Survive Law - A Field Guide to Your Final Years

A Field Guide to

YOUR FINAL

YEARS - Presented by Survive Law -

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

CONTENTS FINAL YEAR STUFF 03 Signs you’re in your final year of uni 06 How to choose electives

P LT S T O R I E S 08 Transitioning from law school to PLT 10 Thinking ahead: your practical placement for PLT

12 PLT at the Extraordinary Chambers 14 Working in-house at Stan

GRAD JOB ADVICE 15 Golden rule for resumés: short and professionally sweet 16 Getting the graduate job if you missed out on a clerkship 17 What job ads say vs what they mean 18 How to network when you don’t know anyone 20 LinkedIn do’s and dont’s

22 I don’t want to be a conventional lawyer

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SIGNS YOU’RE IN YOUR FINAL YEAR OF UNI

BY ANGELIQUE I’m now at the business end of my university degree.

Five years seemed like such a long time, but at the risk of sounding old, I’ve only just realised how quickly university goes by. On the brink of real life, I’ve realised a number of things happen to you as you reach the end of your degree…

THE PEOPLE IN FIRST YEAR CLASSES LOOK ABOUT FIVE YEARS OLD Maybe you’re like me, and you’ve shuffled your degree around. Your last year could have a first-year subject here, a compulsory third-year subject there – but, it’s basically hell. Mostly because your classes go over things you’ve heard a thousand times before, like why plagiarism is bad, proof reading is good and so on. Or talking to a fellow classmate about what they did over the weekend to hear ‘Oh, I didn’t go out. I’m not 18 yet’.

Those were the days. Which brings me to the next problem...

Y O U D O N ’ T U N D E R S T A N D W H AT Y O U R C L A S S M AT E S A R E S A Y I N G An actual quote from a student in one of my classes: ‘What?! A 2000 word essay?! That’s the most words I’ve ever written in my life!’

Oh kids. You’re in for a rough ride. But of course what happens when you’re in classes full of youths is…

Y O U L A M E N T T H E F R I E N D S T H AT H A V E A L R E A D Y G R A D U AT E D Have you developed abandonment issues? I have. Friends who have done a single bachelor, or a couple of summer subjects to speed up the process or are wandering overseas on exchange years, can make making new friends a little difficult when you’re missing the people who used be in your classes.

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I T G I V E S Y O U A FA L S E S E N S E O F

YOU WONDER WHERE PEOPLE GET THEIR

CONFIDENCE BECAUSE OF YOUR

‘A D U LT ’ C L O T H E S F R O M

‘EXPERIENCE’ Puh-lease. 2,000 words? I can do that in a day.

I’ve done bigger assignments in less time that that before.

Famous last words. Every. Single. Time.

…once you actually manage to get some real experience, you may start to realise that you’re going to need more than one ‘business jacket’.

This could mean a visit to a department store you’ve never been to, where the sales people can practically smell your fear and sense that you actually have no money.

BUT THE GOOD THING IS, IF YOU DO ANYTHING EMBARRASSING, THERE ARE E N O U G H N E W S T U D E N T S T H AT H A V E N O IDEA WHO YOU ARE. Like what yours truly did recently, rocking up to a unibar and face planting on a freshly spilt beer.

But not knowing anyone in the large group of youths can mean not embarrassing yourself. It’s the little things, you know?

THERE’S THE LOST-TIME REGRET Which can include the whole ‘why didn’t I maintain a distinction average’, and, ‘why didn’t I try and find work experience earlier’ to the ‘why didn’t I go to the uni bar more.’ And then…

P E O P L E S TA R T TA L K I N G T O Y O U A B O U T G R A D U AT E J O B S A N D S A L A R I E S Which is difficult, because being in your final year of university means that you can have wildly different expectations of what ‘no money means’ when talking with grown up, real-life professionals: ‘You don’t want to enter into community legal centres. There’s no money in them’.

‘Uh… what do you mean no money?’

‘You know, like 50 grand.’

‘Uh yes… That’s no money’.

THE REAL WORLD LOOKS A LITTLE TERRIFYING All that talk of career advancement, graduate jobs, training programs, and people telling you that the job market is terrible can give you the case of the jitters. Which…

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. . . C A N M A K E T A K I N G A N O T H E R Y E A R AT UNIVERSITY TO WRITE A LONG-WINDED THESIS STA RT T O LO O K R E A L LY A P P E A L I N G If anyone had asked me at the beginning of my university degree whether I’d take an honours year after five years of uni I would have laughed in their face. But then the thought of finding a job, deciding whether to take a break and do some travel, not having a concession pass anymore and having to pay full price for public transport – means that Honours is starting to sound like a great idea.

T E A C H E R S L O O K AT Y O U W I T H N O S T A L G I A Of course, you’ll bump into a Professor here and there. And the conversation will always go like this: ‘You’re still here?! I remember when you were a first year!

How long has it been now?’ *Cue nostalgic glance into the distance while you try and slink away* But it doesn’t stop there…

C O N V E R S AT I O N S W I T H FA M I L Y M E M B E R S G E N E R A L LY E N D U P L I K E T H I S : ‘You’re STILL at uni? When are you graduating?’

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HOW TO CHOOSE ELECTIVES B Y N AT A L I E Whilst I’m sure, you can’t get enough of constitutional law and the rest of the Priestley clan, doing electives is one of the best parts about law school!

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But how do you actually decide what subjects to take?

choosing. Firstly, electives are a great way to really explore your interests both in law and outside of law. So if you are really passionate about something, why not give it a go. Most universities allow you to take a couple of university wide electives. You can pick up French, economics or even creative writing.

If you’re anything like me and find all things law interesting then picking electives can be hard!

There are a few things to keep in mind when

Electives are also a great way of finding out what areas of law you are and are not interested in pursuing after university. If you’re passionate about

current refugee reform why not take Immigration and Refugee Law or if you want to crunch some numbers and have a go at Taxation Law. If it has been your life long dream to be a next Janet King why not give criminal law sentencing a go? There are so many options to choose from, maybe you’re passionate about your Saturday footy and want to apply your legal skills in a sporting context, there’s an elective out there for you!

Choosing a range of subjects is not only beneficial

in finding areas of law that interest you but eliminating those that don’t.

There are also a range of work integrated learning electives. If you’re working full-time or part-time in a law firm, why not get that work credited towards your degree? If you are particularly passionate about breaking down those barriers to justice and making legal advice more accessible, you have the option of being placed in a community legal centre (plus this is something you can put on your resume if you haven’t been so lucky with clerkships).

What’s great about electives is that they don’t always have the typical 40% assignment and 60% exam which means you can play to your strengths.

If you’re a great public speaker, why not choose an elective with an advocacy task, or if you love research essays, pick a subject with no final exam.

If you are in the minority of students (I like to think that’s the minority) that love 60% end of semester exams, don’t worry there are still plenty of subjects to choose from.

If you are particularly passionate about a particular area in law but your university does not offer any electives within that area, do some research and see which universities offer it (both online and on-campus) and your university can organise for you to study cross-institutionally. Another option most law schools offer is to undertake independent research on a topic of your choice.

There are so many electives to choose from, if there’s one piece of advice I can give, it is to enrol in subjects you genuinely have an interest in and not just a subject that you think will be easy, not only for your own benefit in getting an idea of what areas you do and don’t enjoy but because that is what will stand out when applying for jobs in a particular department rather than higher grades.

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T R A N S I T I O N I N G F R O M L AW

BY JANET

It’s a huge relief to finish law school, and when I finished my law degree I felt a massive weight lift off my shoulders and life was good. But a couple of months later, I decided to bite the bullet and start practical legal training (PLT) so that I could get admitted as a lawyer.

I had mixed feelings about starting PLT because I was pretty horrified at having to participate in mock court hearings (public speaking is not my forte). While I dreaded that, I looked forward to learning about how the law works in practice and considered that if anything, PLT will either be so great that I’ll want to practice law or I’ll know that practicing law is not for me.

My transition from law school to PLT has been pretty straightforward. The most important thing to keep in mind is that PLT and law school are completely different species. Like the name suggests, practical legal training is not theoretical like law school. Law school teaches you the law, but PLT teaches you how it all actually works when you’re a lawyer trying to assist a client.

Most of my PLT has been completed online, which involves a great deal of self-discipline, particularly as I’ve also been working full-time. Every week I have online units of work to get through and

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activities to submit for feedback. The activities have been so different to what’s required at law school, which is great – no research essays in sight!

You are basically put in the position of a junior lawyer and given instructions from a partner on what you need to do.

For example, I get a client file to work on and have to draft letters of advice, statements of claim and affidavits.

There are still exams, but I have found them to be different to uni exams; again they are very practical as they are not so much about applying the law to the hypothetical facts you are given.

One of the most valuable experiences during PLT has been client interviewing, because it’s something you don’t get taught how to do in law school and it’s both really interesting and challenging to have an individual tell you their story and try to figure out how you are going to help them.

Funnily enough, even though I was terrified at the prospect of having to appear in a court hearing, it ended up being a highlight of my practical legal training. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and I really enjoyed the experience.

S C H O O L T O P LT

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THINKING AHEAD: Y O U R P R A C T I C A L P L A C E M E N T F O R P LT B Y K AT When you’re at uni your practical experience seems like a light at the end of a very long tunnel.

Unfortunately, if you’re anything like me you’ll find that it sneaks up on you. Whether you’re in a last minute panic like me, or you’re planning ahead, here are a few tips and resources for finding that perfect placement.

1 . D O Y O U WA N T T O G E T PA I D ?

This is a more important question than you’d think. If you’re in NSW and have no prior experience working in the law then you’re generally looking at a total of about 15 or 16 weeks full time work, depending on where you’re completing your studies.

15 or 16 weeks? That’s like 4 months!

Yep. The tricky thing for baby lawyers is that most law firms know it is compulsory for us to do this placement before we can be admitted. So a huge number of law firms only take on practical placement students on an unpaid basis The problem is that while many law firms remember that practical placements are compulsory, they have forgotten what it is like to be a uni student with bills and rent to pay (not to mention a lifestyle to maintain).

Unless you’ve been saving for just this scenario, or you’re living at home with some patient and generous parents, you’ve got a snowflake’s chance in hell of being able to live without pay for 4 months. A large number of people who have been working full time for several years could not afford to do this, so our chances of making it through with sanity in tact are pretty slim.

If you’ve already had experience working in a legal environment my recommendation would be to try and get that recognised. If it is recognised then the length of time you need to spend on prac can be reduced by as much as half. While you may not be able to go without 4 months pay, 2 months could be far more bearable.

If you’re willing to go without pay, then you’ll find a placement tomorrow. But if you want to get paid you have to allow a lot of extra time.

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2. WHERE CAN I FIND A PLACEMENT? Check the jobs board at uni. Even better, your uni careers service may even have practical experience ads posted online. In my experience most of these positions are unpaid.

The College of Law website has a page dedicated to practical placements. Again, many of these positions are voluntary, but if you want to be paid my recommendation would be to focus on those ads which offer employment once your practical experience has been completed. They’re more likely to pay you during your placement, and if they don’t then you at least have a paying job waiting for you when prac is over.

If you have decided to do your practical experience on an unpaid basis, why not make it count? Many Community Legal Centres across the country offer practical placements to completing law students. There are legal centres for special interests (such as environmental law) and specific clients (immigrants, indigenous persons, young people, women, etc). Working in a CLC is a great way to give back and the experience is typically very hands on. Check out the national directory of CLCs. The next place to look is online job sites such as SEEK and My Career. Practical placement ads are not as easily found on these pages but they are likely to be paying positions. If the ads don’t make reference to PLT, College of Law or practical experience, look for references to a requirement for a final year law student.

If all else fails ask yourself the question who do I know? You can undertake your prac in a whole range of legal situations: in a law firm, with a barrister, working for a judge, working in house. Chances are you know someone who knows someone. Don’t be afraid to ask, but don’t be too demanding either. Depending on how good the connection is you may or may not be paid.

3. IS THIS THE RIGHT PLACE? In the desperate hunt for any legal working environment that will have you, don’t forget to check that they’re actually eligible to supervise you. Start planning by reading the placement requirements. For example, your supervisor may have to have a certain level of practicing certificate. It always pays to ask this in the interview, rather than find out later.

Happy hunting!

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P LT

1. WHERE DID YOU COMPLETE

I am currently completing my PLT a placement component I am working of the Co-Prosecutors in the Extrao of Cambodia. It is a hybrid tribunal s between the Government of Cambo for the International side, namely th Khmer Rouge Tribunal (UNAKRT). I there is a 3 month option) and it’s fu

2. H OW DID YOU FIND OUT AB WA S T H E A P P L I C AT I O N P R O

I didn’t begin my position of the Ext of Cambodia with the intention of c was unsure if it was within the scop but subsequently realised I would b position when I was in my final seme didn’t want to take the ‘traditional’ r graduate position, so I researched o interest in international law and hu thus, I started looking at job/intern Nations and NGO’s and ultimately f applied. The application process inc additional documents, and a compe

3 . W H AT WA S T H E H I G H L I G H T

I’m just over half way through my in time here so far have been:

• The opportunity to work in such with lawyers and other interns f cultural backgrounds.

• The advocacy training provided witness examination and cross-e of the Tribunal.

AT T H E E X T R A O R D I N A R Y C H A M B E R S BY CHLOE O’BRIEN Y O U R P LT ?

at the College of Law, and for the g as a Legal Intern for the Office ordinary Chambers in the Courts set up pursuant to an agreement odia and the United Nations. I work he United Nations Assistance to the It is a 6 month position (although ull time, 5 days a week.

B O U T T H E P O S I T I O N A N D W H AT OCESS LIKE?

traordinary Chambers in the Courts completing it as part of my PLT, as I pe of the PLT placement requirements be eligible. I found out about the ester of law school and realised I route of clerkships and vying for a other options. I had developed an uman rights law at law school and opportunities with the United found out about UNAKRT and cluded submitting you resume and etency-based interview (via phone).

T OF YOUR TIME THERE?

nternship but the highlights of my

h a large and multi-national Tribunal, from such a wide variety of legal and

• T he opportunity to sit in court regularly and watch the hearings live and see the ‘courtroom in action’ up close.

• L iving overseas in Cambodia and seeing the real life, previous and ongoing effects of the Khmer Rouge Regime, and being able to use and closely tie that into the dedication and passion you put into the work you do here.

4. W H AT WA S T H E M O S T C H A L L E N G I N G PA R T O F T H E PROGRAM? The most challenging part of my internship is also the most rewarding - it’s the overall experience of working in a hybrid Tribunal dealing with international criminal law and working for the Office of the CoProsecutors to charge the most senior and most responsible leaders of the Khmer with crimes such as murder, rape, torture, enslavement and physical violence. The crimes we deal with at the Tribunal are of such great magnitude it can be challenging to work with sometimes but as I said, it’s as rewarding as it is challenging because there are so many survivors of the Khmer Rouge Regime who have applied as Civil Parties and it’s a very important task of the Tribunal to correctly document the atrocities that happened under the regime.

5. W H AT W O U L D Y O U R A D V I C E B E T O C U R R E N T P LT STUDENTS ON THE LOOKOUT FOR WORK EXPERIENCE? Just to try and think of an area you may be interested in and spend some time researching available positions everywhere and anywhere - you’d be surprised what opportunities are out there! I didn’t know about UNAKRT until I starting looking specifically at working overseas in an international tribunal. Also, don’t be afraid to apply - it took me at least 4 months to work up to getting the confidence to submit my application because I never thought I’d get a position with the UN, but I did and I’m very pleased to have done so. Apply for any position you want, even if you don’t think you have a chance - you do!

by my Office which included examination in the main courtroom

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BY EMMA GERMAN

WORKING

IN-HOUSE AT 1. W H E R E D I D Y O U C O M P L E T E Y O U R P LT ?

I completed my PLT through the College of Law while working full time as a graduate at King & Wood Mallesons. PLT took about 6 months to complete and involved a combination of ‘on site’ classes at the College of Law campus (St Leonards) and ‘in house’ training at the KWM offices.

2. H OW DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT T H E P O S I T I O N A N D W H AT WA S T H E A P P L I C AT I O N P R O C E S S L I K E ?

I’m currently in house legal counsel at Stan. Stan is a joint venture between Nine and Fairfax and an exciting place to work. I found out about this role through connections I made early in my career who knew I was passionate about media.

I’ve always made an effort to get to know people in the industry, invest in those relationships and to seek mentors, as most people are very willing to help young lawyers. The application process involved multiple interviews which can be daunting, but having a clear and concise resume, an understanding of the company, a friendly attitude, professional outfit and a big smile helps. I’ve always believed that being natural in interviews is a better approach than reciting overly rehearsed answers.

3 . W H AT WA S T H E H I G H L I G H T O F Y O U R TIME THERE? The highlights of working at Stan include negotiating contracts for world class television content, seeing a television commercial or driving past a billboard that I reviewed, meeting all sorts of people from actors, social media experts, technology specialists to CEOs and answering legal questions including in relation to commercial, corporate, intellectual 14

property, consumer, property and even human rights law (sometimes all in one day!).

4. W H AT WA S T H E M O S T C H A L L E N G I N G PA R T O F T H E P R O G R A M ?

The most challenging part of PLT for me was adjusting from a university ‘academic’ approach to legal problems to a practical, real-life approach. Instead of writing essays or delivering speeches, PLT taught me how to write ‘real world’ communications, proper etiquette when dealing with challenging clients or colleagues and to figure out what clients really care about.

5. W H AT W O U L D Y O U R A D V I C E B E T O C U R R E N T P LT S T U D E N T S O N T H E LOOKOUT FOR WORK EXPERIENCE? My advice to current PLT students on the lookout for work experience would be to speak up – talk to everyone around you (opportunities can arise in the strangest of places), seek out companies you are interested in and set up a professional LinkedIn profile. My first ever work experience was in a small law firm which I got simply because I walked in and asked to do unpaid work experience– that one conversation went on to open many doors for me.

GOLDEN RULE FOR RESUMES: S H O RT A N D P R O F E S S I O N A L LY S W E E T

BY JESS C

Whether you are leaving the university nest and flying into the big world of scary jobs or you are looking for a casual pub job to cover textbooks, you will need a resume.

Here are some helpful hints for writing a good one, but be aware that there are not many hard and fast rules. You need to make it work for you.

and keep it short. If an interviewer wants more information, they’ll ask.

K E E P I T R E L E VA N T Tailor your resume specifically for the job you are applying for. Applying for a casual job as a bartender, will require a different set of skills to applying for a job as a solicitor, so make sure you

N O M O R E T H A N T W O PA G E S

highlight what is most important for a particular

Please. The most qualified person in the world,

job by placing it towards the top of the document,

does not need more than two pages, let alone a

and taking out things that are irrelevant.

law graduate applying for their first job. The only exception to this would be if you were submitting an autobiography to a publishing company for consideration as a novel.

DON’T FORGET A COVER LETTER If you have no experience to speak of, don’t panic.

Do include a cover letter. Even if you do have experience, a cover letter is always a good idea.

PROOFREAD

This will allow a potential employer to get to know

No one wants to see spelling errors. It’s irritating

you a little before an interview. It is also a great

and unprofessional. They’re also very easy to miss.

way to show that while you don’t have a lot of

Have a couple of people read it for you before

experience on your resume, you are still worthy

submitting it. A spelling mistake could mean the

of the job.

difference between getting an interview and never hearing from a company ever again.

F O N T M AT T E R S Finally, make sure you put it in an easy to read font.

KEEP IT CURRENT

Corsiva looks delightful! ...on a wedding invitation.

Future employers do not care about the fact

If a resume is unreadable, there is a good chance

you USED to play sport, or got selected for a

no one will read it.

representative team in year 9. They do care if you currently play sport or participate in extracurricular activities because it shows that

Happy job hunting!

you’re a well-rounded person. Just keep it current, 15

G E T T I N G T H E G R A D U AT E J O B I F Y O U MISSED OUT ON A CLERKSHIP When he applied for clerkships in his penultimate year of law school, An Vo, like many others, was unsuccessful. Now working as a lawyer in the banking team at Clayton Utz, Vo chatted with Survive Law about how missing out on a clerkship wasn’t the end of the world and explained how he scored his graduate job.

HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOU MISSED OUT ON A CLERKSHIP? Admittedly, I wasn’t too surprised. At the time I was still debating whether to pursue a career in economics instead of law. I’m sure I would cringe today if I re-read the applications I submitted.

W H AT W O R K D I D Y O U D O N E X T ?

Although I missed out on a coveted clerkship, I decided I still wanted to complete my PLT. This meant I needed to find a firm that was willing to sign off on and approve the practical experience component. Trawling through the UTS careers web page I found an opening for a paralegal role at Corrs Chambers Westgarth. This opportunity then led me to a very rewarding secondment to NBN Co Ltd soon after.

H O W D I D T H I S L E A D T O A G R A D U AT E R O L E FOR YOU? Going on secondment to NBN Co Ltd was a great opportunity - I really enjoyed working with the team. The work varied but ultimately the people I met made the experience very worthwhile. At that time NBN Co Ltd was still very much a start-up company with a very small core legal team. As a result, the company hired a lot of secondees to get the company up and running. I ultimately met and worked alongside a number of Clayton Utz

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lawyers who supported me through the daunting task of applying for a graduate position at the firm.

W H AT A D V I C E W O U L D Y O U G I V E T O L AW ST U D E N T S W H O M I S S O U T O N A C L E R K S H I P B U T S T I L L WA N T T O W O R K AT A COMMERCIAL FIRM? When I originally expressed my interest in the secondment opportunity, I had no idea what doors would open as a result but I decided to give it a chance anyway. I would encourage disappointed law students to go out there and try to gain as much experience in and exposure to the industry as possible.

If you’re truly interested in a career in commercial law, get out there and give 100% to whatever job you have, even if it’s as a volunteer in a law firm. If you can demonstrate that you’re competent and pleasant to work with, there’s a strong chance that you’ll impress your supervisors who may then recommend you to others if they’re unable to offer you a job themselves.

I can think of a few other junior lawyers who ultimately found work at the firm even though they had missed out on a clerkship. For some, personal/family reasons or travel commitments meant that they were unable to participate in the clerkship applicationprocess. For others, clerkships and commercial law just didn’t seem that attractive at the time.

It’s important to remember that clerkships are only one way to get into a top tier firm. With a lot of hard work, commitment and a bit of luck, anything is possible!

W H AT J O B A D S S A Y V S W H AT THEY MEAN

BY JESS A

1. M AIL/COURIER MANAGEMENT You’ll be the one printing off all the incoming correspondence, or sorting the outgoing correspondence into envelopes to go to their recipients – that is, if your workplace hasn’t moved totally electronic, in which case, you’ll be the one filtering out the emails that come to the generic address to the appropriate people. You’ll also be responsible for distributing incoming mail to the relevant staff member, and making sure things that were supposed to arrive, have, and chasing them up if they haven’t.

2 . D Y N A M I C This means that in any one day your duties can go from photocopying, to attending court, to drafting correspondence. It’ll be varied and no two days will be the same. You’ll also probably find yourself working on multiple tasks at once – greeting clients, answering phones, attending to administrative tasks and office tasks in general.

3. A D HOC DUTIES Whatever comes up: you’re it. Anytime a client calls querying why the lawyer hasn’t returned their call, or whether their paperwork has come through, or to ask whether you’ve heard anything from the other party, you’ll be the one explaining it to them, or putting them on hold to find out what’s going on. It also includes any last minute activities when the deadline is creeping up. You might even find yourself having to run down to file something at court at the last minute if you’re working in an

area where things move pretty quickly. Basically, any task that requires actioning immediately will probably fall on you.

4 . F I L E M A N A G E M E N T / G E N E R A L A D M I N I S T R AT I V E D U T I E S You’re the photocopier guru. You’ll be responsible for any documentation that needs to be obtained, copied and inserted into the client’s file. You’ll also be in charge of making sure it’s accurate and making any amendments that might be needed as per the manager’s request.

5 . S Y S T E M M A I N T E N A N C E Anytime something breaks down, you’re the fix-it person. You’ll probably be the one attempting to fix it yourself and getting frustrated, not to mention the time you’ll waste before you finally decide to ask for help. And when that doesn’t work, you’ll be the one calling the technician to fix whatever it is, and in the meantime have to deal with fact that the place will be without technology for several hours and apologise like crazy to clients who no doubt will be as annoyed as you about something you cannot even control.

Despite these not being explicit in the job ad, you definitely should expect a challenge, and with challenge brings new skills and accomplishments. So read the job description, but be prepared to go further.

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HOW TO NETWORK WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW ANYONE

BY ANGELIQUE

No one likes that guy who casually name-drops that his father/ mother/ great aunt Agnes is/was a barrister/ lawyer/ High Court judge/ leader of the free world.

You’re probably already doing it without realising it. Have you spoken to a person from another law school? Told a friend you wanted to get into

No doubt that we’d all like to be that guy too.

commercial law?

But no matter how hard it appears, it’s still possible to network even if your parents have nothing to do with law and are instead artistic and not so secretly disappointed that you didn’t follow their career into pottery. (In my case, a former architect who was disappointed to learn that I can’t draw).

Networking is valuable because majority of jobs

What’s needed is resourcefulness, a knack for small talk about things other than the weather, and shedding any kind of embarrassment about talking with strangers.

W H AT T H E H E L L I S N E T W O R K I N G ?

Networking, simply, is building relationships. It’s not asking people for jobs (although that may be an added perk later on) but gaining an insight into what a career may or may not entail. It’s more along the lines of establishing meaningful relationships before 18

you jump headfirst into your first job.

may not be advertised at all, and a referral through a contact can help to get your awesome cover letter and CV to the top of the pile.

W I L L P E O P L E TA L K T O M E ?

Most of the people you’re contacting will probably have had a similar experience and usually are happy to chat. Not only that, but you are validating their expertise and life experience by picking their brains.

ASK EVERYONE (AND I MEAN EVERYONE) ‘But I don’t know any lawyers/barristers/policy makers/law students-turned-baking-entrepreneurs!’, you say.

At first glance, this may seem like the case. Your parents might not have finished high school, don’t

speak much English and/or have no idea what a moot is. Or your circle of friends might appear to be as clueless as you are.

But there are simple ways around this.

Your network can include family, friends, former work colleagues, that person you met a party last week, that guy who did little athletics with you when you were five, and so on.

What about the people your parents went to school with? Maybe your brother has a friend working in wills and estates, or your family recently sought conveyancing advice? Or your friend’s-flatmate’sboyfriend’s-best-friend just got an entry-level job in a small firm?

Your brain, by this stage, should be screaming ‘let me talk to them!’ No matter how tenuous the connection is, anyone can provide valuable advice.

‘But’, I hear you say, ‘I have no interest in wills and estates, conveyancing or small firms’.

By speaking to people outside your areas of interest provides valuable insight. They also went through the same things as you. They probably had to decide whether or not to grab a coffee or study for another hour during uni, what placement to do, what area of law they wanted to pursue, hating or loving constitutional law and so on.

The small circle of people you originally started with has now expanded. These people went to law school (x at least 200 students in their cohort) had professors (who also did law and know their university cohort and have even more contacts through professional experience) leading to even more people working in the law. You get the point.

EXPLOIT CONNECTIONS If you feel nervous, or uncomfortable about contacting complete strangers, you shouldn’t. Are they a fan of the same A-League team as you? Do they know your second uncle Frank? Using these connections and things in common might make it easier to contact a complete stranger.

UNIVERSITY If you’ve analysed your networks and still come up short, University is another network you can rely on. It might be easier to have your careers advisor contact that barrister you wanted to talk to, rather than an email from yet another law student. Your university would also have an alumni network to pick from, as well as the potential added bonus of being covered for insurance should you do some work experience.

Have a look into networking events, mentoring programs and work experience opportunities organised through your uni.

A LWA Y S T H A N K P E O P L E The best advice I’ve ever heard about networking (and my life generally) is actually the most simple.

Thank everyone. Genuinely.

Even if your conversation didn’t leave you more knowledgeable than before, or it didn’t lead onto another connection, or it was just a brief replied email, they have taken time out of their day to give you advice.

Thanking people also has the added bonus of cementing your relationship and having a greater likelihood of people keeping you in mind should new opportunities come to light.

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DO’S AND DON’TS

BY STEPHANIE

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LinkedIn is a great way to grow and expand your professional network within your field and abroad. You never know when someone that you’ve met can help you out, either by throwing some advice your way or putting in a good word to HR (yes please!).

4. DON’T OVER POST One post a day is more than enough. If I see the same person posting over and over, I’ll start to think that they care more about social media than their studies, work or… I don’t know… social life?

1. PERSONALISE CONNECTION

5 . D O N ’ T C O N T I N U O U S LY AS K P E O P L E

REQUESTS

TO ENDORSE YOU

If LinkedIn sounds like the best way to connect

This is similar to that one person we knew in

with someone, make it worthwhile. Do send

the year 8 who always asked people to ‘like’

a personalized message based on your

their default picture on Facebook. Don’t be one

experience with that person like how you met,

of those people. To put it bluntly, it’s annoying.

and why you would like to connect with them.

Generic requests are… well, generic.

6. DON’T ADD EVERY SINGLE PERSON WITHIN YOUR FIELD

2. KEEP IT PROFESSIONAL

I mean, what’s the point of that? Stick by the old

Reminder: this isn’t Facebook or Tinder.

adage, quality over quantity. Fewer yet strong

Connect with people based around your

connections are much more advantageous in

networking experiences and career

the long haul than potential colleagues gossiping

progression. So no, the hottie on your

amongst their peers, ‘I think s/he added me but I

suggestions list is probably not a good call to be

don’t know who they are?’. Awkward.

adding away. Also, if it’s something you wouldn’t

y p p a H ! g n i t c e n n o C

say in the office, don’t blurt it out on LinkedIn 3. PORTRAITS NOT SELFIES! We don’t want to see a selfie of you all glammed up before the Law Ball. It’s much better to be appropriately dressed, looking like a sharp, savvy professional. So please lose the Barbie pink lipsticks and too cool for school shades.

Save it for insta.

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I D O N ’ T WA N T T O B E A C O N V E N T I O N A L L AW Y E R

BY LEANNE

“I’m Leanne, and I’m in my second last semester.” I announced to my first Property and Securities tutorial just a few weeks ago… “When I graduate, I’m not sure I want to be a lawyer.”

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Met with stares of disbelief and awe,

to be a ‘top tier commercial lawyer

my variation of the standard format

specialising in large-scale international

introduction was far from conventional.

mergers and acquisitions’? Does the

This was perhaps the first time I had

thought of accounting for your time

been truly honest about my current

in six-minute intervals send a shiver

intentions - previously cloaked by a

down your spine? Listen to your voice.

sense of shame, and application of the

Does it soften slightly when you

sunk-cost theory.

announce to others your status as a

Recalling an introductory law school lecture in which a realistic lecturer broke us up into pairs, and stated dryly that

law student? These could be indicators of contrary intentions…

Should you choose to complete your law

one of us would not finish law school or

degree, but not practice law, don’t write

practice law, the desire to beat the odds

off your experiences entirely. Learning

and be a successful graduate has long

is never wasted. You’ll keep the skills

been on my mind. Through challenges

developed throughout your degree. I’m

of both physical and mental illness, I’ve

not merely talking about your ability

persevered through this degree. Today,

to apply obscure legal principles to the

I find myself so close to the proverbial

circumstances of fictitious characters,

light at the end of what has been a very

but the broader application of structure,

long tunnel. But I’ve never been further

logical reasoning and lateral thinking.

from wanting to practice.

Statistically speaking, I’m not an anomaly… I’m part of a significant portion of students and graduates who have realised callings beyond the law. By voluntarily opting out of the

A law degree looks impressive on a resume, even if you’re not a lawyer.

It shows hard work, dedication and intelligence – traits that aren’t negated by a decision not to walk a certain path.

What if you’re not quite sure?

hyper-competitive clerkship/honours

Unfortunately, society views uncertainty

race, my perspective has shifted. No

and indecisiveness as weaknesses.

longer do I measure my worth against

Remember that you don’t have to close

the accolades of my peers. We speak of

the door completely. Keep it ajar in case

comparison as the thief of joy, and its

of a calling later in life.

time we stopped comparing.

Instead, look inwards. Observe yourself.

Take note of your body language when speaking of career goals. Do you fold

Some of the most “successful” nonpracticing law graduates I know still dip their toes in the industry from time to time…

your arms as you assert your objective

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