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stell_r · 10 Jun 2009, 1:57 PM

1. As the above poster said, all the firms have different cut-offs. Distinction/high credit sounds about right for the big firms.

2. The four firms that made me offers (all big 6/ big mid tier) were offering salaries between $900 and $970 a week (incl super from memory). The smaller mid tiers pay less I think.

3. Legal work experience is obviously useful, but its not a requirement. Any work experience is good- it gives you things to talk about in an interview, and it tells the firm you're reliable etc. I hadn't worked in a law firm before, but I had spent summers working full time in an office environment. Really, it's all about how you spin it. I will say though- some of my friends who were paralegalling at firms while interviewing for clerkships often got asked things like "do you really want to work here"/"aren't you just going to stay with your current firm". On the other hand, some (but not all) firms basically consider their paralegals "pre-approved" for a clerkship provided they don't completely fall down in the interview process.

4. I had interviews with 5/6 big firms and a couple of the big mid tiers, and ended up with 4 offers. I had a distinction avg and decent work experience and extra curriculars (but by no means not spectacular). I've heard from partners at the firm I ended up at that from your application you get a 'score' for your grades and another for your extra-curriculars/work experience. Different unis are also treated differently in terms of marks.

Once you get to the interview stage, it's all about how you perform in the interviews. They're looking at how you present yourself, your communication skills and general 'fit' with the firm. And sometimes its just impossible to tell how you did- my first round at one of the big 6 felt terrible but they gave me a 2nd round, which i thought was ok, but then didn't get an offer.

5. It doesn't hurt to know people. Nobody likes a name dropper though- while having the managing partner as your godfather is probably going to work out pretty well, on the whole in and of itself it probably won't make much of a difference. Mostly the benefit lies in knowing more about the firm and that will reflect well in an interview. Personally I chose not to call in the family contacts and I'm glad- it felt better doing it by myself!

10 Jun 2009, 1:57 PM	#3 (permalink)
stell_r New Member HSC: 2004 Gender: Undisclosed Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 9 Last Activity: 15 Nov 2009, 3:36 AM	Re: Summer clerkships 2009/2010 1. As the above poster said, all the firms have different cut-offs. Distinction/high credit sounds about right for the big firms. 2. The four firms that made me offers (all big 6/ big mid tier) were offering salaries between $900 and $970 a week (incl super from memory). The smaller mid tiers pay less I think. 3. Legal work experience is obviously useful, but its not a requirement. Any work experience is good- it gives you things to talk about in an interview, and it tells the firm you're reliable etc. I hadn't worked in a law firm before, but I had spent summers working full time in an office environment. Really, it's all about how you spin it. I will say though- some of my friends who were paralegalling at firms while interviewing for clerkships often got asked things like "do you really want to work here"/"aren't you just going to stay with your current firm". On the other hand, some (but not all) firms basically consider their paralegals "pre-approved" for a clerkship provided they don't completely fall down in the interview process. 4. I had interviews with 5/6 big firms and a couple of the big mid tiers, and ended up with 4 offers. I had a distinction avg and decent work experience and extra curriculars (but by no means not spectacular). I've heard from partners at the firm I ended up at that from your application you get a 'score' for your grades and another for your extra-curriculars/work experience. Different unis are also treated differently in terms of marks. Once you get to the interview stage, it's all about how you perform in the interviews. They're looking at how you present yourself, your communication skills and general 'fit' with the firm. And sometimes its just impossible to tell how you did- my first round at one of the big 6 felt terrible but they gave me a 2nd round, which i thought was ok, but then didn't get an offer. 5. It doesn't hurt to know people. Nobody likes a name dropper though- while having the managing partner as your godfather is probably going to work out pretty well, on the whole in and of itself it probably won't make much of a difference. Mostly the benefit lies in knowing more about the firm and that will reflect well in an interview. Personally I chose not to call in the family contacts and I'm glad- it felt better doing it by myself!