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As application season draws closer, the dreaded phrase ‘commercial awareness’ beings to haunt law students. In this post, I set out my top tips for breaking down your quest for awareness in order to make understanding commercial events a lot less daunting.

Deciding which commercial awareness topics to research and potentially discuss at interviews and networking events can be difficult, as there are so many to choose from! Narrowing your focus can be a great way to feel prepared to discuss commercial issues while still developing your general commercial awareness skills in the time you have available.

With the start of a new year comes the perfect opportunity to add a few law-related new year’s resolutions to the list.

Commercial awareness is an attribute that all aspiring lawyers require. However, the last thing that many students want to do after a long day in the library is to read the Financial Times. Fortunately, there are some fun, financial films that can increase your understanding of business and the markets.

When you pick up a paper or read the front page of a news website, many of the stories will likely be about Brexit. However, students are being told not to talk about Brexit as law firms are bored of it and no one knows what’s going to happen anyway. This blog discusses some other stories that are worth following from a commercial awareness perspective.  

The Cambridge Business English Dictionary defines commercial awareness as "the knowledge of how businesses make money, what customers want, and what problems there are in a particular area of business."

Watching, reading, and listening to the news is invaluable for an aspiring law student, but is it enough? Following the news passively is a limited way of gaining commercial awareness. This blog provides a few specific and versatile sources to increase your understanding in a more rounded way.

It’s the season for vacation scheme applications, training contract interviews, assessment centres – you name it! This means you'll probably be wanting to keep up-to-date with the business world, and there are some pretty cool ways you can keep on top of everything!

The term ‘commercial awareness’ is something that since exploring the legal sector as a career route, has become a very familiar phrase.

Commercial law requires a certain degree of financial awareness and knowledge; however, you don’t have to specialise in finance-heavy client work. A wide variety of alternative practice areas are also available, particularly in City firms.

Taking an interest in and understanding current commercial issues is a significant part of joining the legal profession but should not be something that puts you off. 

You can be forgiven if you think that YouTube is nothing but a giant ocean of cat videos and other such trivial digital media. It’s a communications channel not to be taken lightly. The platform has been utilised by trainee solicitors to provide nuggets of commercial awareness, insight into training contract applications and ins and outs of the job

Law firms love to include in their application forms a request for candidates to describe a recent news story and its relevance to the law. While it can be difficult to see how some business stories are relevant to the law, luckily, there is one obvious and sometimes overlooked exception: mergers and acquisitions.

"Why law?" The all-important (dreaded) question you will be asked over and over again. Law is a notoriously competitive subject, filled with intellectually challenging principles; however, it offers an abundance of opportunities beyond university. 

As the beginning of term is fast approaching for university students, now is the perfect time to start thinking about getting involved with law-related activities on campus next year.

A few weeks ago I was privileged enough to be able to attend the LawCareersNetLIVE event in London. The event was really useful for various reasons, and I would definitely recommend it to budding solicitors as I learnt a huge amount during the day.

If you’re a first-year law student interested in exploring legal career paths, here’s a guide to the two most popular routes. This guide covers how to become a barrister or solicitor, the main differences between the two professions and how to decide between them.

During your first year of university, you’ll be asked to submit a CV if you’re applying to first-year schemes, open days and careers dinners. In addition, law societies run internal networking events which are highly competitive and require a CV check to filter students. Here are some top tips for optimising your CV. 

Navigating the legal sector is something that many law firm applicants struggle with; however, law YouTube channels can help us all to avoid the embarrassment of asking awkward questions. Further, the content that these channels produce is usually created in response to audience requests, and presenters' expertise and honesty generate well-rounded insight.

Improving self-confidence can drastically change the fortunes of an aspiring lawyer. For some candidates, a conscious effort to enhance their outward demeanour can be crucial in securing their dream role.