Aus Legal Careers Advance

Photo by Clarisse Meyer on Unsplash Broadly, there are 3 types of legal work: 1. Transactional – reviewing, negotiating, drafting and advising on legal documents such as agreements and deeds to facilitate commercial transactions between your client and other parties. Examples of transactional practice areas include mergers and acquisitions (M&A), private equity (PE), funds, banking and finance (B&F), technology, media and telecommunications (TMT), real estate and front-end construction. 2. Litigation and Dispute Resolution – advising on the resolution of disputes between your client and other parties through dispute resolution processes such as litigation (i.e. court proceedings), arbitration, expert determination or mediation. Examples of litigious practice areas include commercial litigation, commissions and investigations, arbitration, restructuring and insolvency, intellectual property litigation, defamation, back-end construction, insurance, class actions, tax litigatio...

" How to Get a Job after Law School " by Miller Leonard:   https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7127991494199701504/ Photo by Ben White on Unsplash While law school provides you with a legal education, the unfortunate reality is that law school doesn't teach you how to land a job in the law. "How to Get a Job after Law School" by Miller Leonard is a frank guide to getting a job as a lawyer. While Miller's piece is probably targeted at an American audience, here are just some of my key takeaways which are just as relevant for Australian law students: "... most legal jobs are hidden and most legal jobs are the product of the network you develop ." If you're looking beyond seasonal clerkships and formal graduate programs, this statement is even more true. " The law is vast. Practice areas are not as vast. The journey to figure out a practice area you think you can enjoy seems daunting. But you already know what you like to do...

" The Jobless Lawyer's Handbook - How to Get Hired as a Lawyer " by  Brian H. Potts :  https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7143752086655021056/ Photo by Studio Media on Unsplash While law school provides you with a legal education, the unfortunate reality is that law school doesn't teach you how to land a job in the law. Brian H. Potts' book " The Jobless Lawyer's Handbook - How to Get Hired as a Lawyer "  is a frank and practical step-by-step guide on how to land a job as a lawyer.  Brian Potts is a partner at international law firm Perkins Coie. While Brian's book is probably targeted at an American audience, here are just some of my key takeaways which are just as relevant for Australian law students: " Here’s the bottom line: for many of you, getting a legal job is going to be hard. Very hard. So, don’t half-ass your attempt ." This is particularly true for the most sought-after roles in the law, such as BigLaw cle...

If you are a law student who is wondering what the Australian commercial law landscape looks like, here is a non-exhaustive list of commercial law firms operating in Australia (in no particular order). Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash Bird's Eye View of Australian BigLaw BigLaw generally includes all top-tier and mid-tier commercial law firms and international law firms with Australian offices.   Many BigLaw firms are full-service  law firms. Many BigLaw firms are participating employers in clerkship and/or graduate program recruitment.  A majority of graduate positions at the BigLaw firms are filled by seasonal clerks.  However, some BigLaw firms will "go to market" for graduates from time to time and some BigLaw firms may only run graduate programs (i.e. no clerkship programs). In legal ranking publications such as Chambers and Partners, Legal 500 and Doyle's Guide, many of the ranked firms in each practice area are often BigLaw fi...

If you have an upcoming interview at a law firm, here is a list of Don'ts as told by someone who went through the clerkship and graduate application process.   Photo by Issy Bailey on Unsplash So, don't : Come not having done your research about the firm and/or interviewers (if known). Come not having practised your interview skills and your answers to common interview questions. Come not having remembered the content of your resume. Be late to your interview. Come not dressed the part. Come not having your phone on silent or turned off. Not show enthusiasm.  Not smile or not be friendly. Not make eye contact with your interviewers. Not closely listen to your interviewer and not answer the question asked of you. Not be concise and not be "to the point" in your answers. Not slow down when answering and not be clear in your speech. Launch your answer immediately if you are still thinking and not ready to answer. Waffle or come off as nervous. Fidget in your chair. Not ...

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash Check out this article titled " What I wish I'd known as a first-year or second-year law student " published   on Lawyers Weekly:  http://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/biglaw/38716-what-i-wish-id-known-as-a-1st-year-or-2nd-year-law-student

As a pre-penultimate year student, you are generally not eligible for most internship, vacationer and clerkship programs.  However, as explained in What makes a competitive applicant for clerkship, vacationer, internship or graduate positions? , this fact does not mean that you need to wait (or should be waiting) until your penultimate year to obtain work experience (whether it is legal or non-legal experience). This post focuses on examples of "legal experience" and tangential experience which pre-penultimate year law students could be considering.  However: remember that "legal experience" is not the only form of work experience valued by law firms and other legal employers.  For example, customer service experience is valuable to employers as such experience tends to demonstrate the proven ability to work with clients and customers.  The importance of "other" experience is perhaps evidenced by the fact that there will be always some seasonal clerks who,...

"Why do you want to work here?"  This question (or any question to that effect) is a "motivational question" which any interviewing candidate can expect in most interviews. Photo by Hunters Race on Unsplash   While there is no such thing as the "perfect" magical answer (and interviewers may have their own preferences as to what is a good answer), here are some considerations as to how you could possibly approach this question. Being genuine . For example, if you are applying for a top tier commercial law firm (or a firm with a Band 1 practice group that you are interested in), then a genuine answer might be that you are looking to work on the most complex matters and with market leading practitioners and that firm will provide you with those opportunities.  If you are applying for a mid tier or boutique law firm, then a genuine answer might be that you like autonomy and responsibility and you believe that the firm will provide you with greater responsibil...

Dear [your name] Thank you for your application for the 2023/24 Seasonal Clerkship Program at [firm name].  Congratulations, we are delighted to invite you to a first round interview.  Photo by Sebastian Herrmann on Unsplash If you are one of the very few law students who have received or will receive an email to this effect, congratulations!  Given how competitive it is for clerkship applications (think 1000+ applications for perhaps 100-150 first round interviews and ultimately 30-50 clerkship positions at the larger firms in Sydney), you should be proud of getting at least a first round interview.  The firm has actually been "impressed" by your application (unlike those who were unfortunately rejected).     However, the clerkship process is not over yet and you may or may not end up with clerkship offer(s) at the end of the process.   Didn't receive any clerkship interviews (despite firms politely saying that they were "impressed" with yo...

As seasonal clerkship applications start to close in NSW, many students are frantically proofreading and checking their cover letters before submission. The cover letter is the first thing that the law firm recruitment representative reads before they turn to your resume.  Accordingly, it is perhaps the most important document in your application and is what gets you or costs you an interview at that firm.  For example, addressing the wrong law firm in your cover letter will certainly cost you an interview because it suggests a lack of attention to detail and care (as well as a lack of interest in that particular firm). Photo by Unseen Studio on Unsplash As someone who was able to score a few clerkship and graduate interviews back in the day, here is my checklist of the things that you could consider before submitting your cover letter for clerkship and graduate applications. ALCA Seasonal Clerkship Cover Letter Checklist Checklist item ✓ ...

As seasonal clerkship applications start to close in NSW, many students are frantically proofreading and checking their resumes before submission. A resume enables the recruiter to form their first impression of you.  An error or mistake on your resume (which could be replicated across multiple firms if you use the same resume across the board) can suggest to law firms that you lack attention to detail.  Therefore, your resume can either get you or cost you an interview.  Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash As someone who was able to score a few clerkship and graduate interviews back in the day, here is my checklist of the things that you could consider before submitting your resume for clerkship and graduate applications. ALCA Seasonal Clerkship Resume Checklist Checklist item ✓     Structure of your resume – the key sections: Personal details – your name as the heading and provided contact details (suc...