NationalLawLIVE and CityLawLIVE careers conferences: we want what firms want

This December, LawCareers.Net will be hosting two careers conferences for talented students interested in a career in law: CityLawLIVE and NationalLawLIVE. CityLawLIVE is for students who want to learn more about how to build a fulfilling career as a solicitor in a top City firm, while NationalLawLIVE is aimed at those students who want to learn more about life as a solicitor in one of the United Kingdom’s foremost national firms.

These are unique events that offer the chance to meet partners, trainees and graduate recruiters from top law firms. We handpick the best student delegates to spend the day with these representatives – delegates we believe could go on to become excellent trainees at our sponsor firms.

So what are we looking for in a CityLawLIVE/NationalLawLIVE delegate application? Exactly what a top law firm is looking for in a vacation scheme and training contract application. Below are the questions we ask ourselves when looking at a delegate application:

What stage is the candidate at?

The conferences are best suited to students who will be making vacation scheme applications to top firms in January 2017 (and subsequently training contract applications). Firms tend to recruit vacation scheme students who are in their first or second year of a law degree, final year of a non-law degree or have recently started the GDL, so if you fall into these categories then this is a great event for you. Applications from law graduates and LPC students will be considered, but we will give priority to our core audience in the first instance.

Has the candidate applied before?

If you have previously applied to one of the events, but your application was not successful, we are happy for you to apply again this time round as long as there is evidence that you have undertaken some activities over the past year to boost your application and underline your commitment to a career in law. We expect to see an improvement in your application in terms of grades achieved, work experience undertaken and responses to the long answer question.

Does the candidate display excellent intellectual ability?

All top law firms are looking for candidates with an excellent academic record. And by this we mean a predicted 2.1 degree and mostly As at A level. The table below shows the minimum criteria specified by our law firm sponsors (source The Training Contract & Pupillage Handbook 2017 or firm’s website):

CityLawLIVE firm sponsors:

NationalLawLIVE firm sponsors:

This means that in delegate applications we expect to see A*s, As and Bs at A level (or equivalent) and excellent grades (60% and above) so far on your degree. Obviously we allow for mitigating circumstances, but this should be clearly explained and backed up by medical or university records. We also expect you to have excellent written English – that means fully formed sentences with appropriate capitalisation, no spelling mistakes and no text speak!

What (legal or non-legal) work experience has the candidate undertaken?

We appreciate that it can be difficult to get that first bit of legal work experience, but we would like to see some prior work experience (legal or non-legal), be it a formal vacation scheme or working on a supermarket checkout. With regards to legal work experience, it’s not just formal vacation schemes that count. If you have spent a day work-shadowing a solicitor or been to a firm open day, then mention this on the application form. Make sure to include any non-legal work experience you have (either paid or unpaid) as this can demonstrate a great range of skills, for example, how you interact with colleagues or customers in a formal environment, how you respond to different situations and how you organise your time. This is key – with any type of work experience, make sure that you are telling us not only what tasks you undertook but also, and more importantly, what skills you gained from this experience.

How does the candidate present him/herself in the long-answer questions?

Our application form contains two long-answer questions:

• Why do you want to attend the CityLawLIVE/NationalLawLIVE conference and meet our law firm sponsors?
• Please tell us why you believe you possess the skills and attributes to become a successful commercial lawyer.

This section really gives you the chance to reveal your enthusiasm and commitment to a career in law.

Why do you want to attend?

We pay a lot of attention to a candidate’s reason for attending the event in the same way that a law firm would consider your reasons for wanting to work at that particular firm. We want to be sure that candidates attending one of our events understand what the purpose of the event is, what they can gain from meeting the sponsor firms and, in turn, what they can offer to those firms. However, we appreciate that not all of you will have firmly decided that a career at a City firm or a national firm is right for you; if this is the case, say so. The events will allow you to discover how a City/national firm operates, what you can expect from working there and how these firms differ from each other and from other firms. We do not expect you to know all of this at the outset (NB this is the one point where our recruitment process differs from a firm's. The firm WILL expect you to demonstrate that you understand how it functions, the work it undertakes, how it differs to other firms and so on). A word of warning: we do not expect to see the CityLawLIVE or NationalLawLIVE websites regurgitated in response to this question – we wrote the information on the website, so can easily tell!

Skills you possess

This is your opportunity to demonstrate that you are dedicated to a career in commercial law and that you have the skills that it takes to be successful. For example, we want to see that you have strong communication skills – this shows us that you will have the confidence to network and build up contacts at the event. Another skill we expect to see is commercial awareness, so demonstrate to us that you are interested in the business world. This suggests that you will ask thought-provoking questions during both the firm-led workshops and the panel discussions at the event. Other skills we would like to see evidence of include teamwork, leadership, drive, motivation, attention to detail, negotiation, client care, initiative and interpersonal skills. I could go on. The point you need to remember is that our law firm sponsors are looking for the best candidates, so you need to prove that you are one of that group.

And now a question for you:

Do you think that you’ve got what it takes to be a first-rate CityLawLIVE or NationalLawLIVE delegate?

If yes, then what are you waiting for? Complete our online application form now! The deadline for applications is 28 October 2016, but we will be offering places on a rolling basis from early October. The CityLawLIVE conference is open to a maximum of 180 students and NationalLawLIVE to a maximum of 140, so get your application in ASAP. You will be advised by email if you have been accepted for a place at the event. There is a delegate fee payable for a place at the conference (£29 for CityLawLIVE and £24 for NationalLawLIVE).

Please note that you can only apply for one event, either CityLawLIVE or NationalLawLIVE, so please read the websites carefully in order to decide which of the events would suit your career aims better.

You can find out more on the event websites:

CityLawLIVE

NationalLawLIVE

Sponsors

You can read more about the law firm and law school sponsors on their entries on LawCareers.Net:

CityLawLIVE firm sponsors

Baker & McKenzie

Charles Russell Speechlys LLP

Clyde & Co LLP

Cooley (UK) LLP

Howard Kennedy LLP

Kirkland & Ellis International LLP

Ropes & Gray International LLP

Sidley Austin LLP

Watson Farley & Williams LLP

Weil, Gotshal & Manges

NationalLawLIVE firm sponsors

Clyde & Co LLP

DWF LLP

Eversheds LLP

Nabarro LLP

Osborne Clarke LLP

Shoosmiths

Squire Patton Boggs (UK) LLP

Nottingham Law School is our overall sponsor.