How to Decide Which Area of Law is Right for You

The great thing about a career in law is that there are a large amount of options open to you. You could be working on high-value commercial deals, assisting to patent new and exciting technologies or helping families and people in need with their problems. Unfortunately due to the wealth of options available, it is easy to become confused about how best to identify which firms or chambers would be a good fit for you. Before deciding where to apply it is therefore important to think about what kind of solicitor or barrister you would like to be.

Gain legal work experience

One way of doing this is through gaining legal work experience and through reading legal news websites where there are regular interviews with lawyers in almost every specialism. These can provide you with inside information about working in those areas and are very useful for deciding the correct career path for you.

Research law firms and chambers

Once you have researched more about the areas of law that interest you then you should search for law firms and chambers that work in those areas.

The websites of the firms and chambers themselves can provide useful information about these organisations such as their clients, the type of work that these organisations are involved in, minimum academic requirements, an insight into the culture of the firm or chambers, trainee intake, the application process, opportunities for work experience and contact information.

Network

Jobs in law are highly sought after. One way of gaining an upper hand over your peers is through networking. Most people will avoid doing this so successful networking can give you a real advantage, especially if it leads to gaining a contact within the organisation that you wish to apply for.

Use social networking websites to see if your friends have any contacts that you could use. Attend and actively participate in careers events, presentations workshops and volunteering opportunities.

After doing the above you should be armed with most of the knowledge required to apply to a law firm or chambers operating in the areas of law that you are interested in. Complete your research by reading about your chosen organisations in the legal press and then use this knowledge to create a highly tailored and well-crafted application. You should restrict the number of applications that you make to a handful, as this will allow you to submit applications of a higher quality.

Words: Max Pickup