By Sarah Sheppard, Graduate at Norton Rose Fulbright
With clerkship season underway, you might be starting to think about how you can distinguish yourself and put your best foot forward. Whilst the best advice is often gained by being able to sit down with a former clerk and hear about their experience, this isn’t always possible. To assist, I have detailed a range of suggestions that are helpful for clerks and junior lawyers alike.
Don’t be afraid to connect with senior lawyers or lawyers on other teams
Often firms will assign both buddies and mentors for the duration of the clerkship. This is a great way to start fostering relationships, however it’s important to think beyond these immediate connections. Be proactive in seeking out networking opportunities – especially if you find yourself in a busy team. Don’t be afraid to reach out to the partners or senior lawyers in your team. While they are busy, most are happy to squeeze a coffee catch up into their calendar with enough notice.
If you are interested in another practice area within the firm, you can also reach out to some of the lawyers in that team. Not only does this grow your network, but it may help you understand if you would like to rotate into that team as a graduate.
Communicate, communicate, communicate
This might sound obvious, but it’s the one people often forget. Whilst your technical capabilities are important, being able to communicate effectively and manage expectations with your team is a vital skill for all lawyers, especially juniors.
Here are a few ways you can demonstrate your communication skills and initiative:
- Be proactive in regularly checking in with your buddy, mentor and wider team to see if you can assist on anything or let them know if you have capacity. This extends to situations where you might be included on a meeting and follow-up tasks are required, such as checking a piece of legislation, finding a case or circulating minutes. You can always approach the lawyer with carriage of the matter and ask if you can assist with one of these tasks. Every task fits into a broader picture and matter timeline, so always think about the next step.
- Check in with the relevant lawyer as to the progress of the task you are working on. This is particularly important when you are given instructions like “just get to it when you can”. Whilst the task may not be urgent, you will still need to show you are actively progressing it. You will have many non-urgent tasks as a graduate that you will need to balance with competing urgent work, so it’s advantageous to demonstrate this ability early on.
- If you are having trouble with a task, reach out for help early. You can always talk to your buddy first and then check in with the senior lawyer. Even experienced lawyers need to double check their understanding from time to time. After all, it is much easier to clarify the instructions early on with a simple question rather than completing hours’ worth of work only to discover it covered the wrong issue.
- Let the relevant lawyer know as soon as possible if you don’t think you will meet a deadline. This is key to expectation management and will be vital when you become a graduate. Additionally, just because someone doesn’t mention that you missed the due date, doesn’t mean they didn’t notice. Do yourself a favour and let them know.
Ask the right questions when receiving work
You will be given a range of work as a clerk, often from a number of different lawyers who all work slightly differently. To assist with this, here are some generic questions you might want to ask each time you receive a task.
- What is the matter number?
- Who are we acting for?
- Any key facts I will need to know or documents I should look at before completing this task?
- Are there any similar documents I could use as guidance?
- Is there a particular format (email, letter, memo, etc.)?
- Will I be billing my time for this task?
- Is there anything in particular you would like me to add to the narrative?
- How long do you expect the task to take?
It is also a good idea to restate the task in your own words to check your understanding is correct. As always, if you are unsure about something or how to approach a lawyer on your team, you can always ask your buddy – that’s what we are here for.