It was an experiment to see whether you read it and found it useful and the feedback was very positive.  And I very much enjoyed writing it.

However, I am moving on from the LSE and today is my last day.  To all the LSE students who followed the blog, I have enjoyed working with you over the last few years and I hope you go on to great things in the next few years.

Photo: Eye@CCPiXel.net.

To help kick start the recruitment season we have 2 workshops next week for students interested in a legal career:

Wednesday 18th January 12-1pm 

Assessment Centres:  Judith Baines, Careers Adviser for Law Dept

This session will look at what a law assessment centre may include, some brief tips on performance and an intro the resources that the Careers Service has on the website to assist you with preparation.  The talk will include psychometric tests, group exercises, written law exercises/case studies and negotiation exercises.

Wednesday 18th January 1-2pm

Law Interviews: Watch and Learn: James Wakefield, a barrister and Head of the BPTC at Kaplan (the workshop will be equally valuable for both potential solicitors and barristers)

A unique opportunity to attend this session to learn how to best impress in law interviews The session will start by giving some top tips for making the best impression; this will be followed by watching a live mock interview with a law graduate, you’ll learn from the feedback they receive. You really can improve your interview technique by taking on board a few straightforward points.

Booking now open on My Careers Service

However, as today is the end of term and I am away until January, I thought I’d take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year.

I am sure you will be working hard on your vacaction scheme/training contract application forms but equally sure you will find time to have fun and relax.

See you in 2012!

Resources

• Interviewssection of our website
  • Interview stream – use your web cam to record yourself answering from a huge bank of questions, watch yourself back to gain useful insights into your interview technique
  • Common interview questions – download our pdf of practice questions …
  • Interview resources – view our recommended websites
  • Case resources – find out where to look online for example case studies
  • Interview and case study books on Wetfeet and Vault – download the entire publication for free
  • Get advice from industry professionals by viewing the interviews LSE Careers produced with top employers on our You Tube channel
  • Voice over presentations – interview related presentations with voice overs from LSE careers advisers
  • Learn how to Make an Impact at interview by watching a video

Appointment

• If someone within your department has a real interview coming up within two weeks, they can book a practice interview with LSE Careers by coming to Tower 3, Floor 3. We offer competency or case study practice interviews. They would need to bring with them a copy of the CV/cover letter/application form used to apply for the position, confirmation of the date and time of their real interview and a job description or list of competencies.

LSE Careers is open for appointments until Wednesday 21^st December. We will then reopen on Tuesday 3^rd January.

Photo: Flickr, aneye4apicture

Text: Jo Sharp, LSE Careers Service

• Interesting range of practice areas including media, real estate, shipping, energy and natural resources, health, international arbitration, government investigations and white-collar criminal defense.  All this in addition to the standard financial, business and corporate practice areas….
• They only take on 24 trainees a year to ensure that they have a structured, quality hands-on training with client contact, rather than bundling and case management.
• They also want to retain all their trainees upon qualification.
• And finally, they have a very strong commitment to pro bono activities

Find out more on their comprehensive web pages.

And some good advice from one of their partners about applying for firms and talking about why this firm:

Don’t get too hung up on overall company rankings; they go up and down for each firm over time and different practice areas compete with the same practice area within different firms.  Look at the firm as a whole, the atmosphere and the culture and take any opportunity to talk to staff working there.

Personally, how can I not recommend a firm that has such amazing Xmas lights outside the door!

As part of its assault on the legal market the Co-op is also planning to set up a CLS Academy, which will give students on vocational courses the chance to do work placements and get intensive training before ­potentially being offered training ­contracts. It is not yet known how many trainee vacancies will be ­available in 2012.

Fingers crossed that this translates into training contracts in-house.

Photo, Flickr: Geograph

• Shrinkage in the corporate sector and an increase in mergers
• UK corporate firms moving more of their operations to Asia and how future lawyers may want to tailor their skills to this shift eg. students considering Chinese studies alongside their UK law degrees
• Maybe an increase in the numbers of students doing paralegal jobs before getting a TC?
• Big upheavals in legal aid affecting both barristers and solicitors
• Increased flexibility in study mode for postgraduate legal courses but maybe also increased prices

Read the full article for more detail; could help to answer questions in interviews on the topic of issues facing law firms or issues facing the legal profession.

Photo: Flickr: Coneee

Neil Rose, experienced legal journalist and editor of Legal Futures, has written an article for LawCareers.net which will help you get up to speed quickly.

When: Wednesday 23 November 2011, 3.30-5.00pm: Where: NAB 2.14

Register on My Careers Service
Learn how to reach the people you want to meet and successfully develop long-term professional relationships from the author of The Opportunity Maker: Strategies for Inspiring Your Legal Career Through Creative Networking and Business Development (Thomson-West, 2008).  This program offers instructions for leveraging technology to raise your profile, harnessing the power of building organic relationships, and generating opportunities to distinguish yourself to prospective employers.  Attendees will learn proven techniques for establishing a strong reputation, engaging in dynamic networking and honing their potential for career development.

Bio: ..

The New York Law Journal called Ari Kaplan’s first book, The Opportunity Maker, a “must-have treasure box of marketing ideas,” and CEOs have described his new book, Reinventing Professional Services, as “an essential guide” that “expertly showcases the multitude of opportunities the digital age has brought to the professional services market.”  After nearly nine years practicing with large law firms in Manhattan, Kaplan, recently named to the Fastcase 50 list of innovators in the law, has become the go-to copywriter and industry analyst in the legal community. He was the keynote speaker for the 2010 ABA Techshow, and has shared ideas with students at over 40 schools across North America.

The event is open to 200 student delegates, and details of our sponsors, conference programme and how to apply for a place are available at www.citylawlive.com. Our first five law firm sponsors are Ashurst, Baker & McKenzie, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Macfarlanes and White & Case. Further sponsors will be announced on www.citylawlive.com and via the CityLawLIVE newsfeeds on Twitter and Facebook…

Attendance at the conference will be a great way for you to learn about the reality of legal practice at a leading City firm. You will come to understand the value of English law in the world economy, gain a much better idea of the types of work undertaken by the international firms in the City, and be able to participate in one of their firm-led workshops. The conference offers some fantastic networking opportunities with law firm partners, and Freshfields will be running a CV surgery.

The event will be fully catered, including a two-course networking lunch. It takes place on Saturday 25 February 2012 at One Great George Street, just off Parliament Square in Central London. Their law firm sponsors have generously agreed to heavily subsidise the event so the cost of a student delegate ticket is now just £29. It is recommended that students submit their application this term. The deadline is 6 January 2012.

Students who are unable to attend the conference will in any event benefit from following CityLawLIVE’s newsfeed on either Twitter or Facebook. These feeds are ideal for any student hoping to increase their commercial awareness: CityLawLIVE publishes the most important legal and business news stories each day, together with articles written by law firms and links to pro bono opportunities, law student competitions and legal careers advice.

If you would like more information about CityLawLIVE please visit their website or contact: Anna Williams on 020 7234 0606 or via info@citylawlive.com.

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