What I gained from LawCareersNetLIVE 2019

As a returning student to university in my first year of law, I knew what I wanted to do but there was little opportunity for me to get involved in internships or vacation schemes at such an early stage in my career. That’s when I came across the application for LawCareersNetLIVE 2019 which was open to all aspiring lawyers at any stage of their career.

During LawCareersNetLIVE Bristol 2019, I was selected to take over the LawCareers.Net Instagram page to document the event and my experience. The conference itself was a very welcoming environment that taught attendees how to use the networking breaks, which encouraged us to meet new people and make the most of all the opportunities throughout the day.

The panel discussions at the beginning and end of the day covered topics including how law firms operate as businesses, the impact of Brexit, the new SQE exam and how external factors can generate opportunities for a firm.

There were also a range of workshops to choose between from both the commercial and corporate sectors including; environmental, family, technology, pitching and more. I chose to attend the technology and cyber risk workshop with RPC, and the pitching for investment workshop with TLT LLP. They both provided an insight into not only these areas, but also how to approach issues within these areas and develop solutions as a trainee.

The first workshop on technology and cyber risk included a medical data breach. We had to work in groups of six to run through the process of rectifying the issue as well as protecting both the patients and the businesses. We then came back together and collaborated with other groups to share our ideas.

My second workshop on pitching for investment required us to read through a brief and present our investment proposal for a business in a given time frame. Each group had a partner join them to challenge our ideas and make us think outside of the box. This was really useful and made the experience less nerve-wracking and more exciting.

In my first year of studying law, I applied to a number of events that I was rejected from. The LawCareersNetLIVE conference happened to be my one yes of the year that lead to a number of other successful applications. The opportunity to attend helped to build my confidence with public speaking, networking and engaging in conversations with legal professionals.

I would recommend the conference to anyone seeking to obtain new connections, explore different areas of law, and have the opportunity to speak to firms and ask them questions you are unable to find answers to on their websites. I would encourage future attendees to research the firms attending before the event, so you can have questions prepared and demonstrate an interest in the firm. This research will also help you to decide who you want to speak to before attending. Many firms attend LawCareersNetLIVE so you will not have enough time in one day to have valuable conversations with all of them!

You can find out more about this 2020’s LawCareersNetLIVE conferences and apply at https://live.lawcareers.net/. Replacing LawCareersNetLIVE Bristol this year, LawCareersNetLIVE Virtual will be split across two afternoons online and will offer the same format as the London and Manchester in-person events.

Jasmin is a second year LLB student at Brighton University. Having lived in Australia for two years she is keen to work for an international law firm in the commercial sector. She runs the popular legal Instagram page @thelillifter.