Voluntary work in a solicitors office pre degree?

[lazarusb]

I am hoping to begin a degree in Law next year (mature student)and wondered about doing some voluntary work in a solicitors office beforehand. Any qualified solicitors out there who can advise me if this is a) a good idea and b) what I would actually be able to offer in a practical sense to a firm?

TBH I'm not sure that you would get much out of it even if you can find someone to take you on. You wouldnb't be able to do any legal work - and possibly not even see client files due to confidentiality issues - and likely to end up doing the photocopying. From time to time we have work experience school kids coming into the legal firm where I work - it is really difficult to find anything for them to do. Easier to do some work experience once you have done at least a year of your law degree.

Thanks- I suspected as much tbh. Just wanted an educated opinion, thanks again for your help

Agree with Jamiesolivers. You wouldn't get much out of it at all tbh, other than photocopying. I would wait until you have a few years law school under your belt and then try and get a proper summer clerkship which could lead to a traineeship. It's hard enough finding law students work to do.

Good luck with law school!

Now I disagree here - a person in my old firm started doing work experience at 15 - he continued to do this throughout his degree and post grad - was offered a training contract and employed after qualification. He was then made into partner at a young age.

Whenever we had students in i wouldnt give them photocopying - i would take them to clients meetings, to court etc and give them a proper taste of Solicitors office. (Obviously the clients would have to agree to sitting in)

I think it helps to show the firms you are serious about a career in the law and if you target a particular firm you will build up a relationship with them and that could prove invaluable - a lot of the law is who you know

I would also disagree - I think it would be valuable to have an insight into the workings of the office and see what the solicitors actually do. The work you do might not be exactly ground breaking or even interesting, but you will be able to attend meetings, listen to solicitors on the telephone, review files and do things such as put a bundle together for a hearing. I am a solicitor, and we had vacation students throughout the summer- the more eager they were, and the better they did the mundane jobs, the more responsibility they subsequently got given. It is also helpful when you are applying for training contracts to say that you have worked in an office and can give details of what you enjoyed about the experience. Also, if you impress on the placement you may get given a training contract there (a lot of London firms recruit heavily from students who have attended their placement scheme as IT IS IN ESSENCE A TWO WEEK INTERVIEW FOR THEM- THEY GET A MUCH BETTER FEEL FOR WHAT YOU (oops sorry about the caps) are like than they do in an hour long interview. Most firms run vacation placements and I would suggest you try and get on a couple of these (I think you have normally started your degree first). good luck.