Legal Scene Interviews : @ syncallawyer

• Current university and degree: QMUL, Law LLB

• Training Contract holder at : International, silver circle law firm

• Brief introduction of yourself : Founder of Strive consultants a diversity initiative working towards representative diversity in the City, meme creator and blogger.

Why did you choose to be a lawyer ?

I see law as the language of a nation, and to be a good citizen and indeed to understand the rights of an individual and live in that land, one should first understand the language of that land. Law also pretty much governs every aspect of an individuals life from buying a chocolate to marriage to buying a house, it is entwined with our lives from birth to death and I found this relationship between law and us very interesting. It only seemed natural to study it, and the more I studied it, the more I liked it. So pursuing a career in it was not really much of a choice.

How do you manage your time as a student ?

Efficient time planning is key. I think diary management is probably one of the greatest skills you can learn. Complete tasks way before the deadline, deal with matters in order of priority, and how long it will take to complete it, and then do the rest later. It’s important to know where your time goes and ensure that it is being invested where you want it to be rather than being wasted.

How important is it to attend law firm events (e.g open days, insight evenings) ?

Its crucial. You wouldn’t marry a stranger you’ve never met or heard of and yet too many people are happy to commit their lives or at least a great number of years to a company they know nothing about. It makes no sense. You will spend majority of your time at work so it’s important to choose carefully. Open days and insight evenings are a great way to do that-it’s like dating!

What is your best advice for aspiring solicitors ? (e.g how to stand out in applications)

Obtain experience whether that’s working in a bar, retail, law society or legal work experience, all experience is valuable because they all have transferable skills. Focus on your strengths, structure your application and make sure it’s easy to read. Check for simple errors like grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc… as you’re more likely to get rejected on those grounds than anything else. Research the firm. Know it like you know bae’s favourite food. Know what they do, their clients, deals, and what makes them different to other law firms. Make sure you have answers to why you, why law and why the firm.

What work experience did you do ?

Do you think they are important to applications ?I had 3 vacation schemes and prior to that I had completed 2 mini-pupillages and 2 weeks of work experience in city firms. I also was a lead editor of the law journal, ran the negotiations competition at my university, and worked in retail and HR. All experience is valuable. My legal work experience told me what I did/did not want to do (I realised very quickly I could not do criminal and that I really enjoyed business related things) whilst my retail experience taught me communications, customer service, resilience and taught me to work under pressure. All work experience is important and there is so much to talk about in relation to them regardless if it’s paid or unpaid so get as much as you can!

How do you deal with rejections ?

I embrace it (after I finish crying and sulking). I try to figure out what went wrong, and if I could have done it better. If so, I worked on improving the next application. If not, I’d get straight back to making more applications and ensuring that it was the best that it could be. I believe that some things are simply not meant for me and that there is something better out there for me that I just have to keep on trying to get. Also, I see rejections as part of the process. Nothing happens without failure so it simply means that acceptance is around the corner. Rejections are there to get you ready, to prepare you for the next stage. Its much easier to deal with it when its seen positively than negatively.

We think STRIVE is really helpful to students who are interested in entering the legal profession. Could you tell our readers more about STRIVE and how it can help them ?

1. Of course! Strive is a diversity initiative that is aiming for representative diversity in the city. We’re all about belief and focusing on the future. The ethos behind STRIVE is that anyone who wants to pursue a career in corporate commercial law can do so regardless of where they come from, their background or race. We launched in October 2018, since then out of our 70 programme participants, 40+ have gone on to secure VS and TCs at leading firms.

2. We deliver training, mentoring, and application support to our candidates. For our members, we offer free resources, advice, assessment Centre support as well as ad-hoc support as required throughout the year. We also work closely with firms to arrange events that are solely designed around our candidates to help them get ahead. We believe that everyone should have access to corporate law so we’re working really hard to ensure that we provide our members with all the resources they need to make a great impression.

3. Sign up now to become a member over at www.striveconsultants.co.uk

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Follow STRIVE on Instagram @striveconsultants