How To Choose A Legal Training Contract Firm
Jul 9th, 2008 by Traffic
Client base
The profile of a firm generally corresponds to the profile of its clients. Some people wish to work with high profile organizations, but will usually have to compete with people from varying levels within the organization. Smaller clients give you a chance to work more directly with the key people and your input will be more visible.
Training areas
This is surely one of the most critical issues for you to weigh up as part of the procedure in choosing a training contract firm.
There is a big discrepancy between learning the law and practicing it. As a law student, it is easy to believe that what you learn at university will correspond to the workplace. You may not find the books and lectures of a particular subject particularly interesting, but the same subject may be much more dynamic and exciting when you are out in the field and working on real cases.
larger firms may have departments that cover all practice areas, each department will be a different size and contain its own reputation within the industry. Whether you are finding to work in Corporate, Real Estate, Finance, Litigation, Employment, Incentives or Competition, doing your research about the different departments within your potential firms will help you decide the best ones to apply to. It will also supply you with precious integrity when it comes to the interview stage. You will most likely not be certain the precise combination of seats that you would like in your legal training contracts. However, you can’t go too far wrong if you have chosen a firm whose main training areas match those that you are involved in.
Location
For most training contract applicants, the chose boils down to the simple question: “Do I go to London, or do I work for a local regional firm?”
It is a bit of a personal choice, with insinuations that will influence the quality of life and your work. The largest firms are based in London and the legal market which circles the capital’s financial services industry is one of the most lucrative in the world. This interprets into higher standard pay packets for London solicitors. Aside from the careers benefits to choosing London, trainees can enjoy all social and cultural activities that the cosmopolitan city has to offer.
However, the cost of living is higher in London and you will have to satisfied with the traffic and rush hour crushes in the tube. Working hours are often longer at London firms and you may find a more attractive work-life balance at firms outside of the capital. The choice is, as always, yours.
Training arrangement
Traditional law training contract structures place trainees in fixed position periods in random departments. But, there are discrepancy in terms of the position time, number of departments to be rotated through and the amount and type of work completed in each department. If you are in doubt about which training area you want to work in when you qualify, you may want to apply to firms which will place you in many different departments during your training contracts.
Size
The training areas and client base of a firm are very good predictors of its size. Firms range from commercial law practices working with main global corporations to high-street firms more easy to get to the general public. Of course, there are many exceptions to the rule. Look closely so you won’t be surprised later on.
Large firms bring their own difficulties as well benefits. The bigger a firm is, the more likely it is to take on a huge number of trainees. A high profile firm can bring your CV strong brand value. On the other hand, if you are working for a smaller firm, there will probably be fewer trainees. This means that you will most likely have more interaction with qualified solicitors and various levels within the firm.
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