The talks

Once I arrived at the office, I was able to check in my bag and coat and received a complimentary breakfast. During this time, I networked with other attends that had arrived at the same time as me.

I also found a few of the guest speakers and chatted about their commute and what it was like to live and work in the City.

The first talk was by Stephanie Boyce, the Head of the Law Society of England and Wales. In her talk she spoke about her unconventional journey to law and the steps she took to not only become the first black president of the Law Society, but the first in-house President in over 80 years.

What did I learn?

Instead of noting down exactly what I did during each event, I will highlight my key takeaways.

From the Breaking into Law panel, each individual highlighted how important it was to be yourself throughout the process. A career in Law is difficult but there is no ‘perfect’ individual. Firms are looking for a wide range of people and if you have to change to fit into a firm, it will not be the right place for you.

From the Future of Law panel, all spoke about how your career can change in a lot of ways but staying flexible and open to new opportunities (such as setting up a new office in a foreign country with only a few partners) will be the best way to progress. They also spoke about the importance of staying on your own journey and not focusing on reaching partner as a measure of success.

The Challenging Expectations panel highlighted how the legal industry has changed, for the better, and how to navigate the new developments in your own way; whether that means working part time, changing the type of law firm you work for, or leaving private practice all together. They also highlighted that there are many things outside of your career that are just as important, like having free time with children and having a better work life balance that should be considered when at a crossroads in the career instead of solely monetary considerations.

The Ask the Grad Recruiters Panel was particularly impactful to me. Each graduate recruiter highlighted how important transferable skills were compared to strictly legal experience. They also broke down the best ways to approach their respective application processes. A key takeaway was that three things should be very clear from each application – a good sense of commercial awareness, a clear enthusiasm for the profession and a keen interest in that firm. Alongside this are other attributes like teamwork, enthusiasm, resilience, and friendliness.

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While I enjoyed all of these panels, the most important parts of the day were actually the lunch break and the time after the event ended.

During the lunch session, I was able to speak to members of graduate recruitment, trainee solicitors and future trainees in an informal manner. One of the trainees I spoke to has become a close contact of mine and even offered to read my application before I sent it to the firm. Having this support, especially with applications to Magic Circle firms, is invaluable. I was able to ask them questions and get honest answers.

At the end of the event, the graduate recruiters stayed and spoke to delegates about any questions and concerns we had. Some people were even able to personally ask about the applications they were about the send off to ensure they tackled each section in the best way.

Opportunities like this, while incredibly helpful, are not abundant and I am grateful to have been able to make good contacts and some friends from this event.