to have obtained a place but I am determined to give it another (better) shot next year. 

With all that done, I am now preparing to return to the University of Law for my final year on the LPC in less than 2 weeks. Back to business!