Securing a job at a top law firm isn’t all about marks and working yourself to the bone. As Stephanie Quine discovers, imagination, a sense of humour and an understanding of the importance of a good work-life balance are all qualities that leading companies are looking for in their candidates. 

When Maryjane Crabtree, executive partner - litigation and intellectual property, found herself discussing the ins and outs of Buffy the Vampire Slayer while interviewing a graduate, she was not only intrigued, but impressed. The young man vying for a graduate role at the firm, which has recently aligned with global firm Linklaters, was explaining his study of the TV show in a thesis he completed in the Arts component of his degree.

“It was one of the most impressive interviews I ever did,” says Crabtree.

Imagination, believe it or not, is one of the three essential criteria for getting into a large law firm, according to Crabtree.

It might be acting or singing or gymnastics: “Imagination comes through often in the choice of non-law subjects that [students] have done or their non-law extra-curricular activities,” says Crabtree. Her firm has taken on a range of interesting graduates, including one who has written a short play, and another who wrote her Modern History honours thesis on religious organisations and sailors in early 19^th century America.

“Somebody who’s a thinker outside the box, interested in different sorts of things, adds a bit of colour and lightness to the working environment and that’s what we look for – we want people working on teams who get along together, who have a great sense of humour, who are able to pitch in and be good company on a long project,” she says.

Off the mark

While all law firms are after the best-performing students they can get, they are also looking for people with a balanced personality and balanced experiences.

It doesn’t mean a graduate has to have been school captain, a leader in university organisations or high up in the law student society,  but having made an effort, “preferably for a community” is a big plus, says Crabtree.

“We’re after people who have gone out and volunteered in legal services. Community legal centres offer a really good practical approach and really show someone is thinking about others, not just themselves,” she says.

Looking after yourself, keeping fit and being involved in gym or dance or a creative outlet also helps people to “thrive better”, says Crabtree, and “it shows they can strike a balance in their lives”.

Firms like to see young lawyers who have shown that they can cope in a working environment and can deal with people, often difficult people. Waitressing in a restaurant or working in retail adds to the attractiveness of a graduate legal CV.

“If someone presents with fabulous marks but it’s clear from their CV that they’ve just sat in a library for the entire course of their career and not interacted with anyone, that wouldn’t be a good fit for the working environment,” says Crabtree.

“We’re looking for diverse individuals and teams, we’re not looking for a homogenous group, because we find that people who are strong creative thinkers and use their imagination in their approach to their lives, as well as their work, will generally contribute in a stronger, broader way and come up with creative commercial solutions for our clients.”

From campus to court

Imagination and innovation alone, however, are not enough to slip into to a reputable legal practice.

Lawyers must be intelligent enough to grapple with technical issues and show not only deep legal knowledge but insight and good judgement as well.

They must be commercially savvy about their work and how they direct their careers and go out and build their practices, according to Crabtree.

      Maryjane Crabtree, CEP, Allens

In each of Allens’ Australian offices there are “uni teams” made up of partners and lawyers who are responsible for establishing and maintaining relationships with specific universities.

These uni teams engage with law students and sponsor law school events. They also offer practical assistance, such as providing judges for mooting competitions or giving advice on life in a law firm.

It’s the same story at DLA Piper, which has established relationships with most universities across Australia.

“Each location [or campus] will do different things but it’s generally catered for that particular market,” says Kate Weaver, HR Director of DLA Australia.

Crabtree says Allens’ uni teams engage with law schools so the firm can work out “what they need from us”.

In the course of that engagement, lawyers and academics “may well” talk about particular students who have a certain interest in coming to a certain firm, but Crabtree says “there isn’t a cherry-picking approach”.

Students usually apply through a firm’s summer clerk program, with the hope that will lead them to a full-time position.

Weaver says some students will apply for all of the top firms, while others will be more loyal to a particular firm as they know someone or have had a good experience with the firm already.

Camilla Moore, DLA Australia’s graduate resourcing manager, says DLA typically doesn’t recruit outside of its seasonal clerkship pool.

“Our graduate intake is taken solely from summer clerks; we don’t go to market to recruit or make offers,” says Moore.

While graduates often want to focus on finding their feet in a local firm, it is certainly important to them to know what opportunities are available down the track.

 “We offer our graduates to do their third rotation in one of the Asian offices,” says Moore, “this year we have one grad in Beijing and one in Hong Kong.”

“We market that to law students and it’s very attractive. The uptake of the summer clerks has increased between 30 and 100 per cent since we’ve become DLA … I’d say it’s definitely because of the global image DLA has now.”

The firm recently launched a “grad micro site” offering online information about the firm’s recruitment process and profiles of people in the firm, including graduates on overseas rotation.

Soon, two of DLA’s graduates in Asia will be blogging on the site about their experiences.

Fighting global gobble-up

With top law firms expanding and forming alliances, retaining top talent is more and more important.

Weaver insists that DLA does not have a problem with losing lawyers and says that “you’ll always get some attrition” after people have gained a few years experience.

“We’ve got 77 offices globally so we can really support people wanting to work around the globe; that’s an opportunity to move them around and keep them,” she says, adding that lawyers must be good performers and, depending on the country, posses some language or other specific skills.

Crabtree says the number of graduate applications at Allens has remained steady over the last three years and that the firm has lawyers going to work in its overseas offies or on secondment as early as first or second year.

“I think the tie up with Linklaters will be one of the great benefits. We’ll be able to coordinate our recruitment program with Linklaters and it will open up a lot of opportunities to take up secondments or positions, not just in London but all over the world,” says Crabtree.

Bendable hours

Flexible working arrangements are another key factor for retaining lawyers, usually older or seasoned lawyers.

Crabtree believes the trend for lawyers working flexible hours, generally in order to care for children, is increasing.

“Increasingly we have fathers in the firm taking days off and sharing childcare with their wives,” says Crabtree, who says this is a “fantastic” trend.

“I strongly urge guys to consider it. We recently had one father in our team who worked four days a week – another guy’s just came back from extended paternity leave. He took the standard period and negotiated an extra period and he’s come back happy and connected with his kid.”

In the “wide world” Crabtree says its still “socially outside” for males to take paternity leave or work part time.

“Lots of people would pay much more attention to it than they would if it was a female,” she says.

But the fact that a partner in her department has taken four months paternity leave sends a strong message to other lawyers that flexibility and work-life balance are important and available to all.

To clarify, the seasonal clerkship program and recruitment process varies from state to state. In Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, students have the opportunity to undertake clerkships at a number of firms and therefore the graduate recruitment process is more competitive (i.e. some students will receive multiple graduate offers). In Sydney and Canberra students typically commit to one firm for the clerkship experience and, as a result, are largely relying on that firm for a graduate position.

  DLA Piper Seasonal Clerkship Applications

* Please note that this was the first year the Brisbane office ran the summer clerk program.