Summer clerkships (2 Viewers)

[M@C D@DDY]

I personally found it more difficult to find jobs at that time of year, being the beginning of the year, as most firms seem to do their recruiting for that 6 monts or so at the end of the previous year.

I'm not saying it's impossible to find a job, but at minimum it'd take you a week to search, apply, interview and start. I know a lot of people who couldn't afford to have a few weeks without income - and by people I don't mean your average student living at home with parents, I mean people who have to worry about rent and other expenses like family members they help care for or kids or things like that.

For some people yes it is just an excuse, but for others it is a genuine reason, especially if you are a UWS student forced to do summer school due to terrible timetabling lol so you really don't have the time to job hunt in advance.

I don't think that's a valid excuse. I don't live at home, have to pay rent and the like, worked 2 full days to afford all that and still did 5 firms interviews, on top of uni. Though I have to say it was a very long and difficult process, it's not impossible. All I can say is thank god the process is over and looking forward to the summer.

 

[Lara1986]

I don't think that's a valid excuse. I don't live at home, have to pay rent and the like, worked 2 full days to afford all that and still did 5 firms interviews, on top of uni. Though I have to say it was a very long and difficult process, it's not impossible. All I can say is thank god the process is over and looking forward to the summer.

I'm not saying it's a valid excuse for anyone and everyone in that circumstance, but for some people it may be.

 

[patricia888]

In relation to the "economic downturn" excuse...I think the exact opposite is true.
Every single HR person I asked at the law cocktail evenings has said that they are aiming to recruit AT LEAST the same amount of clerks as last year...and its rare that a grad offer is NOT made to a clerk. Like, you'd really have to stuff up real bad. Does anyone else know of any stories of clerks not given grad offers?

That's in complete contrast to investment banks which have certainly been slashing their recruitment numbers. Some have even canceled their internship programs...

Big law firms are probably one of the safest and most secure places to work right now...because some practices are anti-cyclical while others are cyclical.

So for example...while 2 years ago M&A practices were booming, these practices are now more quiet. But this is made up by the fact that the insolvency practices of law firms have experienced huge booms due to the economic down turn. Many companies are also turning to law firms to find alternative ways of financing ,....and for restructuring of debt.

As per clerkship offers...I am still completely undecided between 2 firms- Blakes & Bakers. I felt like I clicked with the people at Blakes much better...and as a top tier...I know I'd be taken care of. Bakers had really nice people too...and although their reputation in Australia isn't exactly Top tier... .they kick Blakes arse on the global scale in terms of reputation etc. How have other people been deciding between firms? Firm culture first? Anyone have any insider info on these 2 firms? Help deciding would be great!

 

[Frigid]

As per clerkship offers...I am still completely undecided between 2 firms- Blakes & Bakers. I felt like I clicked with the people at Blakes much better...and as a top tier...I know I'd be taken care of. Bakers had really nice people too...and although their reputation in Australia isn't exactly Top tier... .they kick Blakes arse on the global scale in terms of reputation etc. How have other people been deciding between firms? Firm culture first? Anyone have any insider info on these 2 firms? Help deciding would be great!

in my view, there are only two reasons why you would choose bakers over blakes: (a) you want to leverage on the firm's internal international network; or (b) you want to work in climate change law. otherwise, i think blakes is the 'better' firm.

 

[subdued123]

And just a warning on that note.

Climate change law (whatever that means) is nowhere near as sexy as one would think.

You don't go outside, plant trees and hug koalas. You nut out very complex and technical agreements on carbon trade. For me, it's about as unsexy as it comes. You essentially become a contractual expert in one field.

 

[M@C D@DDY]

And just a warning on that note.

Climate change law (whatever that means) is nowhere near as sexy as one would think.

You don't go outside, plant trees and hug koalas. You nut out very complex and technical agreements on carbon trade. For me, it's about as unsexy as it comes. You essentially become a contractual expert in one field.

No one area is that sexy in a commercial law firm. Climate Change is very popular because it's an emerging area and Bakers has the best practice in Australia for it.

 

[Marmalade.]

is media law as sexy as it sounds?

 

[MichaelJackson2]

to those that got offers, i'm going to be in my penultimate year next year and was wondering if having a low credit average (but from a sandstone university, done well in mooting comps, including winning an external one) is detrimental to my clerkship chances. cheers.

also, i don't have any extensive legal work experience, apart from taking part in my law school's clinical legal education program for a semester at a community legal centre, and i don't think i'll be getting any next year as i'll be going on exchange to the uk. does this make my clerkship chances pretty fatal?

 

[Demandred]

I heard CV Mail has automatic cutoffs for most of the firms, so the main result is that if you get below a certain average score your application would get filtered out that firm won't even get to see your application - even if you do have a mile long extra ciriculars and references from all 7 high court judges. You can tell that firms which decline the earliest are the ones which uses the cutoffs. The ones which takes a while to decline your apps are the ones which goes through all the applications. What's even wrose is that I heard anecdotal hearsay which suggests that there are different cutoffs for different unis so that law peeps from sandstones need lower scores than others.

 

[Frigid]

You can tell that firms which decline the earliest are the ones which uses the cutoffs.

if i remember clearly, Freehills were one of the first to reject me.. at the time my law WAM was about 77% i think?.. certainly not sub-par...

 

[M@C D@DDY]

if i remember clearly, Freehills were one of the first to reject me.. at the time my law WAM was about 77% i think?.. certainly not sub-par...

This year Freehills was again quick to do interviews and also rejections. I would like to think that they are more efficient because they know what they are looking for in a candidate. It's not hard to go over an application in 2-3 mins and knowing what the candidate is like. I mean for all of us, meeting someone new, involves a third second conclusion of him/her.

In terms of MJ, I think the firms right now are very strict in what they are looking for. Some may sway towards marks and other look for experience. At your stage, to be honest, it would be very difficult for you to get many big 6 interviews, but it's not entirely out of the question. You may only need 1 to secure a clerkship.

 

[subdued123]

MacDaddy - which firm will you be going to? If you don't want to name names, fine - top/mid tier will do. Were you pleased with what you got?

 

[= Jennifer =]

the girl i know who got 10 second rounds ended up with 7 offers and obviously 6 of them were the big 6 she still hasnt made up her mind!

 

[M@C D@DDY]

Hey how come people don't like naming which firm they go off too?

I mean, if i made it into the big 6 i would mention it (obviously only if someone asked, i don't think we're all arrogant law ponces ) but is it something to do with privacy? Stalking?

Never figured it out.

I clerk now at a mid tier and am leaving to work at Freehills. Pleased because it was always my first choice.

 

[Frigid]

I clerk now at a mid tier and am leaving to work at Freehills. Pleased because it was always my first choice.

good job

 

[patricia888]

Hey how come people don't like naming which firm they go off too?

I mean, if i made it into the big 6 i would mention it (obviously only if someone asked, i don't think we're all arrogant law ponces ) but is it something to do with privacy? Stalking?

Never figured it out.

Just wanna stay anonymous? The prudent thing to do I guess. Who knows if the HR of law firms look at these forums!

Anyone willing to admit if they are going to Clayton Utz? Hardly know anyone at my uni who got offers there. Everyone seems to be off to Freehills or Mallessons.

 

[hfis]

Hey how come people don't like naming which firm they go off too?

I mean, if i made it into the big 6 i would mention it (obviously only if someone asked, i don't think we're all arrogant law ponces ) but is it something to do with privacy? Stalking?

Never figured it out.

I'd say it's because it makes us much more comfortable, knowing that what we say here cannot be traced back to us. All it takes is a couple of replies to a thread entitled 'Soo which law school is the best????' and suddenly your post history is full of objectionable material which no one in their right mind would want to risk a HR department seeing.

It's kind of like why I don't understand why some people make their facebook profiles public, and then fill them with phrases like '420 smoke weed everyday' and have 200 tagged pictures of themselves passed out or throwing up. Firms (especially large firms) DO look at this stuff.

 

[Frigid]

It's kind of like why I don't understand why some people make their facebook profiles public, and then fill them with phrases like '420 smoke weed everyday' and have 200 tagged pictures of themselves passed out or throwing up. Firms (especially large firms) DO look at this stuff.

incidentally, i notice a few big firm HR have facebook profiles. add at your peril.

 

[patricia888]

Hey! What rotations is everyone doing? Can anyone recommend particular rotations? Also its been over 2 weeks since I sent my contract in...but I have not been contacted by HR at all since then! Should I be worried?

 

[Frigid]

Hey! What rotations is everyone doing? Can anyone recommend particular rotations? Also its been over 2 weeks since I sent my contract in...but I have not been contacted by HR at all since then! Should I be worried?

no, but they should be sending you an info/orientation pack soon i think.

the numbers of clerks were down this year... if anybody's interested, there was a table in the Fri 17 Oct edition of AFR on p47, or alternatively some numbers in this The Australian articlehttp://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,24542986-17044,00.html.