We teamed up with global law firm Mayer Brown to deliver a 'Law Careers Insight Day' on 21 April 2022.
Students aged 16-18 learnt all about working in law and the breadth of career options that are available.
As part of our WYZ For Work employability programme, we welcomed 45 enthusiastic young people who are interested in a law career. Students met with diverse members of the legal profession, from trainees to qualified lawyers and Business Development and HR professionals. They also had an opportunity to meet with the recruitment team.
A big lesson was the variety of roles within the legal profession. Young people learnt about the range of career options out there, from practising the law to working in the Business Development team to generate clients. They discovered that there is something for everyone.
Routes into the legal sector
Stuart, a partner in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice, opened the day by sharing insights into his career journey. Students also learnt about law career pathways, from apprenticeships to graduate conversion courses. They spoke with a range of people who entered the Legal sector in different ways - from school leavers to those who followed the more traditional path.
Students interested in becoming lawyers were told that it is not necessary to study law as an undergraduate degree. It's very possible to study another subject first, followed by a conversion course, known as a Graduate Diploma in Law. The main thing is to study what you enjoy.
Networking for success
Students participated in a speed networking session where they spoke with a range of legal professionals from private practice and in-house Legal teams. They heard about what it's like to work in the profession and asked great questions to help their career decisions.
These sessions helped the attendees to develop the critical skills of networking, communication and active listening, which will serve them well in their future careers.
The recruitment team also shared helpful job application techniques and highlighted key competencies required for a legal career.
An impactful day
Feedback from the day was overwhelmingly positive. Here's what some young people said:
"Thank you for the opportunity, it was an incredibly insightful experience" - Nana
"Thank you so much for the event, it gave me an extra boost for A Level revision" - Lisa
Many young people reported feeling more motivated with their studies and more optimistic about their career prospects as a result of the event.
More to come - creating an equal start line
We are committed to creating opportunities for young people and tackling ethnic under-representation in the workplace. Events such as these enable young people to develop important employability skills, gain exposure to employees and employers and boost their CV in the process.
We will be offering more opportunities across various sectors from summer 2022. These insight days are available to young people that are on our WYZ For Work employability course. You can sign up for free here.