Ways to Get Legal Experience and Land a Job

More legal employers are looking for job candidates who can hit the ground running as law firms and corporate legal departments cut costs and operate with leaner staffs. You might have the education, the ability, and the ambition, but you might well need work experience as well to get your foot in the door

How to get legal experience? Fortunately, you have numerous options.

Do Contract Work

Contract workers have become a hot commodity in today’s market as law firms and corporate legal departments look for ways to reduce litigation costs. The sheer volume of documents produced in e-discovery these days has prompted firms and companies to seek more cost-effective solutions to document review.

They're hiring contract attorneys, paralegals, and litigation support staff to handle this time-consuming, labor-intensive task. These workers aren't employees of a company. They're independent contractors, hired to work on specific projects on a contractual basis.

Contract employees review the thousands of documents produced in litigation and mark them for relevance, confidentiality, materiality, and privilege. Contractors might handle discovery requests, subpoenas, and regulatory requests.

Contract personnel usually bill at rates far lower than employees, so firms can net significant cost savings by using them. They're usually hired through legal staffing firms.

Try Temping

Temporary employment is another method of gaining valuable work experience. A temporary employee (temp) is usually placed in short-term assignments through a legal staffing agency. Temporary employees generally earn less than their permanent counterparts because the legal staffing agency takes a substantial cut of their hourly pay.

Temporary work is a great way to explore opportunities within a particular company. Some firms hire temporary employees as a way to recruit permanent staff by first testing them out on a trial basis. These “temp-to-perm” jobs can result in job offers at the end of the temporary project.

Legal Secretary Positions

These positions often depend less on legal experience than administrative experience. Consider taking a secretarial position if you know your way around an office pretty well, then work your way up from there. Required skills typically include a familiarity with computers, software, and clerical duties.

This is a foot-in-the-door option, but legal secretaries often work hand-in-hand with their attorneys, particularly in smaller offices. You'll gain some valuable, hands-on experience to go with your degree. Think of it as a temp job that pays a little better and offers benefits.

Part-Time Legal Jobs

Many law firms have a host of high-turnover positions which they must continually fill, including file clerks, messengers, court filers, data entry clerks, copy room personnel, and clerical staff.

• File clerks organize, catalog, and manage hundreds of case files.
• Court filers file motions, pleadings, briefs, and discovery documents with the court.
• Messengers deliver documents to outside parties, including court personnel, co-counsel, opposing counsel, vendors, and experts.

These jobs aren't typically high-paying, but they'll give you an opportunity to get your foot in the door.

Internships, Externships, and Clinics

Internship and externship positions are available with some law firms, corporations, banks, insurance companies, non-profit organizations, and government offices. These positions are usually unpaid, although you can sometimes earn school credits for them. And, of course, you can include them on your resume.

Internships aren't always advertised, so you might have to do a little digging and research to locate one. Your law school, paralegal school, or legal secretarial program’s career service offices are some of the best resources for locating internships.

Do Volunteer Work

Many non-profits, public interest organizations, legal clinics, and legal aid offices are desperate for volunteers. This is another unpaid opportunity, but volunteering is a great way to get quality legal work experience.

Public interest organizations won't assign meaningless busywork. They'll give you substantive tasks that make a difference in the lives of people and their communities. Contact your local bar association, legal aid office, or legal association for volunteer opportunities in your area.

Extracurricular Activities

Extracurricular activities can provide useful experience that might help if you're still in school.

Law students can participate in moot court competitions to sharpen their oral advocacy skills through mock oral arguments before a judge. Strong writing skills are necessary for many legal professions, and students can gain writing experience through writing competitions, writing clinics, and school-related journals and newsletters.