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Still not come up with the perfect New Year’s Resolutions? Don’t worry – there’s still time yet! To help you out, we’ve created a handful of suggestions for New Year’s Resolutions, perfect for those of you dreaming of making it big in the legal field.
Check out our New Year’s resolutions below!
#1. Keep Up to Date With Current Affairs
A career in law calls for a solid understanding of general topical issues alongside knowledge of key legal affairs such important legal cases which are currently ongoing.
This knowledge will be useful at any point during your legal career; for example, you could talk about topical legal issues in your personal statement, and you will likely be asked about them in interviews for universities, work experience, or jobs.
In order to achieve this resolution, you could make an effort to buy a newspaper a few times a week (good ones include the Financial Times, the Independent, the Guardian and the Times), or get a free news app on your phone, such as the BBC News app.
Want to catch up on last year’s legal hot topics? Click here to read key issues.>>
#2. Read more
A career in law involves a great deal of reading. When studying law at university you will have to read many cases and books every week, and working as a lawyer will involve a similarly-large amount of reading.
Thus, getting used to reading and taking in a lot of information will help you prepare for a career in law.
Dedicating a set amount of time to reading will further your knowledge. For example, newspapers will enable you to keep up to date with current affairs,and reading law-related texts will help you learn more about your future career, which may be helpful for interview questions such as ‘Why Law?’
Want to read last month’s top legal news? Click here.>>
#3. Increase your confidence in public speaking
As a lawyer, you need to be confident interacting with others, and also in public speaking as advocacy may be a frequent occurrence for you. While some of you may already be incredibly confident in public speaking, those of you who aren’t shouldn’t be discouraged from a career in law.
Luckily, confidence in public speaking can be greatly increased through regular practice. It could be as simple as volunteering to answer questions more often in class, or as nerve-wracking as signing up for a mooting competition. Any practice will help!
Interested in public speaking tips? Click here for expert advice.>>
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#4. Plan Out Your Career Route
If you are still at school, a new year’s resolution for you could be to decide how you aim to become a lawyer. Will you go to a university to study law? Which university will you go to? Will you study a degree in a different subject and then do a conversion course to law afterwards? Or will you do a legal apprenticeship?
While these decisions may seem daunting, luckily for you we have a whole collection of blogs to help you decide. Check out our blogs including
Want to find out more about studying law at university? Click here.>>
#5. Research the Legal Sector
Once you’ve decided how you plan to become a lawyer, your next step is deciding what kind of lawyer you want to be. Would you prefer to be a solicitor or a barrister? You will be required to take different steps after university depending on which profession you decide to aim for, so it’s important that you make an informed decision about which one would be best for you.
Do you know the difference between a solicitor and a barrister? Click here to find out.>>
#6. Get Work Experience
Work experience is a great way to demonstrate your dedication to the law when writing your personal statement or CV, alongside allowing you to ensure that law is the career you want to take. If you aim to become a solicitor, consider applying for a week of work experience at a local solicitor’s firm.
If you plan to become a barrister, applying for a mini-pupillage may be greatly beneficial. However, if you’re struggling to find work experience, simply watching in the courts is open to the public and would be a great experience for you to observe the proceedings of a court, so consider planning a day or two doing this. Also, check out our blog on Law Work Experience for further tips.
Looking for job opportunities in law? Click here to search in our Deadlines Calendar.>>
#7. Stay On Top of Stress
Both becoming and being a lawyer can be incredibly stressful. Finding a couple of de-stressing methods which work for you should be a priority as you enter the new year because being able to manage stress will greatly help you on your journey to a career in law.
Happy New Year!
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