Read on Twitter
. @TaraMulcair is kicking off this afternoon's #YLMC2020 careers session!
We're looking forward to hearing from: @emmatrevett, Nutan Fatania of @9bedfordrow and @OlliePersey & @pippajbanham
We're looking forward to hearing from: @emmatrevett, Nutan Fatania of @9bedfordrow and @OlliePersey & @pippajbanham
If you haven't got a ticket for today's event, here's the Facebook live link: https://www.facebook.com/publiclawproject/videos/780028399481451
Our first speaker is @AafzSyeda, trainee solicitor at @EalingLawCentre and #justicefirstfellow. As a single parent, everyone warned her off a career in law! She recommends doing her research about study options at different unis to decide what will work best for student finance.
(Apologies - our first tweet referred to Pippa Banham - Syeda has very kindly stepped in for her due to a family commitment)
Syeda starting volunteering at the Citizens' Advice Bureau through a work experience module on her degree. She applied everywhere but it was very challenging, especially at the interview stage.
Syeda is now bigging up the @The_LEF #JusticeFirstFellowship - the latest stop on her legal journey. It's a great opportunity, so much support is on offer as a trainee solicitor, and there's a great community of other trainees. It's highly recommended!
Syeda says that the highlight of her legal career so far was meeting Lady Hale at the #JusticeFirstFellowship conference.
Top career tips? Syeda's managed to get to where she is despite being a single parent with two young children; you can do it if you commit to it! She also says: 1. Get as much work experience as you can. 2. Widen your search. 3. Apply apply apply! 4. Background search orgs!
Final thoughts from Syeda: you can overcome the challenges you face. Age is not a barrier. Being a single mum isn't. Just keep going. Thanks so much @AafzSyeda - you're an inspiration!
A question's put to Syeda about the project she did as part of her #JusticeFirstFellowship. She's running a housing clinic at a local GP - usually one-off advice but if a case needs longer input, she'll take it on at @EalingLawCentre. It's a brilliant opportunity.
One more question to Syeda: which skills were most useful to you in getting your TC? @AafzSyeda says work experience - she worked as a Housing Officer at a local authority and this was vital in developing her knowledge. She made multiple job applications - persistence pays off!
Be yourself in job interviews. Syeda mentioned that she was a single mum with childcare commitments. She also said that English wasn't her first language. Honesty is a great skill :)
. @AafzSyeda was the first one in her family to go to university and she started out doing ESOL. She wanted to work for people from disadvantaged people. Working at a city firm was never of interest to Syeda as a result!
Final words from @AafzSyeda: keep going!
Emma says that she fell into law, and then fell in love with it. She developed her skills volunteering at her local law centre and when she graduated, she was given the opportunity to manage her own project there - a great experience.
Emma got experience across a range of different areas of law including personal injury and family law. After deciding that these weren't for her, she got a paralegal job at the Public Law & Human Rights dept at @IMCareers and realised this is what she wanted to do.
. @emmatrevett decided that the traditional training contract route wasn't for her and she found out about qualifying via Equivalent Means. You can find out more about this here: https://www.sra.org.uk/students/resources/exemptions/period-recognised-training
Equivalent Means made sense for Emma because she already knew the areas of law she wanted to work in and had loads of experience. To qualify through this route you have to complete a portfolio, which can seem quite daunting at first, but is manageable!
. @emmatrevett says she's gained loads of experience through being a paralegal. She also highlights the importance of networking; you never know where a conversation might take you and the opportunities which can arise.
She once emailed a solicitor who she saw appearing on a documentary if she could come and do work experience with them- and they said yes! @emmatrevett says 'be bold with it'. Ask questions; we're genuinely nice people who do this work because we love it.
You can reach out to @emmatrevett on Twitter and she is more than happy to help aspiring lawyers!
. @TaraMulcair says that networking really is key. A nice intro is the @YLALawyers meetings; it's a friendly crowd!
Our third speaker this afternoon is Nutan Fatania at @9bedfordrow. Thanks for joining us Nutan!
Nutan says she was 'one of those really annoying people who always knew she wanted to be a barrister'! She studied law at @KingsCollegeLon and was then called to the bar. she struggled to get even paralegal positions as she didn't have work experience.
While building her skills, she worked at Mothercare to support herself and volunteered at the Newham Monitoring Project, after which she was given a paid position. She was also working as a clerk for a family firm at the same time along with two other voluntary positions (phew!)
Nutan then got some paid positions including at Hickman & Rose and Kingsley Napley. After 4 years of doing this, she began questioning whether she really did want to be a barrister.
She put all of her energies into pupillage season and was successful, landing pupillage at the Crown Prosecution Service. She says she is kicking herself for not considering it sooner. It's important to keep your options open!
The moral of Nutan's tale? Keep going! It may take longer than you think but you'll get there eventually. Trust your gut!
Final thoughts - Nuhan says not to dwell on your rejections. As her friend said to her, you don't need to be successful in all of your applications, you only need one person to say yes. You wouldn't be able to do 10 pupillages anyway!
Our final speaker this afternoon is @YLALawyers @OlliePersey. Ollie did the New York Bar and even got offered a job at the UCLA - but then his visa got lost. So he had to change tack...
Ollie talks very fast so it's hard to keep up with everything he's saying.
After a few disastrous pupillage interview experiences, including being told in error he'd been successful (argh!), @OlliePersey got a #JusticeFirstFellowship at the @publiclawprojct, where he still works.
Ollie says that networking pays off in ways you don't always expect. If you're proactive and put in good energy, it'll come back to you in other ways. He set up events including @LGBTmooting and the connections he made through that process have led to great things.
@OlliePersey's final words are to big up the #JusticeFirstFellowship - it's a terrific opportunity. There are 19 training contract positions available to start January 2021; find out more here: https://jff.thelegaleducationfoundation.org/
Ollie also recommends signing up for a @YLALawyers mentor through the YLAL website ( http://www.younglegalaidlawyers.org/mentoring ). Ollie's mentor was @RachelKFrancis and she was a tremendous help when he was applying for pupillage. He still goes to her with questions now!
Some absolutely brilliant questions (and answers) to round off the session. We bet you've learned buckets from our great speakers this afternoon. Big thanks to @AafzSyeda, Nutan Fatania of @9bedfordrow @emmatrevett and @OlliePersey for your words of wisdom!
And that's a wrap! Thanks finally to @TaraMulcair for her wonderful hosting :) and the inimitable @LucieBoase for live-tweeting ;)
Enjoy your weekends & hope to see you at Monday's event 'Social welfare law after COVID-19: Challenges and Opportunities' #YLMC2020
Enjoy your weekends & hope to see you at Monday's event 'Social welfare law after COVID-19: Challenges and Opportunities' #YLMC2020
