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.

Alesha Dixon ft. Jay Sean - Every Little Part Of Me (Culture Shock Remix...

Brilliant song!! :D

Need You

It seems that I haven't written in a while, so I'm starting off with a song suggestion- Need You by Travie McCoy. It's a brilliant song with a funky rhythm and lyrics that speak volumes. And here's the youtube link:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=735DwZMMR3U&ob=av2e

University life so far isn't half bad; I've been to loads of gigs and gotten alot of work done too, and today I made my first proper cooked meal- a chicken curry! YAY! And I am super proud of the fact that it was actually edible! DOUBLE YAY!

I also now have my own radio show- mondays at 8pm on Crush Radio. To stream it live you can visit http://www.crushradio.co.uk/ , plus you can send your messages and requests to me either through the website or by text (text the word 'crush' and your message to 60300). Do message in and leave me a note!

About 10 minutes ago I watched World's Strictest Parents, and I think I actually cried. There was a really sad story about a boy whose mother fled from Columbia due to gang violence, and how the son thought it was all his fault. All I can say was that it was very emotional.

Talking of shows, I was watching a sketch by Michael McIntyre, and he confirmed what I knew all along- common sense has evaded the human race. He talked about how everyone rushes to get on the tube, and how there is a need for every single person in the carriage to be reading the metro- in the interest of climate change wouldn't it make sense for one person to read to the whole carriage?!?!?! In the mornings at least- when every person on the jubilee line tends to get off at Canary Wharf. In theory its possible- however in pratice it would never work! It was quite a funny sketch and I would recommend you watch it.

It seems the bulk of my mealtimes now revolve around bbc iplayer and 4OD- all I can say is thank god for fast connections in halls of residence! The only sad thing about halls is that the heater only turns on when the temperature is below 18 degrees, and let me tell you 19 degrees is still freaking cold! :(

Tuition Fees are being increased= (if it includes my year) the end of a very short university life. Not really much more to say about that, except for the point that there is a march against higher tuition fees in central london tomorrow.

A new day, a new Call Of Duty Game- yes of course, its Black Ops. Apparently going down a storm in men and boys bedrooms all over the country- looking forward to trying it out! :D

Thats all for now folks!

xx

Marching on

Today I'm writing on a poltical note. I know- boohoo. Though it may seem dull, Britain is going through a huge change as an outcome of a coalition government. I was sitting peacefully, eating some pineapple and I flipped on the television to find myself looking at the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osbourne. To be fair he made some good points whilst outlining the budget for the UK- but there was a huge uproar as he announced that VAT was going to rise from 17.5% to 20%. To be honest- everyone saw this coming. No matter what Government we chose (even if they had promised no increase in VAT) we knew there was going to be a rise in order to pay off the deficit. It's ok- we've been lied to before in the past, I'm sure we'll get over it. However, on the other hand, all the drink lovers out there will be happy to hear that the VAT rise does not include alcohol. I for one was happy to hear it wasn't to include books either. I feel this was one of the main talking points of today's budget plans- so I thought I would mention it.

On a lighter note, my servitude to the Cardinal Wiseman School will end this Friday- HURRAY!! I will no longer be attatched to the school as I move forward onto better and brighter things.

AND, on a final note I have been listening to a brilliant song called 'Marching On', hence the title of this post. It's a song by Timbaland and One Republic, a collaboration which I believe to be brilliant. It is the perfect song to get you out of a bad mood- it's hopeful lyrics and  melodic rhythms envisage a better future for us all.

Timbaland - Marching On (Timbo Version) (featuring One Republic) - Shock Value II



xx

Dynamic Movement

Hey guys! This short post is about Dynamic Movement- a slick free-running group, who have created their own soundtrack- so here it is....

The Dynamic Movement Soundtrack- Free Download

Talkin' With Style

Hello!

It's all been a bit hectic the past couple of weeks, but I thought I would give you something to read! I recently did an interview for my 6th Form Magazine, 'Banter', with We Are Fiction, a brilliant UK band. Unfortunately, the next issue of 'Banter' has been postponed indefinitely, and so I no one has had the chance to read to interview yet, but here it is in all its glory. ENJOY! :D

The Banter Green Room – Interview with ‘We Are Fiction’ by Jemini Gova

‘We Are Fiction’ Band Members

Phil- Vocals

Adam- Guitar/Vocals

Andi- Guitar/Vocals

Ryan- Bass

Tom- Drums

The Peterborough quintet, ‘We Are Fiction’, formed in 2007, creating a post-hardcore/melodic screamo band that has been tearing up venues all over the country. The bands’ strong ethos of ‘party hard’ ensures lunacy and chaos ensuing at their energetic live performances. Parting ways from their record label Rising Records last year, the group has decided to go it alone and has already released a mini-album with six tracks on the playlist. I, Jemini Gova, interviewed Tom from ‘We Are Fiction’, and asked him about the split with Rising Records and more…

What has changed for you since performing and sharing a stage with acts such as Atreyu, We Are The Ocean, Deaf Havana and Story of the Year?

I think it’s opened our eyes to how hard the music industry is. Just talking to some of those bands and seeing how much of their time and effort goes into trying to make music their life is crazy. I think when most people start a band they think that they could make it within 2-3 years maximum; where as in reality it takes almost double that in most cases. It’s a very hard industry to break into, but it’s something we wouldn’t give up for the world. There is nothing else we would rather do with our lives.

The song ‘Bitch', which was released digitally on 2nd November 2009, is a very potent and strong song. The title itself gives you a clue as to what the song is about. However, what was the inspiration for the song? What is the story behind it?

I think every guy at one point in his life has been royally fucked about by a woman. It can be the most frustrating and emotionally deflating thing to experience. This song is pretty much stands up and says “Fuck you” to any women who has ever knowingly done this to a man. It sucks. But don’t get us wrong! We’re not calling every woman a bitch by any means! The majority of women are straightforward and very nice people; this is just focused on those frustrating few.

You have an interesting competition going on at the moment, about drawing a certain prominent part of the male anatomy to win some merch. I’m sure you’ve had some interesting entries. How is it going?

Yeah, the competition is going well! We’ve had some amazing entries. There are some very talented people out there. We’re planning on making a competition each month from now on to give people the chance to win some free merch. The winners will be announced on our myspace and facebook pages, along with a special section for them on our mailing list email. Make sure those who haven’t entered get involved!

What artists or bands are you guys listening to at the moment?

Allsorts! Cancer Bats, He Is Legend, Underoath, Everytime I Die, Alexisonfire, amongst others. Some underground UK bands as well such as Lavondyss, Deaf Havana and Proceed.

You guys have had great success with your music reaching many people through the medium of the internet, for example Myspace, and the band has received high profile press such as Kerrang!, and NME Radio. But, when did you first feel like a real band? What was the event? Why did it make you feel like a real band?

To be honest, I don’t think that point in time has really happened yet! We have a habit of cutting ourselves short a lot of the time. We’re our own worst critics. But that’s not a bad thing, it means we’re constantly striving to become better and better at what we do. A few years ago we would hear bands that we we’re friends get airtime on Kerrang Radio and we were all like “Wow! They are so lucky!” When it happened to us we kinda just went, “Ok, what’s the next step?” Not that we weren’t pleased or excited that it happened, its just we’re always so keen and excited to see what’s coming next on the path that we sometimes miss what we’ve already achieved.

Young people are stereotyped with so many negative connotations nowadays; however music seems to be one of the ways in which the younger generations can be reached. What do you think about the British music scene at the moment, and what sort of influence do you believe it is having on today’s youth culture?

The British music scene is and always will stand-alone. Nothing compares to the music that comes out of this country, it’s unique and I think that’s something to be very proud of. Most British bands that have made it in this country have got a predominantly “British” sound; it’s edgier and has a tinge of grunginess to it. Compare British music to American for example and you’ll hear the difference; American music on the whole has a much softer tone and rounder edge to it. As a result, I think this reflects on the youth culture. Fashions seem to be edgier and more out there than other countries, we also seem to have a different attitude towards music and going to shows. It’s not a bad thing, it’s what makes us who we are.

You recently parted ways with your record label, Rising Records, and decided to record your EP self-funded. What led to this decision?

Let’s just say we wanted to get the ball rolling again and the quickest way to do so was to go it alone. It seems like it was the smartest decision we made for a long time to be honest, as we don’t have to answer to anyone but ourselves now; we’re our own boss’s. The only down side is that everything we spend money on comes out of our own pockets. We’re in a lot of debt at the moment as a result of releasing this EP. So, if you want to help us out, buy some merch or our music so we can eat!

On the 23rd November, you released a mini album self titled ‘We Are Fiction’. What are the main themes of the album? What is all about?

The EP touches on topics that we feel passionate about; from horrible women, to tossers who start fights with you for how you look, to our passion towards music and the band. We strongly believe that you write best about the things you know, so that’s what we did. We just wanted this EP to be an introduction to people about who we are as a band and as people. We’ve taken a hell of a lot of rubbish in the past 3 years we’ve been together and as a result this has shaped us into the people we are today.

What are your top three bands of all time?

Underoath, Alexisonfire & Nirvana

What advice would you give to Banter readers who want to get involved in music?

If you want to make it, be prepared to give most of your life to it. Only the lucky few make it in an instant; the rest of us are on the long hard trek up the music ladder. In the words of ACDC, “It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll.”

And now for our Quick-Fire Round:

Cats or Dogs?- Dogs

Hulk or Superman?- Hulk

Warner Bros or Disney?- Warner Brothers

Reading or Glastonbury?- Reading

Junk food or Healthy food?- Junk food

Santa or the Tooth Fairy?- Santa

iPhone or Blackberry?- iPhone

MySpace or Facebook?- Myspace

Finally, what is the next step for We Are Fiction, what can we expect from you in the future?

A lot of touring and gigging for the rest of this year. We’re also going to be writing as much as possible so keep an eye out for future releases.

‘We Are Fiction’s’ album is available to buy from iTunes and Amazon now!

©Jemini Gova

xx

Hold On

Just a quick note to tell you about a brilliant dubstep track I have been listening to-

Rusko - Hold On (feat. Amber Coffman) (Sub Focus Remix)

The smooth vocals of Amber Coffman do not prepare you for the hard drum and bass kick, which comes out of nowhere. This song is a perfect mix for all as it combines the best of Rusko's dubstep genius with a touch of sugar in the form of Amber Coffman. This song is set to be a big tune for all the dubstep fans out there. Sub Focus add a spin on things in this track, making it more collected. The whole tune has a great vibe about it- be sure to check it out!

Hold on- Listen here

:D

xx