Aus Legal Careers Advance

" 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...