How do I find out about law fairs near me?

Dear Oracle

I know that I should be attending law fairs if I want to meet firms and recruiters, but what's the best way to find out when they are?

The Oracle replies

Law fairs are an absolutely crucial part of the recruitment year and you need to head along, put your best foot forward and make contact with the people that could be employing you in the future.

To help you in your quest, we have a dedicated law fairs page on LawCareers.Net, which gives some background detail on what fairs are all about and, most importantly, a comprehensive list of when the fairs are being held up and down the country. You will also find the fairs in the Diary, and you should add your university’s fair or any others that you can get to your MyLCN personalised MyCalendar. Once you know the date and location and have done a bit of research into the firms and/or barristers chambers attending, all that remains is to show up, meet some potentially valuable contacts, make a good impression and learn important extra information by asking good questions – especially of the lawyers in attendance.

And it's never too early to start. Even in your first year you should go to get a sense of who's out there and what the different firms are like – law fairs are a unique way to add to your research ahead of applying for work experience. In your second year and beyond, you should be doing some preparatory work and finding out which firms are attending, drawing up a list of those you want to speak to and thinking of some good questions to ask the reps. The recruiters that we speak to frequently say that it is at law fairs that their trainees of the future first shone. They do take note of who has impressed them, so put yourself in that group!