For a process as competitive as clerkships, failing to put in the time to research is fatal to your application. With assessments, university classes and work already taking much of your time, the clerkship demands time and commitment that you might not necessarily have.
Firm Website
Priority: High
Nothing sells a law firm better than their own website. The firm website is the main interface that students interact with and is what firms expect students to draw from when completing their clerkship applications. While there is plenty of information about the firm you could use in your application and it should not be undervalued as a resource, there is also a lot of information in each website which is not as useful.
Nothing sells a law firm better than their own website
Particular sections of the website that I recommend you take a look at include:
- About: being the page that gives a history of how the firm became what it is today, this is useful common knowledge to integrate in your interviews or written application
- Media Releases: this section shows you recent transactions and awards that the firm has received. It will give you a great indication of the firm’s competencies and give you something to talk about if you are interested in a specific practice area
- Innovation: insight into what the firm has done to accommodate disruptive legal technology and compete against new market players can show you how well the firm handles change.
Firm-Run Information Sessions
Priority: Medium
There are a number of Information evenings that run before the application deadline closes for students to better understand what the firm does, its culture and competencies. It may be useful to note that these evenings are not assessed at all and whether you attend does not impact how your application is considered. The reason why these sessions can be useful (and hence medium priority) is that they can shine some light on aspects of the firm or practice that you might not find easily online. This includes the key market strengths the firm has over its competitors, its workplace culture and business model. A lot of the information that I collected at these sessions were used in my written application and interviews – saving me some time throughout the process.
University Workshops
Priority: Medium
Every year there are many useful workshops run by the university or student law society, which are useful to quickly gain a basic understanding of the clerkship process and what it entails. For me, these workshops were a great way to immediately learn of the firms recruiting in Australia, the practice areas which appealed to me while also giving me an opportunity to speak to representatives from these firms. While you may draw on your attendance at these workshops in your clerkship application to demonstrate some enthusiasm in the firm, these workshops are more for your own understanding.
Reaching out to lawyers on Social Media
Priority: Low
Don’t get me wrong – professional networks are important to build, but the immediate value it provides to your clerkship application and interviews are limited. Unless you are reaching out to a Partner in the law firm and you are able to make a strong impression, I would not spend much of my time trying to reach out to people via Social Media. Here is why:
- Lawyers are busy people. In many instances where I have cold messaged Partners and Senior Associates on LinkedIn, I never really received a reply or gotten so far as to successfully setup a quick coffee catch up.
- When catching up for coffee, answers that you receive from these lawyers generally would be no different to responses gathered from the Firm’s Information Evenings. In fact, I found that responses at coffee catch ups were less informative.
- No one during the clerkship process expects you to have reached out to every Partner or industry leader in the firm. In fact, unless you have established a strong ongoing relationship with them, the value of including them in your written application is limited. This information often cannot and most likely would not be properly verified by the recruitment managers while they sift through hundreds of written applications.
- Even if you leave a strong impression, maintaining an ongoing and unforgettable impression that actually assists with the progress of your application is difficult. Under most firm’s career progression initiatives, they are already busy enough interacting with their coaches, mentees and buddies that you will simply be of a lesser priority. I would leave those strong relationships to be built once you join the firm as a summer clerk or graduate.
Don’t be worried about not being able to build networks just yet – there are plenty of cocktails evenings throughout the process and clerkship itself that will give you ample opportunity to get acquainted.