Vacation Work and Gaining Practical Legal Experience

A major part of building your C.V. will be what you do with your time during vacation. Although any experience is valuable there is an argument that "planned" work and experience is particularly helpful in creating your future. Most students have to earn money during vacation quite apart from employment they may have to undertake during term time, and this is also your main chance to get a taste of work in a law firm or business organization. It makes sense to combine the two and try to obtain paid work which provides legal experience.

It is becoming more and more common for English firms to recruit in Scotland and if you have any ambitions as a Scots student to pursue a career in England then you will need to be aware of the expectations of English firms in terms of the amount of vacation experience that you should be gaining in your undergraduate years. In England it is expected that you will obtain vacation experience between the second and third year of your degree.


A number of law firms, especially those based in the City, run formal vacation schemes and publish details of these annually. For instance, the large London firm Clifford Chance publishes a booklet called A Wider Perspective: Training Programme and Student Vacation Opportunities, which sets out the dates of their various intakes that run for a two-week period during the Easter and summer vacations. Their literature is typical of these firms offering vacation placements, giving a clear flavor of what they are looking for and what you can anticipate from them. The firm explains that competition is hot and selection is based on a number of criteria including "academic ability, demonstration of personal qualities through extracurricular activities, and a genuine interest in the law". The scheme aims to "challenge and stretch your abilities [and] you are expected to work hard and will be relied upon as a valuable member of the team". Even if you are unsuccessful in obtaining a vacation place at the firm of your choice you can always visit the firm on their open day. Contact the firms in which you are interested to see if and when they hold such an event or, if not, whether they are visiting law schools in your area. Apart from giving you insight into the profession you think you want to join, vacation experience gives you a much better platform from which to conduct your job seeking.

Many law firms and some businesses offer vacation experience or, on a more brief and limited level, work experience, even if they do not go on to offer traineeships. In Scotland, the Law Society's Training Register lists the firms which offer vacation jobs as well as those with training places. There are many ways of trying to obtain work experience or vacation work with a law firm. Apart from the aforementioned Register, you might simply write to a firm or visit a firm based in the town in which you will be staying during vacation to see if they are willing to take you on. The public and privatized utilities such as Scottish Power, the local Enterprise Companies, the police and Regional Fiscal Offices may also be willing to provide vacation work. This will not necessarily be advertised. You need to make a direct approach, and if you are clear what you are looking for and what you feel you have to contribute you may be invited for an interview. While they are more likely to be willing to take you on as an unpaid employee offering you simply work experience, you may well be able to negotiate payment for your contribution. It is more likely that you will be able to do that if you have skills to offer. Thus, for example if, like a recent student of mine, you had already equipped yourself with good keyboard skills and could effectively offer a typing service, then you are much more likely to be offered vacation work. Similarly if you have a background in filing or clerical work and can offer some contribution there, the firm may be more willing to take you on. Typically, law firms can make use of precognition officers, and those mature students who come to a law degree having a background in the police find themselves much in demand. Gaining work experience can be done by a simple straightforward approach to firms or by using whatever contacts you have.

Mention of contacts may bring on mild apoplexy in some, since it has connotations of the old boys' network or the old school tie. This is not necessarily so. Everyone today has to develop a network and it tends to extend much beyond one's immediate family, friends and other social connections. As has often been said-it's not who you know but who knows you! The secret of networking lies in sociability. You do have to be at least moderately and preferably very, outgoing. If you do not speak to people whom you meet whether on a work basis, in a social setting, or at university, then your networking will not develop very far. Networking is intended as an egalitarian strategy as opposed to those people who have the traditional "connections". Most of us come into law now not because our father or grandfather is working in the law but because there is a greater equality of opportunity for both sexes and irrespective of class, race or background. Nonetheless, networking does not come naturally to many people and it is a skill and activity which needs to be developed throughout your university career and beyond. At university you can start practicing by joining groups and mixing with people outside law. You should aim to be "well-rounded". That is, you should be joining clubs and organizations which will bring you into contact with a wide range of people. Most lawyers are extremely gregarious and have a high level of dependency both on their colleagues and on their personal and individual ability to offer good client care, and thereby attract and maintain clients. Getting on with people may seem a fairly basic skill, but it is vital to the provision of a legal service and it is one that you should aim to develop and practice from the earliest possible stage.

If you are interested in working abroad and at the same time boosting your C.V. you might be able to gain assistance from the Law Society of Scotland for a grant to undertake pro bono work. Pro bono work is work that is done free, but to assist your funding the Law Society has a small fund available to make grants to law students or trainee solicitors who would like to do legal work abroad. The award is made to help to defray the cost of travel and/or subsistence. In the past, students have been given assistance to work with prisoners on death row in the United States, and to undertake placements with the United Nations. If you wish more information about this opportunity you should contact the Head of International Relations at the Law Society.

Even if you are unable to obtain some vacation work in law, do maximize the period when you are not studying, for the benefit of your own personal development. This might include travelling or gaining other experience in the commercial and service industries or in research and publishing. If you are uncertain about whether you wish a career in practice and have enjoyed your time at university, then there may be scope for you to work as a student research assistant within your department over the summer. Alternatively, you may be able to offer research assistance to organizations that may be able to pay you a small amount. For example, there are many Citizens Advice Bureau, legal advice centers and law centers that might welcome input from you as a researcher, and a general extra legal pair of hands over the summer vacation for some remuneration. All work teaches you something (even if only about yourself) quite apart from the fundamentals such as punctuality, reliability, teamwork, working unsupervised, dealing with awkward colleagues, and the dynamics of the workplace. All of this can be presented to your advantage in a C.V. as well as giving you invaluable insight into how you wish your career to progress.