The Ideal Law Firm Application- A modern day tale of the struggle to get a training contract

Q: Have you achieved, or are you on target to achieve at least a 2.1 classification in your degree and A-level results of AAB (or equivalent)?

A: I am on course to receive a 1st. Technically I have not received AAB at my A-Levels, but I have received over 420 UCAS Points from 4 A-Levels and . I hope that counts.

University: University of Hertfordshire

Error- Invalid University, please select from the following list:
Cambridge
LSE
Oxford
Imperial
Durham
St Andrews
Warwick
UCL
Kings
Bath
Other

Qualifying Law Degree: YES

Email Confirmation:

Thank you for your application for a Training Contract with Mills and Boon International LLP.

However, after careful consideration, I regret to inform you that we are unable to invite you to an assessment centre. We receive a high volume of Training Contract applications each year, which means that we have to turn down a number of high calibre candidates.

Unfortunately, this kind of email is not uncommon in my hotmail inbox this time of year. After spending hours labouring over application after application, the slight hope that I once had over receiving emails from prestigious law firms has, over a slow and painful process, diminished and left behind a more bitter and hardened version of myself.

The worst part is, you know there is nothing you can do to change it. Personally, I feel I was fortunate to attend one of the better state schools in my area, and proceed to University; heck, I was even Gifted and Talented, and part of the Russell Group potential candidates. But somehow I can't seem to shake the feeling that it has something to do with not going to a prestigious university. As a student at the University of Hertfordshire, I am extremely proud to be part of a University community that acknowledges me as a serious student and cares about me. I know this may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I decided to go to that university because I LIKED IT.Sure, I may have had the opportunity to go to Oxbridge, but in the end it seemed like an unrealistic prospect. By chance I know some people that do attend such universities; and of course some people enjoy it, but at the other spectrum of the scale, I know those that do not feel appreciated as part of their university, as if they are a single student in a sea of faces. I attended Hertfordshire because I knew it was somewhere that I could meet some great people, have an amazing time as well as obtain a qualifying law degree. I cherish the fact that I have been given the opportunity to go to university; my parents sure didn't have that kind of opportunity available to them. I have no doubt in my mind that I will do whatever it takes to succeed and I know that someday the right law firm will realise that I have more to offer than my credentials. However, in this day and age, all that people seem to consider is the idea that you are not from a Russell Group university. And it boils down to A-Level results; to he honest, I didn't get all A's at A-Level; most people do about 3 A-Levels, however, I decided to be a bit brave and did 4 A-Levels and an AS Level. This may have lead to me being overworked and therefore I did not do as well as I had hoped, but I was still happy; it amounted to 420 UCAS points, a hefty amount of points to achieve.

The fact that I have numerous valuable experiences in various areas of the law is of little consequence to city firms. To be blunt, I have worked to get those placements for myself- no nepotism involved, no contacts, just me, myself and I. I have sought out several opportunities through diversity schemes, and have successfully advanced myself through those programmes; they themselves have made a HUGE difference to my drive, have encouraged me to progress, and invest in my future.

In a recent article on allaboutcareers.co.uk a recruiter states:

We often get asked if law firms really care about candidates’ A-level results. Is this actually the case?
A candidate’s A-level results (or international equivalent) are important because their university selection is based on their grades. If the education system changes then it won’t become so important, but A-levels, at the moment, are your entry-point into a university that will teach you at a good level.

Somehow this seems to be a ambiguous way of saying if you don't attend a prestigious university, it means you were too dumb to get into a prestigious university and therefore you will not succeed at anything in life and we do not want you to apply to our firm.
Surely recruiters are looking for diversity within their trainee workforce? Diversity is a commitment to recognising and appreciating the difference in people; people of all background. Why then, when I visit a high-brow law firm, do I find that 5 out of the 6 people I speak to during a networking event have all attended LSE and completed a history degree? A baffling premise! What is even more disheartening is the fact that I have met no-one else within these law firms that have attended my university, or even know of my university. Perhaps a geography lesson is in order.

The heart of the matter is students should be judged on their achievements and merited on their work outside of academic confines. I am on track for a 2:1 and could excel and achieve a 1st; and I hope when graduate, recruiters look at my application, they take the time to read it, and explore my lifetime achievements, rather than discard it because it does not meet the superior standards. To be fair, I have only sent applications to firms which I believe in, firms which possess a healthy ethos of diversity yet have a strong corporate head. I truly hope they consider me. And if they do not......

...well, I guess that's their loss.

In the quest to create diversity, they have created uniformity; every member of their trainee intake having a degree from Kings or UCL. I have nothing against these Universities; in fact they are well known important institutions. But the bare notion that someone from such a university could obtain a vacation scheme with no possible past work experience, is in fact a reality. I, myself have witnessed such an occasion. I talked to a vacation scheme student from a city firm who attended such a university, who told me that they had no past law experience to back up their qualifications. I was puzzled as I knew a very dedicated student, with numerous extra curricular activities, excellent grades and a brilliant repertoire; who had been rejected from the same city firm. This only added to my speculations that the law graduate recruitment system is heavily flawed.

In addition, whilst I was filling out training contract applications I was surprisingly pleased to see an extenuating circumstances section in some forms. To be frank, life does not always go according to plan, in more colloquial terms: shit happens. We don't account for these things to happen, and therefore, no one but your own person knows your mindset at the time of exams, coursework deadlines and so forth. At the time of my exams I was going through a very hard time due to something personal that had occurred. I was unable to concentrate on anything, and my exams were to begin in 4 days time. I decided I didn't want to defer them, as I did not want to squander my summer on revision, and I would much rather want to do something more productive. Words can't describe what happened, or how I was to deal with it, but through perseverance I completed and passed all my exams; for that I am grateful. Unfortunately, not all law firms account for things like this. I noted to the companies that did, that I had not done as well as I had hoped to do, but given the circumstances, I was proud of my grades. I was immensely thankful to these firms for allowing me to state this.

Moreover, a suggestion was put to me the other day. Why not allow anonymous applications? Allowing for merit to be given on submissions for written answers to questions rather than being judged on which university you attend. Everything but the name and university to be readily available. Would this create a fairer system? or more complexities?

Another issue remains the fact that all LLB degrees are meant to have the same weighting, they are all equal degrees. An LLB degree is meant to be a standard degree, one which conforms to a set of criteria; they are meant to be judged equally. This does not seem to ring true with the realities of the workplace.
One friend pointed out the relevance of using psychometric testing; they are there to test your logical and numerical reasoning abilities. However it seems strange for law firms to use the same sort of logical tests as retail outlets such as Boots and Next, does it not? The test may not be the same, but they are based on the same principle and formatted similarly, are they not?

At one point in the summer, I was fortunate to visit the prestigious firm that is Reed Smith; being rather mischevious I dared to ask if they had any Hertfordshire graduates in the midst- their reply, "yes, I'm sure we do", to which I asked how many of their current trainees or newly qualified solicitors were from the University of Hertfordshire. As it turns out- none. I sincerely hope more law firms reconsider their stance on this touchy subject, for the simple reason that our futures could well depend on it. Let me put it across clearly- I am not blaming anyone, or pointing the finger of fault towards any firms, I am merely stating an opinion on the current race to grab a training contract, and the difficulties faced by some students. No matter how much we try; try to gain as much experience as possible, try to impress our law tutors and work well academically- it seems as though this is one trench we can't dig ourselves out from.

Most of this article may sound like an underdog trying to prove a point, however the fact remains that everything written above is indeed true. At the risk of sounding like a bitter old hag, I will still state that discrimination stills exists in this way. No matter how much law firms talk of diversity and equality, the fact remains; life is not fair. It is up to us to change the system existing in this prejudicial environment. I know we will work hard to be noticed and taken seriously, and I will work till no end to prove my point. Select few will think this is a load of codswallop, but other law students will know what I'm talking about. All I have left to say is good luck to my fellow law students; I sincerely hope you succeed!


Disclaimer: This work is a collaborative piece; no one person or group of people are responsible or can be held liable for any information held to be true. This article is not intended to offend anyone, nor will the writer/writers be held accountable for any offence taken.