First impressions count: getting ready for your training contract or vacation placement

As you embark on your vacation scheme placement or your training contract, you will have the opportunity to utilise in practice the legal knowledge and skills acquired in class at university and law school. It's time to remember all that contract law from your LLB or GDL studies! And, no doubt, all the practice on the LPC undertaking legal research exercises will also pay dividends. The work itself will be, hopefully, intellectually challenging and stimulating.

But such technical expertise and skills are often seen as the baseline. The real question is what other skills do you need to excel in your training contract or placement, get ahead of the competition and impress your employer? Alongside commercial awareness, much hangs on the more intangible 'soft stuff' not taught at law school. It's about mindset and drive, effective work management, communicating well, being a great team player, resilience, understanding how law firms work and, above all, knowing how to conduct yourself and make the right impression.

Traditionally, these are skills one learns on the job, often over several years. Many lawyers have looked back at their early career and thought, "I'd have handled that differently if I knew then what I know now". There is an opportunity for you to start building these skills in a short and affordable training workshop run by TalaSpect and entitled 'Preparation for Legal Practice'. The programme is delivered by a former director of learning and development at one of the United Kingdom's top law firms and includes a certificate of attendance demonstrating your commitment to succeed in law.

The workshop is on Wednesday 24 February from 5:30pm to 8:45pm at the London School of Economics and costs £45 to attend. It is aimed at students who are applying for or have obtained a training contract or vacation placement (ie, students studying on an LPC or the latter stages of an LLB or GDL). For further details and to book a place on the workshop, click here.

Colin Dworkin is commercial director at TalaSpect, a talent development consultancy with heaps of experience in the legal sector.