Whether you have just started law school or are well underway in your degree, you are never at a stage where the advice and experience of a peer is not invaluable. The legal industry thriving on the connection and networking of like minded people is a double-edged sword that is easily wielded with the right training. But alas it can often feel more demoralisingly daunting than inspiring being faced with this realisation, especially when it can also feel as if you are the last one to figure it out. While it’s important to have these discussions and openly discuss these realisations with people (or in blogs) this is your call to adventure in the monomyth that is law school. Speaking from personal experience, I found that after receiving this call to adventure, my experience with competitions opened up more doors than I would have ever imagined from both competitions alone, but also opportunities at law school.
University student or graduate the skills will serve you
There is a stigma which surrounds competitions about strictly facilitating the hidden skills in junior solicitors and advocates and this is the absolute length of benefit that they are able to provide. While I will not dismiss these are quite advantageous perks behind participating, it’s worthy to speak more to the hidden benefits that positions law students to transition from competition to career. The double entendre behind the title is intentional; if you are reading this with the expectation that this piece will discuss how the learnings in competitions will equip you with the skills to thrive upon the completion of your degree, I would say that nothing else should stop you from competing any more. But what’s often taken for granted, is how participation in competitions during your studies places you in a greater stride than some of your learned peers, in competing for working positions while you are still studying.
Your strongest part of your CV is interest
Speaking solely to individuals who are currently in the midst of their legal studies and are finding it difficult to have their breakthrough into real work, the best advice you can receive is this: the strongest part of your CV is your interest. I cannot speak for every firm, chambers, court. I can confidently say that the majority of hirers however, do not expect you to have a completely flawless understanding of their practice area. Typically it is the opposite. You are not interviewing for a position of partner, you are interviewing for a position where you are expected to be a sponge, soaking up as much information as possible and that’s the basis you are being assessed on. It’s important to realise that for the purposes of this article, the definition of ‘interviewing’ starts from the moment you begin to survey potential job opportunities, not the moment when you are sitting opposite a partner. This distinction is valuable as it forces you to be more aware when applying for jobs and thinking about what is the message you want to get across to employers. Anecdotally speaking, in interviews and job applications that I have completed they are the most receptive to individuals that show a genuine interest in law and eagerness to learn; bonus points for the specific area of laws that you are seeking to enter.
Competitions correlation to interest beyond lines on a CV
For many, including myself, the initial main benefit of participating in competitions initially was to gain exposure but it was also knowing at the end of the day I would have something additional to put onto my CV. One should never feel guilty for this as it is a completely reasonable reason for signing up and it does quite validly show interest in law that immediately strengthens your application. At the end of the day, you want to show that you are interested in gaining and learning skills beyond your degree and in a similar light to volunteering, competitions are an easy way to gain this exposure and show this interest.
Where it strengthens your application further (and no the answer is not just to do more competitions, but still does help) is the ability to be able to speak to the experiences and skills you subconsciously gain. Signing up for a competition as an individual searching for a team translates well in an interview when asked about a question of working in a team, especially entering into a smaller team with people you will be forced to work with collaboratively from the outset. Questions of a time you faced hardship in your studies or experiences at law school are answered greatly with a short flashback to the balancing of mooting commitments, negotiation commitments along with a full time study load, sporting and hobby commitments and a social life. Questions of a time you showed leadership, why you are interested in this particular area of law, do you think you will be able to handle the fast paced environment of this practice, why are you interested in advocacy, do you have aspirations of a career at the bar; these are all questions that I have been asked or have heard peers share in their post-interview discussions and you find just how easy it is to turn to experiences from what initially started off as a ‘CV booster experiment.’
Competitions, Connections, Opportunities
Somewhere along the way it became a social pre-requisite amongst law students that if you are studying the degree you naturally have to be working in the industry as well; and while the above discussion by no means aids this plague of a stigma, take this as reassurance that this is not the case. There is absolutely no rush to immediately jump into a career at a firm or chambers. You are not behind if you have not landed legal work, and a legal job is no greater than any other job. A degree in law is different for every person and that stems into individuals’ paths to work experience. Regardless there is not a right or wrong answer.
Nonetheless, the benefit of participating in competitions is not to boost individuals but to connect individuals and give them the opportunity to gain exposure to these types of stories, different job offers and understanding about both the degree and the profession. Whether you participate in weekly competitions, weekend mooting competitions, attend workshops, or represent at an intervarsity stage, you are destined to collaborate with or against like minded people. It is an invaluable opportunity that I encourage anyone interested or studying the degree of law to pursue, to gain this exposure and experience and contribute to an ever growing network. I have experienced first hand both referring friends to job opportunities and seeing individuals be given job offers after they had first met from sitting at opposite ends of the bar table.
I was once told that you should never rule yourself out of an opportunity for any reason. On that note, regardless of your uncertainty you should at least give yourself the chance to collaborate with individuals and make decisions from there.
Best of luck. Happy competing.