WHY LIFE IS TOUGH FOR LAW GRADUATES

Have you recently finished your degree? Are you having trouble finding paid employment?

It is a tough gig these days getting a job after you have finished your degree. These days there are at least 3 x as many law graduates as there are jobs available.

So why is it so hard for legal eagles to get their foot in the door of a law firm when they finish their degree?

1 thing - lack of experience!

I hear so many people say that they can't get a job because of a lack of experience, and they need a (paid) 'job' to get the experience.

Untrue!

I recall the start of my career only too well....

My first ever legal role was UNPAID work experience for a period of 3 months.

Thereafter, I secured a job as a SECRETARY which I worked in for a period of 3 years, including for 1 year AFTER my admission to the profession as a lawyer.

However, even though my official role was as a secretary, the experience I received in this role was invaluable including drafting legal documents, correspondence, attendance at court and even instructing on trials! I learnt how to run a family law file from start to end during this 3 year period thanks to an amazing mentor who invested in me.

That job was the toughest gig of my life, but it is also the job that shaped my career as in that role I was able to get invaluable experience and mentoring. I was preparing for and instructing on family law trials even before my admission. About 16 trials in about 3 years to be exact (2 years of which I wasn't even admitted as a lawyer).

What lawyer can say they have had that much experience in the first few years prior to and following their admission as a lawyer? Almost none!

It is this role and the excellent mentoring I received from my mentor at the time, that got me to where I am today.

So to all the law graduates out there who are struggling to find a paid legal position after completing your degree, here is my 2 cents for you.

Work for free!

I always tell my junior legal colleagues that getting your practicing certificate is much like getting your drivers licence, it doesn't mean you know how to drive ;)

So take advantage of someone who is willing to invest the time in you in order to train you to be a good 'driver' AKA an experienced lawyer by watching them work, learning their skills, and copying what they do, so that you can achieve the same results.

Because the reality is for a practitioner such as myself - It is actually more of a burden for us to have someone without experience in our office that we need to supervise/train, than it is to not have them there at all...

This experience may actually be the difference between you being able to secure ongoing employment in this profession and achieve your big goals and dreams of 'making it big' in the legal industry.

#careerdriven #followyourdream #dowhatotherswon't