What you need to know about law fairs in 2022

Olivia Moore, Careers & Wellbeing Manager at the Law Society, talks about how students can prepare for a law fair, covers a few things to avoid and gives you all the key dates for your calendar.

It’s the start of a new academic year in the law, which means law fair season is almost upon us. For the last few years online law fairs have been the norm, but this year we’re set to return broadly to in-person events. Given the time we’ve had away from face-to-face networking events, we thought we’d give you a refresher on a few law fair ‘dos and don’ts’, as well as setting out the dates for all the fairs taking place in Scotland for your diary.

How to navigate a law fair and how to prepare

How to prepare for a law fair generally depends on what year and stage you’re at, and what you’re there for.

For first and second years (excluding accelerated LLB students as we would treat you as a third/fourth year), you’re likely there to find out who the legal employers are, as well as when you would be eligible to apply for vacation scheme/internship schemes.

Attending a law fair as an early-years student is a good idea, as the career pipeline as an aspiring solicitor can start early. As well as general questions, ask employers what types of things they look for on internship application forms, so you can start planning ahead. You might be surprised that many employers will not ask for previous legal experience, but will often look for transferable skills, regular part-time jobs, volunteering or interesting hobbies. You can also ask them about their company culture and values, to find out if it’s the sort of firm or organisation you can see yourself working for.

If you are a student in third or fourth year of the LLB, or a Diploma student, navigating a law fair is slightly different. You will likely want to have done more research before you attend, know which employers you want to speak to, have a few questions up your sleeve and be ready to do some networking. Your careers service will tell you in advance which employers are coming along, so you will have had chance to identify which you’re most interested in speaking to.

It’s hard to know what to ask employers, and you will have your own ideas about what’s important to you. One thing I would recommend though is to ask questions that allow you to build up a good ‘day in the life of a trainee’ image at that employer. This could really help you to discern what opportunity might be right for you and what kind of culture there is. Trainees are often present to represent firms at their stands and are a great source of insight into what the traineeship is actually like. You could ask them about what seats they have done, what relationship they have with their supervisor, whether they have a mentor or buddy, what their workload is like and whether there are lots of other trainees.

Try and relax at a law fair. It’s not an interview and there are lots of other people. You don’t have to rush round all the stalls, remember it’s quality not quantity. Make sure you keep an open mind too, and speak to a few employers that you might not have done otherwise. We all have preconceptions about employers, but this might be a chance to have them altered. 

A few pitfalls and things to avoid

Remember that employers aren’t looking for cookie-cutter trainees, so don’t feel like you need to be someone you’re not in order to conform in some way at a law fair. You can still be yourself and standing out is really important. I can remember an employer telling me about an in-depth conversation they had had with a prospective trainee about superheroes at a law fair. They really enjoyed the chat, and that’s what made the student memorable.

Having said that, I would advocate for not being a total scruff. The days of needing to wear a suit are long-gone, but wearing something smart casual is a mark of respect to employers who are likely wearing the same, and it shows you are taking the opportunity to meet them seriously. You have planned ahead and you haven’t just wandered in last-minute. Again, this is probably more relevant for students in later years who are seriously seeking traineeships.

I’d also say it’s advisable to do what an employer once observed to me: “ditch your friends at the door”. From the perspective of someone on a stand at a law fair, it’s really hard to engage with a group of friends for several reasons. Firstly, I can never work out who is most interested in the opportunity – is it everyone? Or is it one person and they have dragged along their friends? Secondly, questions always seem quite generic, and there’s no way to make my responses specific and personal as I don’t want to talk back to one person, as I would feel like I'm leaving everyone else out. Thirdly, you attend a job interview and go to work on your own, so show you have the confidence to approach me yourself. I know we’re all a bit out of practice when it comes to networking, but this is the perfect place to push yourself a bit, and throw yourself into some meeting and greeting. It’s great practice for interviews and the future.

It’s worth saying that law fairs do not host all the trainee employers in Scotland. You will quickly notice that small firms and in-house organisations are under-represented. This isn’t because they don’t take trainees (our trainee statistics show this isn’t the case), it’s simply that generally due to financial and resource reasons, they won’t be at a law fair. We host an event each year called ‘a career outside a big firm’ which is packed with advice for people looking to train on the high-street or in-house. You can also read the advice on our website about finding a traineeship, and we will be running a ‘Get that traineeship’ talk at your university this autumn. You can find out from your academic or careers team when this is if you aren’t aware already.

Law Fair dates for your diary

University of Strathclyde, 21 September 2022
University of Glasgow, 28 September 2022
University of Aberdeen, 4 October 2022
University of Dundee, 5 October 2022
Robert Gordon University, 6 October 2022
Napier University, 6 October 2022 (Networking Event)
LSS Celebrating Inclusion Law Fair, 19 October 2022 (Online Event)
University of Edinburgh, 27 - 29 September 2022 (General Careers Fair open to all faculties. Law Society of Scotland will not be in attendance)