How much does work experience before law school affect job prospects in law?

[Rango416]

Although I have no doubts that I am willing and able to follow a KJD path, going right into 1L after undergrad, I am a bit worried about whether my lack of extensive professional experience will affect my job prospects in law.

Aside from my work as a Research Assistant in a business field and an internship working in business development with a local company, my professional experience may appear underwhelming compared to other 1L students. I don't have any experience working in the legal field, no remarkable work with NGOs, no internships with impressive law or business fields. Outside of some extracurriculars and my academic work, I'm a bit worried about what I will be able to discuss in interviews and recruitment opportunities in the future.

With this in mind, would this situation hurt my chances of landing solid internships and placements in opportunities during and after law school? 

Thank you for any advice that you can offer!

Edited April 6, 2022 by Rango416

[Psychometronic]

A lot of people are K-JD without substantial work experience. Generally speaking, it depends on what area of law you’re interested in. For OCIs/big firm recruitment, grades are the main factor in getting you to the first interview. Other areas like family and crim place more emphasis on work experience. Even so, you can often shore up your experience during law school with ECs, research, and clinical and pro bono work.

Internships and placements vary. Some emphasize strong grades, others emphasize interest and prior experience, and others take everyone who apply. 

[Ruthless4Life]

10 hours ago, Rango416 said:

Although I have no doubts that I am willing and able to follow a KJD path, going right into 1L after undergrad, I am a bit worried about whether my lack of extensive professional experience will affect my job prospects in law.

Aside from my work as a Research Assistant in a business field and an internship working in business development with a local company, my professional experience may appear underwhelming compared to other 1L students. I don't have any experience working in the legal field, no remarkable work with NGOs, no internships with impressive law or business fields. Outside of some extracurriculars and my academic work, I'm a bit worried about what I will be able to discuss in interviews and recruitment opportunities in the future.

With this in mind, would this situation hurt my chances of landing solid internships and placements in opportunities during and after law school? 

Thank you for any advice that you can offer!

As the above have mentioned, your number one factor is grades to get you the interview. (Unless you have the connections to get you the role without even having go through the HR - but getting an offer and keeping it will require more). 

Then the next things (subject to the kind of person the particular firm is looking for) will be your social skills, personality, and putting yourself in the interviewer’s shoes - what you bring to the table. 

Edited April 6, 2022 by Ruthless4Life

[CheeseToast]

10 hours ago, Rango416 said:

With this in mind, would this situation hurt my chances of landing solid internships and placements in opportunities during and after law school?

No, not at all in my experience.

[NowOrNever]

11 hours ago, Psychometronic said:

others take everyone who apply. 

Interesting.

What are they?

Edited April 6, 2022 by NowOrNever

[Ramesses]

I think it really depends on what the experience is in. I know people who had professional designations who were fought over by firms. I had some work experience but mostly in the public sector. The big firms were not particularly interested in me for my experience. Overall grades first, experience second. 

[Fruitdealer]

13 hours ago, Rango416 said:

Although I have no doubts that I am willing and able to follow a KJD path, going right into 1L after undergrad, I am a bit worried about whether my lack of extensive professional experience will affect my job prospects in law.

I think it can be better characterized that some types of experience can give you an advantage during the recruits but having relatively little experience is typically not really  a disadvantage because so many students are K-JD and have little to no real world experience. Like other already mentioned, grades are going to be the most significant factor in getting interviews. Once you are at that point, your overall interviewing ability becomes a lot more important.

[spinelli]

I came to law school with a few years of solid work experience in a related field - I think it probably helped peak recruiters interest when looking at my application if anything. However, I don't think I got job offers during the recruit because of this experience alone and I will be working this summer with students who did the KJD route who only have a couple internships or volunteer positions. Ultimately the recruit is about how you sell yourself and those experiences (whatever they may be).

My bias opinion is that it is advantageous to work before law school - I've certainly noticed a difference among students in terms of managing the workload and stress of law school and whether they worked before or not. A few years work experience gives you a perspective you don't get when you've spent your entire adult life being concerned about grades. 🤷‍♀️

[Psychometronic]

13 hours ago, NowOrNever said:

Interesting.

What are they?

Slight overstatement on my part and I can only speak to UBC, but there are clinics and volunteer opportunities that consistently have unfilled seats so they’re less selective.

[Philosophy]

11 hours ago, spinelli said:

I came to law school with a few years of solid work experience in a related field - I think it probably helped peak recruiters interest when looking at my application if anything. However, I don't think I got job offers during the recruit because of this experience alone and I will be working this summer with students who did the KJD route who only have a couple internships or volunteer positions. Ultimately the recruit is about how you sell yourself and those experiences (whatever they may be).

My bias opinion is that it is advantageous to work before law school - I've certainly noticed a difference among students in terms of managing the workload and stress of law school and whether they worked before or not. A few years work experience gives you a perspective you don't get when you've spent your entire adult life being concerned about grades. 🤷‍♀️

Absolutely. Working made me realize how comfortable and easy school was. lol. I can't wait to go back to school! I'll definitely be more thankful this time around.