Criteria Ranking For Law Students Obtaining Training Contracts

We were recently asked by a local university to rank the criterion we apply when offering Training Contracts for law students. The task was not as easy as first thought as it is not a case of ‘one thing is better than another’; we tend to look for someone who has ‘the whole package’.

But obviously, everyone has different strengths and weakness so we lend different weight to each of the traits we look for. As an experiment, we asked followers of @DG_Academy to provide their thoughts as Law Students to see if they are focusing their efforts on the right area in their search for a Training Contract.

The Criteria For Law Students

University Attended

DG RANK #6 – STUDENT RANK #6

In response to this question, one respondent provided one list for ‘Magic Circle’ Firms and another for ‘non-Magic Circle’. Obviously, we cannot comment on the recruitment processes used by other Firms but the common assumption is that the larger City Firms do look for ‘old universities’ as a way of ‘narrowing the field’ due to the large number of applicants. Whilst this may be true, there remains a significant majority of non-Magic Circle Firms for whom the reliance on ‘old universities’ is out-dated.

Daniel Taylor - Operations Manager:

“At Duncan Gibbins we do not hold a degree from one university in higher regard than any other. Equally, we will consider LPC qualifications equally whether they are from a university, BPP or College of Law. The reality is that  Law Students now have financial concerns to consider in obtaining the best deal for them and this may not be from the ‘red brick’ route.”

Degree and Classification Obtained by Law Students

DG RANK #5 – STUDENT RANK #1
The main difference in opinion between Law Students and our Recruitment Team related to the weight given to the degree classification. Our positioning at number five does not mean to belittle the person’s efforts in obtaining a strong degree, or suggest that a degree is not important. However, some of our strongest team members hold 2:2 degrees or even non-law degrees whilst we also rejected applicants who held a 1st Class degree in Law from a redbrick university. A strong degree is a foot in the door and the foundation of your career but without the other traits a Law Firm looks for, it alone will not help you obtain that training contract.

Lauren Roberts - Trainee Solicitor:

“When I first started work within a Law Firm I was surprised at how little research was conducted. Most of the work completed on a case is procedural and only at certain stages will you be required to review relevant case law. It’s extremely rare that we use the knowledge gained during the LLB in our day to day work as a Solicitor; don’t think I’ve ever quoted Donoghue v Stevenson!”

Work Experience

DG RANK #4 – STUDENT RANK #3
Most Law Students looking to commence a career in law appreciate that many Firms require work experience before offering Training Contracts. Increasingly, Firms are adopting a ‘try before you buy’ strategy; recruiting only from the pool of people who have spent time working (usually for free) at their offices. The reasoning behind this is that no matter how impressive a candidate is during interview (and no matter how extensive that process is) a Firm can only really know how a candidate will fit into the role once they have worked within it.

Matthew Dean – Partner:

“Work experience in itself is not important, what is important is that you can demonstrate that you have applied your skills and academic background to a working situation and that you can excel in that environment.”

Relevant Skills

DG RANK #3 – STUDENT RANK #2
‘Skills’ potentially relates to a number of attributes but we took this to mean ‘initiative’, ‘organisation’, ‘working within a team’, etc. These skills are important for the reasons mentioned above; a law degree (and to a certain extent the LPC) does not fully prepare you for practice. A candidate may be able to deal with one specific problem on a single case, but maintaining a caseload of tens (if not hundreds) of cases at different stages requires a multitude of different skills which are far more difficult to acquire ‘on the job’ than an understanding of the relevant law.

Mark Ellis – Senior Solicitor:

“We’ve interviewed a number of highly intelligent law students who unfortunately were not offered a training contract with us. A candidate may be able to grasp the subject matter with ease, but they must have other skills such as working within a team or confidently articulate their argument to opponents and clients.”

Confidence

DG RANK #2 – Student Rank #4
Showing confidence in an interview is difficult and the situation can be quite tense. However, attending Court or conducting an interview with a client can also play on the nerves. It is important that a candidate demonstrates that they can deal with these situations confidently. In economic times such as this, it is essential for any law firm that it’s representatives are able to build a good rapport with its clients to ensure a good Solicitor-Client relationship.

Daniel Taylor:

“Confidence (or lack thereof) has been the main deciding factor between those offered a second interview and those who unfortunately were not. Often, we interviewed law students who provided the correct answers to all questions put to them but failed to do so in a confident manner. For a client to have confidence in the advice we give, we must give that advice correctly and with conviction. This is equally true when facing opponents.”

Attitude

DG RANK #1 – Student Rank # 5
It may come as a surprise to some that the trait we look for most in people is a ‘positive attitude’. From the hundreds of applications we receive, we can be reasonably certain that most will have a strong academic background and many will be able to confidently demonstrate that they have the skills needed to become a successful Solicitor. However, becoming a Solicitor isn’t the end of the road, it is just the beginning.

We look for candidates who are willing to not only dedicate their time to completing client work, but who are also ambitious and show a desire to assist with the business side of the Firm. Despite the portrayal of Solicitors in the media, much of our role requires the completion of routine tasks rather than representing clients in Court and we need Trainees who are enthusiastic about their role as a whole.

Mark Ellis:

“We ranked ‘attitude’ at number one as without a good positive attitude, all other attributes are worthless. A candidate can be highly skilled and educated but if they are not committed to providing clients with a first class service, they will not last long at any Firm.”

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