Articles From the Team

NQ Careers Roadshow Hits Leeds

BCL Legal were out & about in Leeds in March with the Leeds leg of the national NQ Careers Roadshow. We took over the conference room in Browns for an evening of up-to-the-minute market information across all main practice areas, advice on CV drafting and advice on the recruitment process for newly qualified solicitors, covering in-house as well as private practice, followed by drinks and networking.

Tom Fleet & I delivered presentations on the in-house market and the private practice market, and there was plenty of lively discussion about the best time to start looking, how best to present your CV and what’s the best approach when there’s 2 jobs at the same firm that you’d like to apply for.

Then we handed over to George Bacon, real estate partner at Eversheds, who gave us all a really useful insight into what interviewers are really looking for when they interview an NQ for a role. Top tip: don’t be afraid to go into the details and the nitty gritty about a transaction or a dispute, about what the specific issues were and how you tackled them as it will help to demonstrate that you understand the nuts & bolts of how deals fit together and how they can go wrong.

Jason Curtis, General Counsel and Company Secretary at Mamas & Papas went next, busting some of those fondly-held myths about life as an in-house lawyer, giving us a real flavour of what an in-house career really looks like, and what kind of lawyer flourishes in the in-house environment. Jason’s a great storyteller and his tales of in-house legal life kept everybody interested.

After the presentations, we all retired next door for drinks and networking, and one-to-one advice on specific situations. Qualification can be a tricky career stage to manoeuvre so it was great for everyone to be able to pick the brains of experienced lawyers and recruiters. All in all a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

If you missed it and would like assistance with your job search, please give us a call or drop us a line and ask us to send you our Trainee Solicitors Handbook. The external jobs are coming through now, and we are on the PSLs for all top tier and mid tier firms, so if you’re looking to the external market, now’s the time!