Hi Tim,

This is kind of going to meander a little bit over the clerkship questions and the regular clerkship post. Brief aside before I say anything remotely useful but fantastic site. Nice design and some insightful and helpful writing from yourself and some good notes from others too!

I've been pretty lucky and managed to find some slightly unconventional opportunities to work closely with a few different law firms (though not top-tier ones, I've long since decided they're not for me), and some barristers in a few different areas.

I noticed a typo in "10. Tell me of a time you've been in a high confpct situation. What did you do ?" Presumably that should be conflict.

One question i've gotten that doesn't seem to be listed is stuff to the form of "What's your worst characteristic/habit/behaviour/etc?" and I suppose there's a few approaches to this. I always feel a little tempted to say "Intolerance for stupid questions" - but I'm pretty certain this would get a frown to say the least.

I've been a little lucky and managed to make a bit of a joke about my absolute inability to understand equities and trusts (not entirely true, but I just disliked it as a subject), seems as though it's not widely liked by most I've been lucky enough to run into. Of course, your mileage may vary but it seems like a safe bet to me to make a bit of a joke disparaging some general area of law outside of the venture you're looking to engage in.

I also think it's worth mentioning, that in terms of social media - this can often be an advantage. Clearly if your facebook account comprises predominantly of drunken debauchery amongst yourself and friends - it's probably not an advantage, but I think a blog (such as this perhaps!) or a suitable engagement with individuals on twitter, linkedin or on other appropriate forums can open up a lot of opportunities. It can definitely help you meet some very cool, very helpful people - even if you're like me and didn't have the luck to know anyone useful in the profession prior to jumping in the deep end.

Cheers!

Hey Tim, 

Just read your post about clerkships. I really enjoyed reading about your experiences and your gained insights. Aside from the content, your writing style is interesting and reads well. 

I will be starting my 4th year in law in 2011, and still have not yet got my foot into the law sector, so I dont have any experience yet. I really do enjoy law and am hard working, so I do want to work in this industry. Its so hard to get anywhere! There are so many bright students with seriously good marks, from highly reputable universities that sometimes I am just deterred by this thought as I know it'll be wasting my time applying. 

After reading your piece, I'm thinking that the right opportunity will come around when it does. I like the idea of working in-house and will try that avenue. I'll keep myself updated with your site, its a good read, and very useful :)

Cheers