Career Clinic: How do I best use my pre-LPC gap-year?

I'd seriously think about postponing the gap year until after the LPC, when you will hopefully have a training contract. If you're still so uncertain about what to do with it, perhaps now is not the right time. Much more importantly, this will let you forget about what will be good for your career. Think about what will be good for your life instead - do make the year self-financing, but for god's sake do something interesting, not corporate paralegaling!

Assistant, Bristol -14 Jun 2007 | 13:42

Do something fun! Once you start working say goodbye to the 6-week summer breaks and hello to 25 days (if you're lucky) annual leave. Don't get me wrong, it's not all doom and gloom, but you already have a job lined up so why kill yourself? (Trust me, as a trainee they'll get their pound of flesh anyway).

NQ, City firm -14 Jun 2007 | 16:38

People like this make me worry for the sanity of the human race. Screw your CV. There are far more important things than in filling in forms and making bibles, especially as you'll be doing that kind of crap for two years as a trainee anyway! Just travel for the sake of it.PS definitely get your training contract sorted first.

US associate -14 Jun 2007 | 16:38

I was in a similar position, had done the GDL, had a place on the LPC but no TC. I am coming to the end of my 'gap year' in which I will have spent 11 months working in an investment bank. Sure, it's a steep learning curve, working in leveraged finance, but it pretty much ensured that the I got my TC at a US firm in London. I can't recommend enough working in a non-law position as the feedback I have is has been overwhelmingly positive.

Similar-position -14 Jun 2007 | 16:43

It depends on how successful you are in securing a training contract. If you're abroad for 6 months, you obviously won't be able to attend any interviews and may not have the time/inclination to do any applications. As dull as it may be (at times!) at least with paralegalling you will be earning money, gaining experience (vital in securing a training contract) and will be in the country for any interviews, etc. Obviously, if you manage to secure a training contract in the next 6 months or so, then by all means go off and enjoy yourself before you have to start the hard graft! Good luck.

soon-to-be trainee -14 Jun 2007 | 16:46

I did a gap year after university but before my LPC and training contract. I cannot recommend enough teaching in China or Japan. Not only do you come back with a wealth of life experience, increased confidence and relatively rare language skills, you will have something different on your CV.I sorted my training contract before my departure and made sure in every interview, I talked candidly about my imminent departure to Japan - what I hoped to gain and how it would assist my career upon return. I wouldn't recommend entering the City BEFORE your training - you'll have enough of City life during your TC.Best of luck!

Associate, Barlow Lyde & Gilbert -14 Jun 2007 | 16:55

If you have secured a TC you can just forget about the paralegal job. Once you start work you will be so drained that any holidays you get might be used to stay at home for relaxation. Go travelling and also teach english in China. This would be more interesting and satisfying.

Mariam -14 Jun 2007 | 17:09

If you manage to get a TC without relying on the gap year as a selling point (ie you get one before you head off into the sunset) then do with it as you wish. You've then secured your position, at least for the short-term, and may as well enjoy your last months of freedom. If you don't get the TC on the merits of your academics / work experience to date, then your best bet is undoubtedly to use the time to give you a commercial advantage over other candidates fresh out of law school. How about looking for work in the Legal Department of a major company, rather than a law firm? It's still experience of law, but in a business context, and any industry experience will give you a huge edge over your competitors who are unlikely to have witnessed the practical application of advice and / or what the needs of the client really are. You might get involved in a major deal (then again, you might not!) and get to see how the process really works in practice. It will probably also be much more fun than spending the summer on placement in a law firm, will boost your confidence and understanding of the corporate / business world, and you could make invaluble contacts in the process. Naturally this is a little biased, but it's worth giving some consideration. Good luck!

In-house Lawyer, blue-chip PLC -14 Jun 2007 | 17:26

Work somewhere fun for 6 months then go to China. A second language will be very useful and Chinese in particular. You could just travel for the sake of it but I would spend at least some of it doing something useful....but NOT as a paralegal (unless you are doing it somewhere like Sydney).

Helen -15 Jun 2007 | 09:42

A bit of a no-brainer, this one. Get a TC asap and then enjoy yourself. In fact, do something that you really want to do, but will not help your career in any way at all!

Corporate Counsel -15 Jun 2007 | 11:09

Generally, best rule is to take the gap yera after the LPC. If you don't have a training contract, paralegal in order to help get one. If you do, stay away from a law office and do something you can enjoy (if you can afford it).

Anonymous -15 Jun 2007 | 12:40

I am presently working as a paralegal (though if I am honest, the job title is a bit of a stretch considering the monkey work that I am given) and have been working in a legal environment for about 9 months. When it came to applying for TCs, I felt that my time gave me some advantage as far as discernible experience goes, as well as allowing me to waffle on in interview and on the forms in a way that sounded as if I knew what I was on about. In the end, I got a TC at a top City firm quite easily and I think that my work made quite a significant difference.That said, there is only so much bibling and copying that one can do before you start to consider shooting yourself in the head. If you can get a TC without, do without - the extra experience is negligible once you've qualified - and do something much more interesting. If you really want to combine the two, try paralegaling internationally and get the best of both worlds.

Office Gimp -15 Jun 2007 | 13:06

Thanks for the advice everyone. I might add that I have already had the 'travel gap year' (prior to the LLM) so I'm thinking that gap year no 2 had to be a little more career-oriented!

LLM Student -15 Jun 2007 | 18:29

Do a bit of paralegal work abroad if you can. Get your training contract sorted out. After that, go ahead and have non-law related fun. Might as well when you have the chance. Law firms like people with initiative who do interesting things. Bibling can only take you so far.

Anonymous -17 Jun 2007 | 23:43

Instead of (or as well as!) teaching English in China you could go and do legal work experience abroad in a huge range of countries(there are loads of organisations that offer this - try teaching projects abroad or travellers worldwide). I went to Ghana for 2mths as an intern at a law firm and also worked with legal charities out there. It was a great experience and gave me something different on my CV to just paralegal work in the UK which loads of people do. Also as I had booked the trip before applying for TCs it gave me something to talk about in interview even though I hadn't actually had the gap year when I was applying for TCs.

2nd yr trainee -18 Jun 2007 | 11:27

The best thing you can do (if you have a training contract lined up) is to try to get some experience that supplements your legal training. Having copying, document management skills etc won't set you apart from other trainees, but if you can get experience of something like PR, marketing and business development (which will be useful to your partners) or even better an industry sector your future firm is involved in, you will stand out from the crowd.Having been in the same position, I strongly recommend limiting paralegal work to a maximum of 6 or preferably 3 months. That is long enough to give you a running start when you begin life as a trainee, anything beyond that will just be repetition. Try to avoid magic circle firms too as the paralegal work there is often pretty low-level (think bible cleaning and other bill-filling tricks...).

NQ, London -21 Jun 2007 | 16:43

I'd seriously consider doing something useful for your career. If you've already spent one gap year travelling it will start to look like you can't settle to a job in the UK if you do it again. And let's face it, every candidate for interviews these days has had a gap year and no matter how they try to dress it up as a cultural experience everyone knows it for what it really is - a year spent bumming around Indonesia doing too many drugs with their western compatriots. Make yourself stand out from the crowd by doing soemthing else.

In-house -06 Jul 2007 | 15:04