First of all, congratulations if you are recently graduated. Now, what next? You may be very confused about the next step in your legal journey. Especially when there is a ton of work to do.
When you get to the application stage, it would be obvious that most of the law firms are similar and it’s challenging to separate one from the other. So, making the right choice will seem a task.
BUT, don’t worry. In this article, you will get to know the rational structure to help differentiate the firm into different types so that you can decide which firm is best to choose.
No doubt choosing a law firm is very important for you when beginning the training contract and the rest of the legal career. The workplace is essentially your second home. So, if you don’t feel happy and supported in it, here it can be quite difficult to manage.
Secondly, everyone learns and has different working and learning styles and when you start working with the law firm it will be evitable. When it comes to things like training contract structure you should have some control over it.
If you find yourself not working in the right firm through the training agreement when you qualify as a newly qualified lawyer, you can decide to leave your current firm and go to a new one which will totally be a foreign culture and could keep you at a loss working for a company that encourages you, assists you, promotes you and a place where you feel accepted, it does lead to things like better mental well-being, better productivity, a better quality of the profession and just general better engagement with the career that you’re in.
You might want to try your luck and apply to one of the most well-known law offices in your local state, such as the Tsakanikas Law office.
Steps to Find Right Law Firm
1. Expectations from Job
Firstly, ask yourself what do you want out of the occupation. Find a job that keeps you intellectually stimulated. A job that values you as a worker and has a friendly work culture is deserving.
Having respecting colleagues will give a nice work atmosphere and spare one from office politics. You can speak with the people who are already working there and inquiry will be best to avoid any inconvenience in future.
2. Work Environment
Secondly, working for an organization or a firm that has placed a very high emphasis on diversity and inclusion forward is essential. Work should be able to provide a great level of responsibility.
It should have high Global and National connections to other offices. Whether it is a choice of working in a company with a small trainee intake or with more responsibility on the head, it should be researched thoroughly before joining any firm.
3. Specialization
Before anything, decide on an idea of the area you want to do a specialization in. A list could be made of the diverse specializations and which one suits the best of your concerns, you should go with it.
After all, it is all about finding those features in the firm which would make you happy. A real understanding of the exact specific type of work you want to do as a lawyer. Enough experience in that field really make a firm judgment and it is beneficial to have an open spirit.
4. Trainee Intake
There may be greater emphasis on training schemes and socials and initiatives and elements could be missing when you are going into a firm that has a small training intake.
Firms that place a great emphasis on diversity and inclusion are good. And of course, you can find information and snippets of how the firm takes diversity and inclusion on their website.
Check if the firm has released a statement to change their recruitment practices in the firm to reflect the change. Or if they have planned initiatives to encourage and promote change within the firm and help those from underrepresented communities. A big trainee intake means that the training contact is very structured and the workload is high. Big workload demands intake of workers, for these specific jobs it is usually really hard to find proper people. To prevent this type and to ease yourself a bit, you can try with Skaug.
5. Active Participation
Another thing that can really go in favor in terms of realizing what the firm is right for is actually putting yourself out there actively attending events held by firms and really being real with yourself as well. When you attend an event and you hear a certain thing about the firm initiatives
For example, if you’re attending an event held by a certain law firm and something just isn’t sitting right with you, or you’re just not comfortable with one aspect of what’s being promoted then think to yourself what isn’t sitting well with then lose that as a kind of deal-breaker thing.
There are also loads of firms doing webinars and workshops, virtual-open days and things that so should be attended. These events give an idea of whether you could really see yourself working there or not. Also, it is the best idea to ensure a training contract
6. Location
It should be decided beforehand if you want a fast or slow-paced life while working at the job. If the office is located in a metropolis, then obviously the resources will be easily available but responsibilities would be doubled.
And, if the region is at the outskirt, obviously the salary would be low but the cost of living will be low too. So that is not much of a difference either.
That’s all for this article. If you are still unsure about where to start your law career, here is the perfect place to know so. Have a scroll through the law careers website and decide the best for you!!
