Summer jobs for new law graduate?

[drecklee]

DD is going to graduate from Cambridge this year with a law degree.

Has anyone got any good suggestions for a short term job for the summer? She wouldn't mind being doing paralegal work or the likes, but often it seems this is paid the same as far less consuming work.

She is living out privately due to her college running out of accommodation. Her contract is until July, so this means that she will be liable for a month or so of council tax too. So would be best if it were in Cambridge, but she could work remotely, overseas, maybe commute to London.

She has a post grad course lined up from October so can only be short term, and really she is hoping for more than £9 an hour sort of gig, but she'll have to take what she can get :P

I think paralegal work might be difficult as it’s only for a few months. She would need training and time spent with her so she’s not very cost effective. Lots of people do this work after GDL of post BPTC when they don’t get training/pupillage. However what’s to stop her looking at temp legal vacancies via recruitment agencies?

My DD, who is a barrister now, volunteered for the CAB. Also law advice centres might be worth looking at. How vital is earning money?

Is she doing commercial law? What branch of law does she wish to work in after her post grad? Does she have a training contract or a place on a BPTC to train as a barrister? Often volunteering really helps with the cv. Some paid work can be ok but she would need to look at enhancing her legal cv in my view. How useful would the work be? Money might be second to the right type of “work”. I don’t think she should be sniffy about the work and pay for temp work as many have more qualifications than she does.

My DD didn’t pay council tax at the end of term in a privately rented house. So I’m assuming she will pay it between July and October? Is she intending to stay in the Cambridge house? She wouldn’t stay in college beyond July anyway would she? But I’m not sn expert on council tax!

Tutoring/summer school type thing? The university careers service is pretty good and might be able to put her in touch with people. They also have a website with job ads.

Does she have a sponsor for her postgraduate qualification eg. LPC or SQE? If so they may be able to usefully employ her over the summer.

I'm a lawyer. If she doesn't already have a training contract (and is presumably looking to be a lawyer) then legal work experience will pay dividends.

Have her look at Flex Legal. They place law graduates in firms on short term placements - I was placed at a legal research firm for a couple of months in between my GDL and LPC. I think it was about ~£11 p/h back in 2016.

If she has a TC, worth her contacting her firm - lots of city firms offer incoming trainees short placements.

Has she considered temporary office work via an agency?

If she doesn’t have a training contract yet she should try to get legal work experience. It’s very hard at the moment though since most lawyers are still mainly working from home.

Quite a lot of us on here are lawyers so there tends be useful advice on MN for potential lawyers.

For the specific question do indeed try Flex Legal (if she wants a law related job) recommended above which has found my solicitor daughter some very good jobs. One of my twins immediately after the law conversion course last academic year did 3 months at a law firm - a high street firm but doing a lot of international probate type work which even though not the area he wants are brilliant experience for him (he had 3 months off between the law conversion and the Legal Practice Course he and his twin are both now on this academic year). I cannot remember where he found that - probably just saw an ad on line - applied and then there was an online interview for the 3 applicants who got to the last round and he got the paid place full time. I am guessing but I think his pay was about £20k a year equivalent but as he does not earn enough to pay tax ended up being quite good (at least for him and living at home with no rent to pay)

It sounds like she is booked into probably something like the Legal Practice Course although that starts Sept not Oct or the barrister equivalent so is just wanting to fill in the summer or may be some other post grad course. As people say above much will depend if she has a training contract already or not. If she has try to enjoy the summer, do something fun not law. If not then law work experience is very useful.

How to get well paid student jobs more generally is a more difficult issue. Obviously loads of bars need staff at present. She might want to try tutoring or nannying with a rich family. my son's friend after graduation worked for 6 months for a family of lawyers in Italy helping one child with school work (free accommodation, paid too etc - lovely little job)
One of my lawyer daughters is in a City law firm and says they tend to prefer paralegals who have done the Legal Practice Course already not just a law degree and who might stay a year.

Does she have a training contract, if not I think paralegal or legal secretary work would be the way to go.