Career Clinic: Will working in legal aid hurt my commercial law ambitions?

Think positive

Everyone knows how difficult the recession has been for law firms and lawyers so I do not think your period spent at a legal aid firm should count against you, provided you present it as a positive. The fact that you managed to obtain legal work during such a huge economic downturn is a positive, as is the fact that you obviously impressed at the firm you are working at given that you were offered a solicitor role.

You also need to demonstrate the transferable skills you have obtained from your legal aid work that would be beneficial to a commercial role, such as dealing with potentially difficult clients from all backgrounds, clear and concise communication skills etc. These skills are of course useful when dealing with commercial clients who are busy and who are often not from a legal background.

It goes without saying as well that you need to show how you have kept up to date with the commercial sector and how you have developed your commercial awareness further. For example, at a smaller legal aid firm you may have been more involved with practice management than you would have been at a regional firm so you should highlight this too.

You should also be encouraged by the fact that as a commercial solicitor of your qualification you are a rarity for regional firms to an extent as during the downturn relatively fewer trainees qualified into corporate/commercial areas as the work was not there; I am 3PQE and have been contacted by numerous agents about a variety of commercial roles because in the region where I live there are comparatively few commercial solicitors. So maybe focus your job search on the regions. Good luck!

I predict a riot -11 Aug 2011 | 14:29

It's good to see that City firms won't look down on someone, er, using law in a worthwhile way that impacts on people's lives. That's big of them.

Hmmm -11 Aug 2011 | 16:31

I am not blaming you for what you have done as you have been a victim of the economic climate.
However I worry that you say that you did not like the niche area you were in when you got made redundant.
Now you are saying that you have been with a legal aid practice for 6 months and you are already plotting your exit from the firm and the practice area.
If I were an employer I would worry about that and I would be questioning your wish to move across into an area in which you have no PQE and therefore no guarantee you will enjoy that.
However if you are determined to move back to the Commercial sector I would think about the reasons behind why you went to the legal aid practice as a paralegal and what you think it has added to your career.
There are some very respected legal aid practices who make a name from taking on high profile cases involving major issues around civil liberties, access to justice, access to public services and levels of compensation.
If your practice is one of those, then your principals will probably be admired and respected in the town for what they do.
Put out some feelers with your Local Law Society (is there a Junior Lawyers group locally?) and see how your practice is perceived in the legal world.
Then as the first comment says emphasise the client handling skills you have acquired, not to mention the business development and time management. And damned hard work.
I have never done legally aided work (I am a Conveyancer) but I know from talking to my colleagues who do Crime, PI and Family that you have to take on a lot of cases and work very efficiently to make money in legal aid practice.
Good luck.

high street solicitor -12 Aug 2011 | 14:43

You're more employable after working in any area of the law than you would be in most other jobs, so don't worry about it.

But that doesn't mean that you'll necessarily find it easy, or even possible, to go back to commercial law. Activity levels are low and many firms still have too many people who aren't working to capacity. They also have large numbers of trainees about to qualify.

Seriously, if you didn't like your "niche area of law", what makes you think that any other area of commercial law will be any better? There are certainly pleasant and unpleasant partners and firms out there, and a move to get away from the unpleasant variety makes sense, but the working environmnent and experience for most commercial disciplines is pretty similar.

You might be better advised to try to get to the top end of what you're doing now.

Anon -17 Aug 2011 | 13:43

Unfair, But True

Working in Legal Aid will not help your prospects. Starting again as a paralegal in your chosen specialty certainly will not. Get out as soon as you can.

How It Is -18 Aug 2011 | 15:24