Power to the Paralegals

Having some paralegal experience to call your own can mean the difference between getting a training contract and not. We speak to one LPC graduate who has discovered the benefits of paralegalling and offers her advice on how to secure something similar.A law degree or a conversion course demonstrates an interest in the law - but nothing proves your commitment to a career in the law like experience. Work placement schemes during university vacation periods are a great way of getting experience (for more information, click here) but cannot compare to working as a paralegal for authentic legal experience. As a profession in its own right, paralegal jobs come in many shapes and sizes: highly paid veterans in City firms down to law students temping on two-week contracts. Paralegal work echoes that of a solicitor, involving more support work and less client contact, and is usually much more engaging than work placement scheme tasks. Being a paralegal can be dynamic, exciting and enlightening - and it's always a worthwhile experience. We interviewed Vinita Addy, an LPC graduate currently searching for a training contract, about her experiences as a paralegal.

Why did you decide to find a paralegal job?
Towards the end of my degree and on the LPC I knew a lot more about what I needed to do to get a training contract and what firms look for. If I'd known that earlier I would have applied for more training contracts and done more work placement schemes. You don't realise how important those things are until you're faced with not having a training contract. I knew I needed to get more commercial experience and learn the ropes, and see how you would conduct a transaction in practice - being a paralegal seemed the sensible thing to do.

Where did you look for jobs?
I looked on the Immediate Vacancies section on LawCareers.Net (click here) and applied for a job I saw advertised for a small City firm.

What was the interview like?
It was very laid back, actually. The job was for a three-month paralegal contract in the firm's mortgage repossession department so I did a little research into property markets and read the firm's entry in The Training Contract & Pupillage Handbook. In the interview, the managing partner told me about the role, the clients and the work I’d be doing. He didn't actually ask me why I wanted the role or what I wanted to do. One of the associates said she liked that I'd worked as a secretary before. She knew I'd have good organisation skills. That made my application a bit different from other people's. I was on the train home when they called to offer me the job!

What kind of work did you do?
I found myself using all the knowledge I'd learnt on the LPC. I'd studied property as a compulsory topic - it was very relevant because I was in the property department. Whenever a property had gone to auction and before it was sold, we'd have to issue contracts, exchange contracts, complete contracts, draft financial statements and that kind of thing. It was great to put everything I'd done on the LPC into practice.

How did you fit into the team?
In my department there were three paralegals and, to keep the department running smoothly, a trainee who had transferred from the commercial property department. She was the one we'd go to for assistance, as opposed to going to the associate who was quite busy. For example, when a solicitors' firm failed to complete on a contract we had to issue a 'notice to complete' for which they'd be charged interest, accruing on a daily basis. I didn't have a clue how to do that so the trainee helped me through that process. It was great to add to the knowledge I'd learnt on the LPC.

What happened when that contract ended?
I was still looking for more paralegal work so I registered with a temping agency in the City, DA Solutions. I found out about the agency through some friends. You had to submit a CV then they invite you along to attend a recruitment interview, then there's a proofing test which lasts 20 minutes or so, and then they take your bank and NI details. Then they get back to you if there's any work. For temporary work you have to call every morning and say you're available. They may need someone as soon as possible, even within the hour! Luckily, the agency found me work at a magic circle firm.

A lot of paralegal jobs require experience. Did you come up against this Catch-22?
Yes! It's so frustrating because you think, 'but how can I get that experience?!' Job adverts always say you need six months' experience - and not just any experience, corporate experience. That was why I joined the agency because I never would have been able to work at a magic circle firm otherwise!

What work did the agency find for you?
I got a one-month contract in the corporate department of a magic circle firm and two weeks' work in a leading international firm in the City. At the magic circle firm, I was working on a major merger. We had to compile all internal documents to send to the European Commission for them to assess whether it would be an anti-competitive merger. We had to get all the documents from the database, including their sales positioning, strengths, weaknesses and what their competitors were doing. We collated all those documents, paginated them, then made them into bundles.

What was it like to work for a magic circle firm?
I loved it! I was working in a really large team of 40 paralegals. A lot of them had come from agencies like me. You were in your own team of four paralegals and two trainees. You'd go to the trainees first before you'd bother any of the partners. But the partners were always around. Before you go into that environment you'd expect it to be really scary, but it wasn't. They were just there to get the deal done. They weren't there to criticise you, they were there to check you were OK so you could work to the best of your ability and finish what they needed you to do. You knew they were there but they left it up to the trainees to check everything was running OK.

What's the difference between being a paralegal and going on a work placement scheme?
You don't get to grips with what being a trainee is like on a work placement scheme; working as a paralegal is a lot closer to what you would experience. A work placement scheme is more structured. They have set things that they want you to do and learn. As a paralegal, anything can crop up so you have to be prepared. Any day could be different. You're not going to arrive in the morning and do your set tasks for that day. Working in a repossession department, I found things don't go smoothly. On a work placement scheme you'd never encounter that.

What would you advise other students about getting a paralegal job?
It gives you good experience because you've done the theory on your degree or conversion course, and then you've done the LPC which is obviously more practical. But then to go into a firm and work - to put everything you've learnt into practice - is a completely different experience. However, you shouldn't assume that if you get a paralegal job you'll get a training contract at that firm in a year or so. But if you get a paralegal job anywhere, other firms will then look at you as being more attractive because they'll know you've got the necessary commercial experience.

For more information on paralegals, click here.