Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Students take their first steps on the legal career ladder
The talk, which was held on Thursday 11 February at our Law School, was aimed at second and third year students who are looking to establish a career within the legal profession after university.
The session, run by Vicky, included valuable information for gaining the edge on the competition by understanding what lawyers look for when they are hiring as well as the opportunities available in the current market. Vicky also provided advice for writing the perfect CV, including improving layout and content.
Jessica Sandhu, second year LLB (Hons) Law student, said of the experience: “Vicky provided really helpful information about the legal profession. I was able to ask questions about potential career paths and gain helpful hints and tips that will hopefully set me apart from other graduates going for the same jobs.”
Fran Bostyn, Careers Consultant at our University, added: “It was interesting to hear about how lower rents and the talent pool in the north are leading to ‘north shoring’, with the gravitation of some legal firms to Leeds and Manchester.
“Vicky gave an overview of the legal sectors employing the most graduates and gave useful advice to students on presenting themselves in the most favourable light.”
Having studied at the College of Law in Chester, Vicky trained with London-based, niche asset finance firm, Wilde & Partners (now part of Squire Patton Boggs). She later relocated to Manchester where she joined Halliwells LLP and practised as a Commercial Litigation Solicitor before making the transition to legal recruitment.
In 2003, Vicky founded BCL Legal with Mark Levine and James Batt. BCL Legal is one of the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For, and from its network of offices in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and Bristol, places lawyers at all levels; from paralegal to partner within private practice and in-house departments on both a permanent and temporary basis.
In 2013 Vicky established BCL Graduates. The site offers graduating law students a place to share their CVs, and search for jobs and helpful employability hints and tips: from writing CVs to interview techniques. It also allows employers to fill graduate vacancies by searching for people based on their education, grades, previous work experience, location and availability. The site now has over 200 law firms and in house legal departments using it to recruit their paralegals and graduates from.
Vicky has worked with a wide range of law firms in the region, from some of the largest in the world to niche firms. She has placed hundreds of lawyers into private practice and in May 2016 will be a judge at the Solicitors Journal awards.
For more information on BCLGraduates go to bclgraduates.com/.