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October 25,2008
Eight questions you must ask yourself when choosing a law firm
The
decision to apply to any law firm for a
training contract can be daunting
enough without having to decide on which ones to apply for. Though it may be
tempting to apply to everything you find to increase your chances, this can be
counterproductive. Not only will it be time-consuming to go through each
application process but your answers to application questions may become
generic and unfocussed. It is therefore a good idea to pick only a few
companies based on criteria which are important to you, remembering that different
law firms can vary as much as the employees who work for them. Here is a list
of basic questions to ask yourself when thinking about where to apply:
1. In
which location do I want to work?
Whilst most big companies tend to be located in
London, a good number will have offices in other cities
such as Leeds,
Manchester or
Birmingham. If you have never lived or worked
in
London, it
may be worth considering the type of lifestyle change you may have to undergo,
but also realise that salaries in the capital will tend to be higher to balance
costs. Also, large international firms often offer opportunities to work in one
of their offices abroad, so if travel appeals to you this may be something to
think about.
2. What
size of company do I want to work for?
The size
of the firm will determine a lot about the kind of work you will be doing and
what life at the company will be like. New trainees can suffer from "small
fish, big pond" syndrome when working in large organisations but this can also
be more rewarding than working in a smaller company that deals with less
impressive work.
3. What
are the main areas the firm deals with?
Most ...
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