How to land in-house legal training

The eagle eyed among you will have noticed that I haven’t used the words ‘training contract’ in the title of this article. That’s because the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) is imminent, and I expect in-house legal teams to adapt to it quickly. The SQE regime replaces the training contract in its current form and adds flexibility to today’s qualification process. More on that later. Let’s dive straight in and look at what you need to do to gain that all-important in-house experience.

Understand in-house

In addition to knowing what an in-house lawyer is, it is important to know what they do and how. I help thousands of aspiring lawyers with this through my Instagram page, @inhousepotter. Once you get to grips with the basics, your knowledge will lead you to explore the common challenges faced by in-house legal teams and hopefully to forming your own opinion on how these should be tackled. A key part of an in-house lawyer’s role is working out more efficient ways to deliver advice, therefore the earlier you adopt this way of thinking the better.

Build a network

I know, you’ve probably read this a million times. Just the thought of networking used to make me feel uncomfortable, so I didn’t start creating connections until after I had qualified. I now understand the benefits of building a network and why I was advised by so many to do so.

I wouldn’t be where I am now if I didn’t have a strong network around me and who knows where it will lead me in future. One positive to come out of the pandemic is that it has brought people together in such a way that makes it easy for you to either create or expand your current network. The more people you meet, the more journeys into law you’ll learn about and the bigger your bucket of professionals to ask questions of when there’s something you’d like to explore. Through this, you can keep up to date with legal teams offering training roles and figure out the best in-house route for you.

Start your role search

If there’s one platform you should be focussing your efforts on right now, it’s LinkedIn. LinkedIn is rife with legal professionals not only wanting to help, but also going the extra mile to ensure that people are offered a chance in law. Create or enhance your profile; spend some time researching the roles available; and set up notifications based on the job searches you gravitate to. That way, you’ll be notified as soon as one becomes available, giving you the opportunity to be one of the first to apply.

I’d also recommend that you speak with Flex Legal and make the most out of legal recruitment services. Don’t be shy about making the first move – this shows great initiative and proactivity, both of which are important skills for working in the legal profession.

Please don’t worry about the whole ‘prior experience required’ conundrum. Due to the pandemic, many aspiring lawyers are in the same position with work experience opportunities being few and far between. If you impress during the application process, there is no reason why you can’t circumvent this requirement by demonstrating your skills in a different way.

Mention training (carefully)

Once you land that all important interview, there’s no harm in making it known that your goal is to qualify. It shows you have thought about your aspirations, your future with the company and that you have a career aim in mind. That being said, make sure you have thought about everything you’d like to say from the view of your potential employer. Legal training should be pitched, not demanded!

Be sure to explain how your training can benefit the company, and back it up with numbers and examples where you can. The key is to make the award a no brainer for the organisation. If the process is simplified and the business benefits in multiple ways, this makes it much easier for it to get on board with your qualification aspirations.

All the above applies whether your role constitutes a training contract or Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) under the new SQE regime. Arguably, the SQE makes this simpler: QWE should be easier to secure; you won’t have to have awkward conversations about a training contract; your role title doesn’t need to change; the process is more flexible; and, if you are looking for sponsorship, you have less money to ask for.

I know the in-house training world can sometimes feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. Unfortunately, it’s not as transparent as the private practice world. The roles are out there though, so if you become savvy by using the tips above, I’m sure that you’ll land your first in-house role in no time.

Keep pushing!

Emma Lilley is an in-house lawyer and founder of In-house Potter.