What Do Top Law Firms Look for in Their Applicants?
The career services departments of law schools work with law firms searching for “new blood” to be able to match the intership or job position with the right applicant. Many law firms woo potential interns and employees through various benefits and perks but the potential applicants should first meet the law firms’ standards.
Skills in communication
Without a doubt, lawyers have to have above-average skills in communcation. As an applicant, you should be able to display excellent written and oral communication skills. After all, your tasks as an intern or employee usually involve drafting legal briefs, arguments, and other documents that may be used in actual proceedings.
Exceptional grades
Having excellent grades is definitely a plus when applying in top law firms. There are law firms that mainly target students or applicants who belong to the top percentile of their classes. If you don’t have excellent grades, however, don’t despair. Grades may be the easiest factors to measure but it is not the only basis of law firms when looking for potential interns or employees.
Loyalty
Law firms also consider an applicant’s loyalty and staying power in determining if he or she really deserves a slot in the company. There are law firms that offer their prospective employees with perks like expensive dinners, allowances, trips, etc. This is for them to see who among the group of newbies or interns would stay on after the internship phase. A good intern would accept these perks and still do their responsibilities with full efficiency.
To summarize the things law firms look for in applicants, it’s best that you exhibit excellent communication skills, above-average critical and analytical thinking, and the right attitude. Although grades are not the sole criterion of many law firms, your academic performance says a lot about your ability to cope with pressure and still produce excellent results.
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