Some learnt from something tort
updated on 04 November 2011
Every year, Ince and Co (a City law firm originally specialising in maritime law but which does much more these days) awards student tort law prizes in a lavish event held in their London offices. The top performers in the first-year LLB tort courses at the universities of Birmingham, Bristol, Nottingham and Warwick are the lucky (read: brainy) winners and have a chance to see the firm up close, visit its offices, meet partners and trainees, and generally get a feel for what a firm that proudly claims to be "at the forefront of developments in contract and tort law" is like.
I think this offers a great insight for candidates into what firms are trying to do with their recruitment and attraction strategies - something you should understand and appreciate if you are to operate at a sufficient level of sophistication to be in with a realistic chance of getting a job. Let's look at what this exercise achieves:
- Ince is showing which areas of law they are strong in and sending out a message to candidates strong in that same area - in this case tort - that they value ability in this field.
- Ince is forging links with law faculties in universities that they see as likely places to pick up talent. One hopes the academics in the law departments will be proud to see their students being recognised for their achievements.
- It builds personal links with academically excellent candidates - if you've come top in tort, you're probably pretty smart and dedicated. Employers like smart and dedicated!
- It gives the message that consistent academic performance throughout university is desirable. There may well have been other students who potentially could have come top but didn't think that first year was important. It looks like it is!
- Ince got key opinion formers, tutors and top students inside its offices to meet its people. When law firms come up as a topic back on campus, who do you think they will be talking about?
So, full marks to Ince for an excellent initiative and well done to the winners. And they needn't be the only winners - now you can better analyse what firms do and why. A vital tool in your quest to catch their eye!
