My search for a legal placement

I am on a 4-year undergraduate 'sandwich' course at Bournemouth University, studying LLB Law which allows for a placement during the 3rd year. Traditionally, these placements are incredibly difficult to find/attain even within a buoyant employment market, as the financial commitment and training from the employer can be a heavy burden for the business to carry. This has been made even more difficult due to Covid and Brexit, which has decimated this sector. 

Without much support from my university, I began my search by sending out an endless number of applications/CVs to potential employers with a view to securing the one-year placement. The search was incredibly difficult, as placements are not widely advertised, and generally achieved through connections/relationships with law firms. Therefore, my CV would find itself being held on file with the prospect of a position becoming available and, on many occasions, I never received a response or acknowledgement from potential employers. Time was running out for me, so I reached out to Worth Society for help/guidance.

After sending my CV and covering letter to the Society, Mary Lou Burge promptly reached out and asked for the specific areas of Law I was interested in, in order to find the best suitable contact within the network. I found this incredibly encouraging and supportive, especially as my placement search left me quite disheartened! 

Mary Lou reached out to the network and kindly referred me to Darren Smith B'96, Partner at Glovers, a specialist property law firm. After reviewing my CV I was invited to a one-week work experience, with the potential/opportunity to be offered a placement year. As you can imagine I was incredibly excited/nervous about this opportunity and knew that I had to exceed their exceptions to ensure a placement. 

Having met all the staff I was introduced to the system platform and then began to work on scheduling files and other duties. I also wrote copious amounts of notes and went through went through them every evening to get a better understanding of the firm's systems and procedures.The previous work experience I had attained through Dr Pring whilst at school also proved invaluable.

On my final day, I had a review of my week with one of the firm's Partners and they commented on my analytical 'legal mind,' attention to detail, work commitment/ethics and interpersonal skills - skills sets I have ascertained undoubtably due to my education at Worth, which prepared and nurtured me for the workplace environment. They then kindly offered me a one-year placement position as a paralegal - a life-changing opportunity for me which will give me an advantage to secure a legal position after my final year of university and pursue my chosen career in the legal world.

I am eternally grateful to both Worth School for my education and the continued support provided through the Worth Society. 

Jasmin Ruprai StC'20