A clerkship is a short, full-time, job opportunity for students to work at a professional law firm. It should be noted that most clerkships are centered around careers in the corporate law space, with some limited exceptions.
Generally, a clerkship is aimed at penultimate law students – students in their second last year of their degree. This is because you join their graduate program the year after you complete the clerkship. In some cases, final year students are also encouraged to apply.
The length of the clerkship differs across the Australian states ranging from three weeks to three months, with some firms giving students the opportunity to rotate through multiple practice areas of the firm. The process is designed to recruit you back into the firm as a graduate in the near future, so you really get exposed to a variety of different tasks. As a seasonal clerk, I was able to close the deal on a large infrastructure project, draft detailed PowerPoint slides and publish fortnightly newsletters to our clients.
Why does a clerkship matter?
There are two main reasons why you would want to really apply for clerkships as a law student.
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The Pathway to a Graduate
For many top and mid-tier law firms, the clerkships serve as the main path for students to become a graduate at the law firm. In fact, most law firms convert a majority of their seasonal clerks to graduates. This also means that depending on the size of their graduate intake, there are often no additional graduate openings in the firm that external students can then apply for. If you would like to work at a large corporate law firm, the clerkship program may be your only avenue. While the conversion from a seasonal clerk to a graduate is by no-means guaranteed, there is high possibility that you would convert into a graduate. As a result, this process is quite competitive and requires a considerable investment of your time.
Although there are definitely other pathways to join these law firms, the clerkship is the first formal pathway to becoming a full-time lawyer at the firm.
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Finding your Fit
For most students, the clerkship provides the first real insight into working at a professional law firm. The program allows you to preference practice areas that you are interested to work in, giving you access to business areas that often do not recruit paralegals or lawyers externally. If there is a certain practice area within corporate law that you are passionate and curious about, a rotation as a seasonal clerk in that practice area certainly gives you the opportunity to determine whether it is right for you.
More generally, you are also able to witness what lawyers actually do on a day to day basis. This can also help inform your decision on whether corporate law is the right career for you. Even if you decide during the clerkship that corporate law is not right for you, it is great to have this on your resume as you pursue other careers such as investment banking or courtroom advocacy.
Want to know how to take the first step and apply for clerkships? Click here to know how to start on your written applications!