Since graduating this summer with a degree in Law from Kent, Ellie Sullivan has been working as a paralegal for Irwin Mitchell. She has also begun the Legal Practice Course and will join Thomson Snell and Passmore as a trainee solicitor in September 2020.
Ellie, an aspiring lawyer when she arrived at Kent, took advantage of many opportunities and resources on offer during her Law LLB studies to boost her chances of career success including:
- Becoming a Student Ambassador: Ellie worked as a Student Ambassador for both the University and the Law School, throughout her studies: ‘Every day was varied and I found the job was well-suited to me as I was able to choose how many shifts I did. I enjoyed talking to prospective students about my experience at Kent and I hope that I helped other students decide whether they would like to study law.’
- Reading Kent Law School’s Employability Bulletin: Ellie found this to be a really useful resource and read it regularly – it’s sent out each week in term-time, via email, by the Law School’s Career Development and Employability Officer Jayne Instone. Ellie said: ‘There’s a lot of information in this bulletin! Some weeks the events wouldn’t be of interest to me but I still think it’s worthwhile reading as you have no idea what the events or job opportunities could lead to!’
- Getting involved with Aspiring Solicitors: When Ellie began her studies at Kent, she didn’t know anything about becoming a solicitor or what work experience she might need to undertake to help her succeed: ‘I met with representatives from Aspiring Solicitors at the annual Law Fair on campus (organised by Kent Student Law Society) and I ended up signing up as a member on the AS website. From then on, I actively applied for open days and for various schemes with the organisation.’
- Working as a Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) Ambassador: Ellie spotted an opportunity to work for HSF as a campus ambassador at Kent on Facebook: ‘I attended some HSF events in my first year which was useful when applying to be their campus ambassador. And being an ambassador provides incredible insight into the process of making applications to firms for a job.’
- Attending an Irwin Mitchell ‘Buck the Trend’ event: Ellie gained valuable insight into Irwin Mitchell by attending this event in May 2019 (which she spotted in Jayne’s weekly Employability bulletin). It also helped her secure a job as a legal assistant, supporting the head of one of Irwin Mitchell’s UK legal teams: ‘I specifically wanted to go to this event as I knew Irwin Mitchell were a national firm – the type of firm I knew I wanted to work for. I prepared some questions to ask the trainees before I went which really helped when it came to my interview – I was able to talk about the trainees I had met and explain my reasons for wanting to work for Irwin Mitchell.’
- Going to the annual Law Fair each year: Ellie said: ‘In my second year, I worked at the Law Fair, as an HSF ambassador and, in my third year, I worked at the Law Fair, as an ambassador for Aspiring Solicitors. This meant I wasn’t able to attend in a suit, but otherwise I think I would have worn one. A list of firms attending the Fair is sent out prior to the event which is super useful as you can research the firms that will be attending and ask informed questions. Last year, I had three firms that I knew I wanted to speak to; I took my CV along and had around three questions for each firm. I spoke to Thomson, Snell and Passmore’s HR team and this lead to me gaining a place on their vacation scheme.’
- Engaging with the Law School’s Employability Officer (Jayne Instone): Ellie doesn’t believe she would have been so successful without the careers support provision at Kent: ‘I worked with Jayne quite a bit through my various ambassador roles and the events I attended that she arranged were instrumental in improving my confidence and leading me to land my dream job.’
Ellie’s top tips for new law students at Kent who aspire to be lawyers:
- Network with as many aspiring solicitors, careers advisors and legal professionals as you can to gain an insight into the industry
- Create and update a Linkedin profile and connect with all of the students, professionals and teachers you meet
- Read commercial news sources such as The Economist and form opinions about different commercial issues (NB you’ll find other sources of commercial news suggested on the KLS Employability blog)
- Attend the Law Fair on campus in October. Ellie said: ‘If I was going along this year and I wanted to apply for Thomson Snell and Passmore again, I would look at their Linkedin page, I would read about the move they have planned to a new office in nine weeks and I would ask the team about how that was going (this would really illustrate that I have researched the firm and am keen to learn more.) Write down the names of people you speak with (and a note of what they have said) so that, when you are writing applications, you can directly quote that you have spoken to Ellie at Kent Law firm (or whatever)!’
Read more inspiring stories about employability at Kent Law School on our news blog!