#e:law

[askacambridgestudent]

Scarlett, may I ask why you chose to do Law instead of one of the others in the Big Three? Did you apply for anything else? Did you always want to do Law?

Yeah, of course! So basically, I’ve always been interested in law/considered it as a possible career path. In fact, I was pretty set on doing law at uni until Year 11, when I had a very stressful experience in a mock International Court of Justice that made me go all self-doubt-y and decide against it, and because I also discovered that I really loved subject that I currently study. So when I was deciding what I wanted to do, law was sort of a natural choice. I feel like it’s well-suited to my skillset, too. 

I was completely set against banking - I’m not that interested in finance, and I felt like to do well in banking, you have to really want/love it, given the intensity of the job. I did consider consulting, but again, not really my thing, so I didn’t apply for it. 

[askacambridgestudent]

Is working at a magic circle a stable career? Don't they overwork you and every one is snapping underneath eachothers feet? Thinking about that and becoming a chartered accountant, which seems a more stable job, with better pay. And at Magic circles you can't be promoted unless you're make partner ( rare). And aren't careers in law decreasing? Sorry I know you're becoming a lawyer and it is an insane achievement but who better to ask my concerns about following the same career to?

Apologies it’s taken me so long to get to this - every time I look at it, it stresses me out haha.

I can’t compare working at an MC to being a CA, because I never considered becoming a CA. I believe there are fewer qualified CAs, so it is possible that it’s a more stable job, but from a brief glance around the interwebs, it doesn’t seem like the pay or the hours are much better, and the training period lasts longer. Buuuut, I suppose in the long run, the pay might be better because you can climb quite high up the corporate ladder. I don’t know much about being a CA, sorry, and I don’t want to give out false info.

So, let’s focus on legal careers. From what I can tell, legal careers are fairly stable. It’s true that there’s an increasing focus on technology in the legal sector which means that in the long run, jobs at the trainee level will decrease. Getting onto vacation schemes and the like is very competitive, but once you’ve got a training contract, you’ve got a fairly good chance of being retained (most magic circles post rates of 80%+), unless it’s a particularly bad year for the firm. I think a legal career is probably as stable as you’re going to get at this level and in this economic environment. 

And no city job at entry level is going to have easy hours. Top consultancies and banks will work you just as hard as an MC will, if not harder. If you want a 9-5 job, working at an MC is probably not ideal, but the way I see it, it’s a really good starting point - you get the experience, and if after your training contract, you want to move somewhere that better fits your lifestyle, you can do so with the knowledge that you’ve got really good training and a great name on your CV. It’s true that the path to promotion is quite slow - people spend 4+ years as associates before being promoted to senior associates, and it generally takes 10+ years to make partner, but you can also make the choice to move in-house and work your way up to general counsel for a big firm if that’s what you’d like to do, or even move out of law completely.

I think law is fairly comparable to most city careers in terms of pay/work/stability. But like, keep in mind that I’m not a lawyer yet and everything I know is just based on my research. Actually being a lawyer is probably very different from reading about being a lawyer! 

[askacambridgestudent]

Scarlett - when did you start firing off applications for Vac Schemes? And how did you make time for it with everything else you were doing (degree, extracurriculars, etc?) Really struggling to know how/when to start!

I started sending them off at the end of October! I used what I call a staggered system - I ranked the firms I was applying to in order of preference, and sent off applications in stages. I prioritised my top 6, and had those out at the end of October, then had another two out midway through November, another two at the end of November and my last one in the middle of December. 

Making time for it is quite tricky, but it’s definitely possible! Start by researching the firms - I found this to be something that didn’t really require a lot of focus, so I would do it during times when I wasn’t particularly productive anyway (ie. in the afternoons). It’s also helpful to make a schedule for yourself, or set up a certain amount of time a day that you’re going to dedicate to working on applications. When it comes to actually writing the application, you’ll find it a lot easier once you’ve finished one, because you’ll be able to use parts of the first application for the second, third etc. The ‘why law’, and ‘why me’ parts of your cover letter probably won’t change much, so it’ll really just be the ‘why this firm’ that you need to really revise!

Good luck, and let me know if you’ve got any further questions!

[askacambridgestudent]

Scarlett, what are other UK businesses that have an anti-Oxbridge bias? Are there any law firms?

One law firm that I know of - come off anon and I’ll tell you! 

[askacambridgestudent]

Scar, why only two silver circles and all the magic circles?

It’s got to do with application eligibility -- all the MCs allow penultimate year non-law students to apply, whereas not all the silver circles do!

[askacambridgestudent]

Scarlett, did you write a cover letter for each firm specifically when you were applying for your TC?

So first off, I didn’t apply for a TC directly -- for both firms, I did their vac schemes first. When applying for a vac scheme, different firms have different requirements -- some want cover letters, while others want you to answer short questions. But yeah, you have to write your letter/answers to short questions specifically for each firm -- there are some things that you can copy and paste, like why you want to do law and why you think you’d be well-suited to law, but you'll need to rewrite the bit on why you’re applying to that firm for each firm (top tip: don’t get lazy and just change the name of the firm -- they’re really good at telling when this bit’s been copy pasted from another application, and you’d be unlikely to make it to interview).

[askacambridgestudent]

Are you doing your TC at an American or Magic Circle firm Scarlett? And how would you recommend choosing between the two?

At this stage, it’s likely going to be a Magic Circle. 

I think both types of firm are great, but obviously they have their differences. American firms haven’t been in London as long (unless we’re talking Baker McKenzie or White & Case, which aren’t really US firms in the traditional sense), and as a result, they aren’t as familiar with the concept of a trainee, as in the US, people come in at the associate level. From what I’ve heard, you’ve got to be a lot more proactive in getting work from people, and it can make for quite a competitive atmosphere, because you’re competing with others to get that work. That being said, intakes are smaller and most have really high retention rates (some have 100%). Plus, you get paid more, especially on qualification (that K&E salary tho).

From what I’ve heard, the training at MCs tends to be better. You hear about a lot of MC newly qualified lawyers moving into other firms, but not very many NQs from other firms who move into the MC.  Plus (as Sarah pointed out to me), you’re in the head office, so you’re on the major deals, and getting the important work.

If you’re really stuck, then look at the vibe of the firm. You’re going to be spending two years at the place, working all sorts of seriously long hours - you don’t want to hate it intensely. I preferred the vibe of the MC I went to, and there were other specifics of the training contract/firm (which I won’t reveal publicly because it makes it quite simple to guess which firm it is, but message me off-anon if you’re interested) that made me gravitate towards it! 

[askacambridgestudent]

Are there any ways to demonstrate the 'interested in law' box that aren't Law Soc/shadowing lawyers? I've just finished first year and am tutoring English in Asia all summer so won't get a chance to shadow anyone until Christmas - I have plenty of leadership experience but very little to show for the law side of things and scared I've run out of time :(

Shadowing and law soc are definitely the most common… you could shadow over Christmas, and still mention it in your vac scheme applications, provided that you’ve made the arrangements before applying so you know the details of where you’ll be going/for how long– a lot of firms only interview after Christmas, so you’ll be able to talk about it.

Do any helpful experts have any other ideas?