Looking for some advice please - you are all really good at that on here!
I am in the final year of my law degree so will be graduating next summer. I did a VS earlier this year but unfortunately did not convert it to a TC. I am applying again for VS and direct TCs but I am anxious about work after uni. I cannot afford to not have a full time job, so will be looking to paralegal. I cannot afford to live in London on a paralegal salary, so would have to work at a more local firm. Is this looked down upon by city and US firms? Because I am not paralegalling in a commercial law firm setting?
It just seems as though everyone already lives in London and can paralegal at firms they hope to eventually train at. This is simply not viable for me, so any insights would be appreciated please!
No firms will not look down on it. Experience is experience whether that's a waiter, barista or cleaner. A paralegal role that does not require years of prior experience before applying is hard to come by if you can get one closer to home I'd go for it!. Once you have a few months/a year in a smaller firm you can always move up from there.
A lot of firms do not prioritise paralegals over new applicants as it would not be fair unless they held a TC at the firm prior to being a paralegal and need a job before their TC starts. (I know this is the case for Kirkland, Milbank and Akin)
Would you consider other jobs that are not being a paralegal? tons of grad jobs pay better than paralegal jobs. You could work in compliance, legal analyst, risk and consulting these are all similar to law and the client exposure some of these roles offer would be insanely good!
