FAQ

The LawCareersNetLIVE careers conferences are for talented students (law and non-law) who want to learn more about how to build a fulfilling career as a solicitor. The events are timed to maximise the benefit to students intending to apply for 2025 vacation schemes and training contracts.

The programme is a mix of panel discussions, workshops and networking. Specifically, it offers:

• advice on crafting excellent applications, shining at interview and forging a successful career;
• exposure to, and insight from, some of the UK’s – and world’s – most experienced recruiters and lawyers;
• networking opportunities with those same recruiters and lawyers, and fellow delegates; and
• participation in interactive firm-led workshops, which drill down into what it’s like to work in a particular practice area.

While no two firms are identical, the sponsoring firms at LawCareersNetLIVE share a number of characteristics, including that they:

• have numerous offices in the UK and, often, in locations around the world;
• will offer a comprehensive range of commercial/corporate practice areas, but each is also likely to have its own strong suit and may be the acknowledged experts in its field;
• will often be involved with multi-jurisdictional matters for UK and international clients, as well as UK businesses and individuals; and
• are likely to offer secondment opportunities, both overseas and within their clients.

If you decide to use generative AI to help you write your application to LawCareersNetLIVE, remember our advice: AI can be used to help conduct research, come up with ideas or check spelling or grammar – but it shouldn’t be used as a replacement for the human touch. We want to learn about you on the application form – why you want to attend the conference and what your key skills are. Submitting AI-generated answers that haven’t been personalised will be less successful in representing you as an aspiring lawyer.

This year we’ve noticed lots of applicants using AI to answer the ‘Why do you want to attend LawCareersNetLIVE and meet the law firm sponsors?’ question on the application form. It’s noticeable when someone has used AI without tailoring their answer because:

• their answer is very generic;
• their answer might include reference to activities or sessions that aren’t on our programme;
• they don’t mention the law firms sponsoring LawCareersNetLIVE;
• their answer isn’t personal to them and their careers aspirations; and
• their answer is not specific to LawCareersNetLIVE.

It’s competitive to attend LawCareersNetLIVE and we’ll be prioritising applicants who have demonstrated that they’ve researched our event and the law firm sponsors and therefore know why they want to attend.

Very little! All are inspiring one-day student conferences made up of panel discussions, workshops and networking that look at the economics of law firms and the life of lawyers working in the UK legal profession.

The programme is identical at all events, with the only difference being that the virtual event will be split over two afternoons (instead of one day).

While the sponsor firms at each are different in some respects, many of their clients, practice areas and quality of work will be the same. And rest assured that all events offer high-quality, targeted advice, delivered by experts in the field.

On the LawCareersNetLIVE application form you’ll be able to enter your first, second and third choice of desired location. Please choose the events that suit you best in terms of the timetable and sponsor firms. We’ll do our best to give everyone their preferred LawCareersNetLIVE location but due to high demand, this might not always be possible.

Applications open in June 2024 and close on 4 November 2024, but we encourage you to apply before the deadline as offers will be made on a rolling basis.

LawCareersNetLIVE is best suited to those who’ve yet to start, or have recently started, making applications for training contracts. If you’re a first or second-year law undergraduate or you’re in the early stages of converting to law (or thinking about it) then this is a great event for you. Applications from law graduates and GDL/LPC/SQE students will also be considered.

If you’re a school/sixth-form student, we’d ask you to wait until you’re at university before applying to LawCareersNetLIVE. The events are currently not suitable for those looking to pursue the school-leaver solicitor apprenticeship route.

Applicants should have a good academic record: a minimum of 2:1 and AAB at A level. If you don’t meet these academic standards, mitigating circumstances will be taken into account. Each of the conferences is open to a maximum of 120 -180 students.

In short, we’re looking for the same things that most law firms are looking for – excellent academics, good work experience, an understanding of the importance of commerciality and self-knowledge when it comes to the reasons why you’ll make a successful lawyer. For a detailed breakdown of these elements and more, read this LCN Says blog post, which is crammed with information and tips.

Attendance at the 2023 conferences doesn’t preclude you from this year’s LawCareersNetLIVE events; however, new applications will be given priority. If you were unsuccessful in your 2023 application, but you’ve gone on since to improve your application or work experience, please feel free to apply again.

If you receive a place at LawCareersNetLIVE, you’ll be asked to pay a refundable deposit of £20 for the Manchester and London events, or £10 for the Virtual event to secure your place. As spaces are limited, this is to secure your place.

Successful applicants will be asked to pay the delegate holding fee using our secure online payment system. This only becomes due after you’ve been notified that you’ve been offered a place.

The holding fee will be fully refunded upon attendance.

Find out more about how we support delegates from a low socio-economic background with the FAQ below.

We’ll send you an email letting you know if you’ve secured a delegate place. At that point, we’ll give you clear instructions on how to accept your place, pay the holding fee and select your two preferred workshops.

At LawCareersNetLIVE we’re committed to genuine equality of opportunity and aim to demonstrate and promote a diverse and inclusive legal profession that reflects the society it represents.

All delegate applications are blind screened by two members of the LawCareers.Net team, without access to an applicant’s diversity information. We review all applications regardless of academic result or university attended and take note of mitigating circumstances on a case-by-case basis.

For our sponsor law firms, we’ve put together a set of guidelines outlining our commitment to diversity at our events, and we ask firms to consider these diversity guidelines when putting forward speakers and selecting workshop leaders and others who’ll represent the firm at the event. We encourage speakers not fulfilling any of our diversity criteria to instead promote someone who does to appear in their place.

We work with a number of diversity organisations to promote our LawCareersNetLIVE events to students from underrepresented backgrounds and will be offering fully free places (with no need to pay a holding fee) across our events to delegates from these organisations.

For more on how we’re supporting those who might not be able to afford the delegate holding fee, see below.

We’re delighted to offer a number of fully free places across our LawCareersNetLIVE events to delegates from low socio-economic backgrounds, and those who might not be able to afford the delegate holding fee. This year we’ll be working with a number diversity organisations in order to do this.

If you’re not a member of one of these organisations and think that this applies to you, drop us an email at [email protected] after you’ve submitted your application. If you’re successful in securing a place, we’ll be in touch regarding booking onto the event for free.

We have a small budget for providing travel reimbursements for delegates having to travel in for the Manchester and London events. If you’d like to apply for a travel reimbursement, you need to email us as soon as you’ve received your place at LawCareersNetLIVE and we can provide further information. Otherwise, we recommend applying for the Virtual event which allows you to take part in the conference from home.

In much the same way as you’d prepare for a law fair or firm event, you need to do some advance research on the firms that’ll be in attendance. Look at their own websites, their details on LawCareers.Net, the legal press to get a sense of the types of firm they are, the type of law they focus on, the industries they represent and so on. Have a couple of good questions to ask the firm representatives you meet during networking breaks. Spend more time on those firms whose workshops you are attending and build in at least a bit of time to look at the practice area to be covered.

Finally make sure that you know exactly where you’re going on the day (11 Portland Street in Manchester and County Hall in London) and build in time for travel delays.

We’ll send out further information to successful applicants on how to make the most of the virtual event.

Definitely! Firms recognise LawCareersNetLIVE as a well-known, prestigious event. The fact that you’ve been selected from among hundreds of others to attend, based on your impressive grades, experience and stand-out application form, reflects well on you. You can also use it to talk about experience you’ve had interacting with firms and even to flatter a sponsor firm when you come to apply to them directly!