Introduction - Careers Network Mentoring Scheme
Hi my name's Vicky and I'm a corporate lawyer working in Birmingham at an international law firm. I studied Law with German at the University of Birmingham and graduated in 2014.
After graduating I studied the LPC for a year and then I undertook a two-year training contract at my current firm. I'm coming up to two and a half years qualified now. As a corporate lawyer a lot of what I work on is either international or domestic acquisitions and disposals I also work on some international group reorganizations and also advise on some general company law and compliance matters too. Aside from corporate work I also help with a lot of pro bono matters.
My favourite one today is that I'm part of a kids in need of defence legal clinic which helps undocumented children to become British citizens.
Why become a mentor
I'd absolutely recommend becoming a mentor and joining the careers network mentoring scheme. I've really enjoyed being a part of the scheme so far and I found it really personally rewarding. It’s not a very big time commitment so it's definitely worthwhile.
It’s lovely to see the mentees flourish throughout the mentoring relationship. Lots of them receive quite a big confidence boost, they become more self-assured and they seem to have a more positive outlook and it really does help them to achieve their potential. I definitely recommend signing up.
Mentoring Support - Careers Network Mentoring Scheme
I'm able to offer help and support to students and graduates through the mentoring scheme because firstly I'm able to give them first-hand experience as to what life is like as a solicitor.
Secondly, I'm also able to help to guide and support them through their application processes, be that for a vacation scheme, a training contract or another kind of application. What students and graduates seem to value the most is to have an additional member of their support network to give them some guidance and some reassurance because it's often quite adaunting process.
It's also helpful because you're able to give the graduates honest and constructive feedback which is something that they really value.
Top Tip for Industry - Careers Network Mentoring Scheme
My top tip for entering the legal industry and dealing with the applications that you might make for vacation schemes or training contracts is to try and remember to show not tell.
What I mean by that is it’s important not just to write that you're good at problem solving it's important to give examples and link that to experiences or activities that you've undertaken so that you can evidence that you have that skill. For example, if somebody works in retail they might say they have good communication skills because they deal with a lot of customers. If they deal with customer complaints often they might say that that's helped them to develop good problem solving skills or work well under pressure.
Lots of people tell me that they're worried they don’t have enough legal work experience to talk about but please don't worry about that any work experience legal or non-legal always teaches you valuable skills and competencies and it's definitely worthwhile writing about those in your applications.