My first and my last...

This post will account for day 8,9 and 10. Therefore covering my time spent at my first full Crown Court trial , right up until the last day spent with the firm.

Day 8 and 9
Due to the nature of the work the firm carried out, it was not always possible to plan ahead with the firm as to what we would be doing with our time. Providing an insight into how unpredictable a day of work can be within Criminal Law. Therefore when all of the lawyers were at the police station and there was no legal research to be carried out, we decided to attend Crown Court and get a bit of experience from a Barristers point of view.

By a pure fluke of luck I ran into the barrister we had met a couple of days ago, who would be representing prosecution for the trial about to take place. We later became acquainted with the barrister for defense as well! Both were so accommodating and took a lot of time over the 3 days we were at the trial, to talk us through the trial, answer any questions, advise us for the future and recall their own experiences.

I learnt a lot from being at the trial from start to finish and gained so much valuable experience from the contacts I made. Both of whom I am still in touch with and will stay in touch with. It is SO important to approach as many people as possible, take an interest in everything and try and find contacts until you are blue in the face! Due to the people I have met, I have landed on my feet!

Day 10
We returned back to the firm for the final day, as we felt it was important to conclude our time spent in our placement and de-brief with the partners of the firm. We later did the same at Crown Court and made sure we expressed how grateful we were for everybody's help.

What did I enjoy?

• I loved carrying out legal research. (Partly because this is my forte concerning my degree). It gave me a real buzz to pick apart a prosecution case and help to form a defense.
• The people contact was really important to me. I would love for this to be a large part of my future career. Being able to interact with clients who need your advice, alongside working with the police, barristers, probation, courts..the list could go on! It really felt like we were part of a team, who were making a difference.
• I got a real feeling that what we were doing, was contributing to the workings of our country. Which is a real honor to be able to take part in.

What did I find difficult?

Working within criminal law presented some really difficult emotional challenges. I found the pressure, people contact and intellectual side extremely manageable, particularly as I love a challenge. But I often came away at the end of the day still thinking about a lot of the cases, it was really difficult to detach myself from the people I had just met. It often presented a moral/ethical dilemma, particularly when I could see a very good defense and prosecution.

It is certainly a job which will become part of your lifestyle. After only two weeks, it has changed my perspective on many things. - But then again what more could you ask for from a job! As I said I love a challenge!

So, what next?  Next, I will be going back to uni for my last year in reading History. Applying to Law school for my GDL. Gaining more experience and making more contacts. I will be starting work with YOS and St Andrews and of course be keeping my blog updated when I can.

Day 7....

When taking a work placement make sure you ask lots of questions, search for advice and note it all down!

9:00 am: finish legal research on 'abuse of process'
10:00 am: visit police station and learn about viper. - also opportunity to talk to civilian and her views on different style of solicitors and firms as she works with them.
12:00 am: magistrates court
1:00 pm: lunch
2:00 pm: legal research on case with charge of 'in charge of vehicle whilst over limit'
4:00 pm: QUESTION TIME- find the right moment to approach the people you are working with.
5:00 pm: home.

As a history student who only knows bits of law and how to get into the law from my own research, it's really valuable to be able to ask people who are part of the industry all of my questions and queries.

Because of the advice I have been given I have started to form a personal development plan;
- work within the citizens advice bureau.
- try to get involved as an accredited representative. (particularly for criminal law)
- network network. (who you know helps!)
- try to get work experience in other areas, which are not to far away from your desired practice area.
- learn from everything and keep up the enthusiasm.

After speaking to a relatively newly qualified solicitor, I have realized straight forward work experience is not enough. I need to be able to demonstrate my enthusiasm and commitment.

So onwards and upwards!

Day 6....

Yesterday was a simple day. Crown court in the morning, with a VERY quick trial at crown court and legal research in the afternoon.

9:00 am: head to crown court.
10:00 am: sit in on trial (pleaded guilty so ended very quickly)
11:00 am: network!
1:00 am: lunch
2:00 am: legal research into abuse of process procedures.
5:00 am: home.

Networking is probably the most important thing you can do whilst on a work placement. Get to know the people your working with and around and make them like you! You want them to remember you!

I have gradually been gaining more and more confidence to approach other lawyers. Therefore, as we were leaving the court room we approached one of the barristers asking for advice on how we can further ourselves in law. Without hesitation he sat down with us to chat. On asking him whether he thinks it would be advisable to gain a mini pupilage even though I am currently more inclined to take the solicitors route, he rang his chambers there and then to ask if they had any placements - to which the answer is yes! So all I need to do is send in my cv and covering letter, then there we have it!

Just goes to show its always worth it to be bold and take a chance! Although be aware not everyone will be quite so accommodating and never take it personally!

Watch this space!

Drink with a Judge.

Saturday evening, I met up with a district judge to take advice on how to go forwards in law.

She was really friendly and so willing to help. She had dug up materials for me to read and wanted to know about all of my plans and what I had done so far. Of course, she was more than willing to answer all of my questions.

Two larger points I took away from our conversation was;
1. The job market right now is much more suitable for future solicitors , particularly as the approach 'cradle to grave' comes ever nearer. And of course there is the option of gaining higher rights whilst having the security of working in a firm.
2. Be prepared for abstract interview questions! Think about how your answers can be shaped around law and what the firm/chambers are looking for. Make sure you practice!

I found the meeting really helpful and now have a great contact to guide me. Just goes to show so many are willing to help, no matter what the level!

Day 5...

So today was a really good example of how unpredictable a day can be.

I spent the morning 8-10am with a Detective Sargent in the Child Investigation Unit. Fortunately I have worked in similar environments with similar systems, so I was able to avoid being completely overwhelmed by the office environment and computer procedures. - it was a really insightful experience. I was able to learn first hand of what goes on before something is passed through lawyers to the court. I was made aware of what they have to be careful of and how meticulous they have to be when extracting information to form cases. - part of the reason why I love the idea of working in criminal law is due to how much teamwork there is to get one case done. Not only within the firm but also with the police, probation, YOT, the list could go on!

10:00 am arrived back at the firm and went straight to court.
10:30 am I was able to sit in on a couple of briefings in the cells before a clients hearing. Including one very high profile case.
11:00 am sat in on the remaining court hearings.
1:00 pm treated ourselves to a good lunch out and a drink. - its really important in situations like this however, to not go over the top!
2:00 pm we headed over to the police station with the holding cells and were shown around, incorporating how a solicitors role would fit into police procedures on arrests and first interviews. - really good to be able to relate to the gorier parts of the job and where some clients have come from.
4:00 pm home time since its a Friday.

And now for the weekend!

Le quatrième jour....

Day 4 was spent mostly in court. As I've gained more court experience the more confident I have begun to feel with the procedure and what to expect, enabling me to express my own thoughts on the cases. (outside the courtroom of course)

9:00 am: head to court from the firm after a briefing of the cases the firm will be dealing with that day.
9:30 am: sat in on a consultation prepping the client for court.- A really interesting situation as the client wanted to plead guilty even though he stated in the consultation he was not but believed he would be sentenced anyway, so wanted to receive the credit from pleading guilty. - eventually went with no plea and case adjourned for 28 days.
10:00 am: sat in on multiple cases in the magistrates court. - one hearing, the defendants would not attend but the court proceeded anyway and charged a sentence.
1:30 am: lunch
2:30 am: read through some crown court cases and discussed.
4:30 am: Home time as most of the firm had been called to the station.

I love being in court and the interaction with clients. After looking at their cases yesterday I was able to get a really good grasp of what was going on and what the likely outcomes would be.

I've found it really helpful to record cases and experiences, particularly learning experiences so that I can call on them later either for reference or as examples of what I have learnt and taken part in. However, I make sure I don't put them into my blog or any other type of public site as I feel this is a breach of confidentiality.

One noticeable point for me from today was how much humanity there actually is in court in comparison to the classic stereotypical view. I noticed more than once how a sentence would often be in accordance with the emotional influence from the defendant towards the magistrates. (good/bad)

On another note, I have been lucky enough to get in touch with a Judge who has worked in criminal law. We have already spoken on the phone and she has offered to meet me for a drink on Saturday! It will be really great to hear her advice from the view point of a barrister and also within the context of the changing politics of law during her experience. - I will of course report back on here!

Tomorrow it has been arranged for me to go into the police station and shadow a Detective-sergeant who works in Public Protection Department Family Investigation Unit, for a couple of hours. This will be a really good chance to learn about the processes and build up before a solicitor is involved. It will also be really fascinating to see how evidence and materials are recorded which will use for/against a case.

I will also be in crown court tomorrow meeting another partner at a linked firm in the centre of the city!

Lots of excitement for tomorrow!

Day 3....

A great day today! Lots of interaction with the other solicitors and able to start to get involved within some of the processes.

9:00 am: analysed the cases for tomorrows court. Using the magistrates handbook ran through the likely sentences.
11:00 am: carried out legal research for a case of appeal on a SOPO and discussed with advocate.
1:45 pm: lunch. Make sure sometimes you give yourself a bit of space to reflect. Although don't do this at the expense of relations at the firm.
2:45 pm: ran over a couple more cases before court tomorrow.
4:00 pm: one of the solicitors took us through a case explaining how she approaches, carries out and concludes a case. We then ran through a practice case and picked apart evidence to try and form a case.
5:30 pm: heading on home.

Really proved to myself that this is that I want to do today. I love forming cases and picking apart evidence, looking for the flaws and holes. It seems that the method is very similar to writing an essay in History, finding your facts backed up with evidence and forming your argument.

Although I have really enjoyed experience within the firm, my favourite parts have certainly been in court and researching higher level cases. For this reason I am hoping to find some experience at the bar just to try out the other side!

Court tomorrow!

Day 2....

Today I was based at the firm all day, getting a taste of the less exciting parts of a career in law. Although, of course I wasn't in love with it, it was still a great learning curve and experience.

9:00 am: read through and discussed a case. It was one of my first real experiences of the seriously grim parts of being involved in criminal law.
1:00 pm: lunch (opportunity to increase connections)
2:00 pm: watched tapes of primary interviews at police station and discussed evidence.
5:00 pm: end of day.

As today most of the solicitors had to be down at the station there wasn't as much interaction available. However it is important to notice when the people you work for might need an extra hand just to do the menial task to speed up any processes. Always offer up your services, demonstrating your enthusiasm.

I also took the opportunity to ask a couple of questions about subjects that I would like to know more on.

What did I learn today?

- The importance of the right level of professionalism with clients. Keeping a good emotional distance at the same time as building a trusting relationship.

- What holes to watch out for in evidence and how to begin to form a defence.

- The structure of case files.

- The importance of the team within the firm to deal with the emotional challenge of some of the cases together.

On to day 3 tomorrow!

Day 1...

The main thing to take away from an internship is the learning experience.

My advice to do this is - ask lots of questions and write it all down when you get home so you can refer to it at a later date before an interview.

Today was the first day of my two week internship at a criminal law specialists firm.

9:00 am - introductions. Remember the importance of first impressions!
9:30 am - straight over to the magistrates court, where we watched a couple of consultations in the cells and duty solicitors. This was great for watching different techniques and styles.
11:00 am - listened to a couple of hearings in court. A good opportunity to get to grips with the processes and style of court. It seemed that the etiquette of the court often depended on who was present at the time.
1:15 pm - lunch. Make sure you take every opportunity to get to know your colleagues as they are the ones who can put you in the right direction.
2:15 pm - court opens again.
4:00 pm - read through some open cases back at the firm, enabling us to pick up the proceedings and structure of carrying out cases within a firm.
5:00 pm - home. Make sure you don't just pick up and leave, wait about to say bye and thank you to the people you have worked with.

The first day has been great! It was insightful to watch the consultations within the cells and it's surroundings. Being able to witness these interviews highlighted certain techniques and styles which vary between solicitors. The processes within court was relatively easy to pick up and enabled me to understand what may affect the level of a case.

It seemed there is often overlapping of areas in law, as today I witnessed family, criminal, EU and even contract law. I found it really thought provoking how circumstances of witnesses and offenders can change a case entirely.

Everybody so far has been extremely friendly and co-operative, all very willing to share their experiences.

When speaking to the firm they emphasised that they look for enthusiasm and willingness to work hard, which I certainly have!

Later this week I will be attending some hearings at the crown court and even getting a bit of experience about the local police station, to try and learn as much as possible.

I have asked questions for anything I am unsure of and have recorded everything, particularly some of the cases so that I can learn from it and have the cases to refer to later on when I attend interviews.

So far, I have really got a feel for this and seem to be enjoying criminal law much more than family, which I wasn't necessarily expecting!

1 day down 9 to go!

Back on track!

Since exams, my blog has been suffering from neglect! With travelling and trying to balance summer jobs I haven't managed to keep up to date with my blogging but I am still making my way up the path towards law.

So here is a quick update;

Over the summer I have been lucky enough to bag a couple of summer jobs. I am even more lucky to be able to take experience from these job roles and use it during my career path towards law.

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I have always had an interest in mental health and hope that I can incorporate this into my future career. Due to this interest I have recently taken on a job role as a Health Care Assistant at St Andrews Mental Health Hospital.

To attain this job role I had to be successful in the written application, expressing my interest and relevant experience. Then to be successful in a selection event and individual interview. Taking what I learnt from similar situations I was successful and now have the following job role.

My Position involves:
1. Aiding in the healthcare of the hospitals patients.
2. Monitoring their behaviour and intercepting to avoid dangerous situations and maintain a calm environment.
3. Entertain patients during the day, to avoid them becoming distressed.
4. Accompany patients on day trips to maintain the patients and the public’s safety.
5. My role is on bank, so the hours are flexible around my other commitments.

Skills Developed:
This role will provide me with excellent experience of the outcome of Criminal and Mental Health Law. I have always had a keen interest in mental health and wanted to take this opportunity to have an active role within the improvements of the mental health community. Many of the patients are convicted criminals or unable to leave the hospital due to risk for public safety. Working in an environment will provide me with first hand experience of the results of convicting criminals and the mentally ill into institutions, which will be extremely valuable to me and eye opening if I take a career path in criminal law. It also provides me with the experience of working in an environment with people, without the safety blanket of customer services. I plan to take the training offered for restraint so that I can expand my role and work on more challenging wards. – It is important to me that I understand all aspects of my future career and believe this role is a step towards achieving that.

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My second job role this summer is with Barclaycard, as a Recruitment Clerk in ROPS. Working at the Northampton complex provides great experience of working in an extremely professional corporate environment. The complex is huge and divided into multiple departments of varying levels. Working within this complex has also provided me with a lot of valuable experience working under confidentiality and security issues.



My Position involved:
It was my role to check merchants who are trading through websites against Barclaycards Card Scheme Trading Policy.
If a merchant was not compliant with the policy I would then have to take further action, to either access the information required to be compliant or terminate their trading through the merchant’s facility.
I needed to know the basics of Contract and Tort Law, as I often had to challenge merchants Terms and Conditions if they were not compliant with Barclaycards Policy.

Skills Developed:
This role has provided me with excellent experience in Contractual and Tort law, which has helped me to understand the basis of many other areas of law. I have learnt to be aware of any responsibility I was taking on and what the result of any of my actions may be. I learnt how to interact with a wide variety of colleague and customers across the entire department and deal with the level of responsibility I held within my position.

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Finally, I have an Internship which I am starting tomorrow!!!!!!!!

I will be working in a Criminal Specialists solicitors law firm for two weeks, attending court and looking at cases. I will of course be updating my blog daily concerning my experience.

I have prepped for the work by;

1. Researching the firm and area of speciality.
2. Contacting the firm to confirm what I will be doing.
3. Prepare how you are going to get there so you are not late in the morning.
4. Make sure you plan what to wear as presentation is one of the most important factors for first impressions.
5. Sleep well the night before to be on best form!

Really looking forward to starting tomorrow morning and can't wait to learn form it! - watch this space!