Where it all starts …
Mille Bird, Paralegal
During my four years studying Law at university, there was such a focus around getting work experience, applying for as many vacation schemes as possible and ultimately getting a training contract. I remember feeling as though that was impossible. I found it particularly difficult as I spent my holidays from university working to save up for the following year and just didn’t have the time to dedicate to work experience.
I did eventually manage to get a small amount of work experience, and this was useful to put on my CV, but most of the time I was just an extra pair of hands to help with administrative tasks.
After completing my LPC, I felt like I had come to a bit of a dead end. Even with a Law degree and LPC, having only a few weeks work experience, I had little hope of being able to get a training contract.
I carried on working part-time in the job that had seen me through my LPC (and the pandemic). I then decided that looking for a Paralegal role was the best thing to do, although this was a challenge in itself given the pandemic and jobs being few and far between.
I searched for jobs for around half a year after finishing my LPC, spending hours tailoring various applications and feeling really disheartened to not hear back from firms. I was then offered a Paralegal role at Rollits and was absolutely over the moon.
Now that I have been a few weeks, I am gradually being given my own caseload to work on with help from others in my team. I am learning new things everyday about the area of law in which I am working, and continuously get to develop my knowledge by doing research for colleagues. I am given plenty of responsibility to work on files independently but there is also plenty of support whenever I have questions.
Being a Paralegal has solidified my desire for a career in law, but also shown me that there is no right or wrong route into that.
Advice for people looking at a career in law
- Try not to get stuck on the things you don’t have and emphasise what you do have
- Tailor each application (regardless of the job) and ensure both you and the firm are a good fit for each other
- Don’t rule yourself out based on what you anticipate a firm is looking for
- Remember that the only real pressures are the ones you put on yourself
- Don’t take rejection to heart, ask for feedback and keep going!
This article is for general guidance only. It provides useful information in a concise form. Action should not be taken without obtaining specific legal advice.