Where it all starts …

Mille Bird, Paralegal

During my four years studying Law at university, there was such a focus around getting work experience, applying for as many vacation schemes as possible and ultimately getting a training contract. I remember feeling as though that was impossible. I found it particularly difficult as I spent my holidays from university working to save up for the following year and just didn’t have the time to dedicate to work experience.

I did eventually manage to get a small amount of work experience, and this was useful to put on my CV, but most of the time I was just an extra pair of hands to help with administrative tasks.

After completing my LPC, I felt like I had come to a bit of a dead end. Even with a Law degree and LPC, having only a few weeks work experience, I had little hope of being able to get a training contract.

I carried on working part-time in the job that had seen me through my LPC (and the pandemic). I then decided that looking for a Paralegal role was the best thing to do, although this was a challenge in itself given the pandemic and jobs being few and far between.

I searched for jobs for around half a year after finishing my LPC, spending hours tailoring various applications and feeling really disheartened to not hear back from firms. I was then offered a Paralegal role at Rollits and was absolutely over the moon.

Now that I have been a few weeks, I am gradually being given my own caseload to work on with help from others in my team. I am learning new things everyday about the area of law in which I am working, and continuously get to develop my knowledge by doing research for colleagues. I am given plenty of responsibility to work on files independently but there is also plenty of support whenever I have questions.

Being a Paralegal has solidified my desire for a career in law, but also shown me that there is no right or wrong route into that.

Advice for people looking at a career in law

1. Try not to get stuck on the things you don’t have and emphasise what you do have
2. Tailor each application (regardless of the job) and ensure both you and the firm are a good fit for each other
3. Don’t rule yourself out based on what you anticipate a firm is looking for
4. Remember that the only real pressures are the ones you put on yourself
5. Don’t take rejection to heart, ask for feedback and keep going!

Millie Bird

This article is for general guidance only. It provides useful information in a concise form. Action should not be taken without obtaining specific legal advice.