'Putting Yourself In The Best Position' by Harry Clark, founder of 'More From Law'
Harry Clark
Summary
This exclusive article was written by Jai Anilkumar from an interview with Harry Clark, a Future Trainee Solicitor at Baker McKenzie and the Host of the ‘More From Law’ podcast. It explores what students should be doing when applying to top corporate law firms.
Using the summer effectively
Harry emphasised the importance of doing research into Law Firms and learning as much as possible during this summer. He believes that ‘the research stage is critical, as it feeds into all the other stages of the application process’. His one tip is to go out and learn more about the industry, both in terms of what Lawyers do and also which practice areas you think would be interesting for you.
When researching Law Firms, he mentioned that they all have a given set of criteria worth looking into:
Practice areas offered by the firm.
Training contracts structure – for example, is it 4 six-month seats or 3 eight-month seats?
What type of/do they offer secondments?
Do they let you get involved in pro bono work/ what type of pro bono work has the firm engaged in?
Firm’s reports and interviews with Senior Partners – allows you to understand where the firm is heading towards and use that to justify your interests.
Additionally, he mentioned that virtual internships, webinars and live streams are a great way of researching the profession. However, he recognised that ‘many students may get caught up in thinking about them as experiences and as something that you need to learn a skill from’. The main reason these events are useful is for information provision and learning more about the industry. He noted that after doing these events, hopefully, ‘students will be able to extrapolate what they do and don’t like and use that as a base for further research and learning’.
The Application Process
‘The best times to invest in writing for applications and doing research is when everyone else is having a break: Christmas, Easter and Summer’. Those times are optimal as you do not have to worry about academics and can focus on the content of your applications.
He also noted that it is ‘best to focus on who you are applying for rather than how many’. It is vital to apply to similar firms as this can be a great way of showing to an interviewer that a candidate has thought about where and what area they want to work in. Although, he did recognise that it can be worth slightly diversifying applications based on the size of a firm, as that could mean you are more successful in the process.
To put yourself in the best position, students should think very carefully about their writing style. Harry’s top tips are to keep sentences short, use proper paragraphs and signposting. Although this is something simple, it is nonetheless essential. Furthermore, he emphasised that students should not undersell themselves in an application. ‘If you have done something special a recruiter may not fully understand the significance or the context of it’. Therefore, it is crucial to highlight your specific role, especially if you have gone above and beyond what is necessary.
Recommended next steps
Harry’s ‘More From Law’ podcasts have many episodes that can be useful for putting yourself in the best position. He particularly highlighted that it is worth listening to episodes from recruiters and people on the other side of the application process (Episodes: 10, 11, 38). Those insights can be beneficial in terms of the application strategy. Moreover, any episode focusing on commercial awareness is also worth looking into, as it is such an under-emphasised and essential skill (Episodes: 17 and 24).
Click here to access the podcasts.
Final thoughts and advice
A piece of advice that he has received from every Lawyer, in every Jurisdiction, is to ‘keep an open mind’ about which practice area you want to work in.
Applying to Law Firms can require a lot of resilience, as a student may receive many rejections. Harry’s top tip is to use the rejection as a learning opportunity and reflect on your journey, rather than compare yourself to others.
By Jai Anilkumar