In anticipation of some law students “despairing about their futures”, following the news of not having received offers for summer clerkships, Professor Lise Barry – the dean of Sydney’s Macquarie Law School – posted on LinkedIn to offer support to those without offers.

“Life will go on; there are other fabulous opportunities out there. There are jobs in law they haven’t even heard of that are exciting and rewarding. There are jobs outside of law that are exciting and rewarding and for which their legal studies have prepared them well,” Barry said.

She also made a call-out to current lawyers and former students: “… If you missed out on a clerkship or never even applied for one and have a positive story to share, there are some students who need to hear it today ...”

By the time this story was filed, the post had garnered nearly 1,900 reactions and almost 300 comments. Such an outpouring, she mused, was unexpected: “It has been heartwarming to see so many in our profession reaching out.”

Those comments, Barry noted, included anecdotes from lawyers reflecting on their career experience and the ways that what seemed like a negative at one point in their life, turned out to be a positive.

Numerous law students have been in touch with her, she said, to say that the “messages of encouragement have helped them in a dark time”.

Myriad pathways ahead

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Speaking to Lawyers Weekly following the viral post, Barry offered a message of hope to students who did not secure summer clerkship offers: “You are not defined by your last rejection letter.”

“Clerkships can be wonderful, but they are only one avenue for gaining experience in law.

“There are as many pathways into a career as there are legal and non-legal roles for law graduates.”

A legal education, Barry continued, “sets you up with skills for life: critical thinking, problem solving, ethics, professional communication, negotiation, and advocacy”.

These are skills of value, she noted, in every area of law, but also in policy, management, and small business.

“There will never be enough clerkships for everyone who applies, but as the LinkedIn post has demonstrated, there are a myriad of other ways to gain experience and to find fulfilling careers,” she said.

Practical steps to take

When asked how students can take a more holistic perspective on missing out on clerkships and what it means for their careers, Barry responded that they can read through the hundreds of examples of successful lawyers, barristers, public servants, entrepreneurs, social justice advocates and more, who have been rejected for roles and have then gone on to do amazing things with their lives.

“There is lots of great advice from lawyers on the thread: ‘Try a role in a regional or small firm where you can be given earlier opportunities to take on responsibilities in a broader array of work’,” she said.

Others, she went on, pointed to the skills they developed in non-legal roles that proved to be an asset to future employers, “these included customer service roles, complaint handling, administration, hospitality, and creative writing”.

She added: “There were many comments from lawyers who ‘accidentally’ found fulfilling roles in areas of law or outside of legal practice they knew nothing about beforehand, including insurance, construction, mediation, public policy, human resources, and journalism.”

Finding purpose

Looking ahead, Barry deduced that the comments her LinkedIn post received are demonstrative of the importance of establishing one’s life goals – not just career goals.

“That’s why I adopted the motto, ‘Find your purpose’ for Macquarie Law School,” she said.

“Focusing on the things that give your life meaning can help you in difficult times and put short-term rejection into perspective.”