It is a well known fact that law is an incredibly competitive field. There are huge academic pressures, and even if you get the best grades you can – you still face fierce competition for jobs.
Still, so many people want to start a career in law. It is challenging, diverse and interesting, full of opportunities, and a great way to make an impact in peoples’ lives.
If your career aspirations are in law, you might be wondering how best to give yourself a leg up. Volunteering abroad is a fantastic way to begin your career in law. But how?
Develop Your Specific Interests
By volunteering on a law programme, you will have the opportunity to learn about various cases which can help to develop your specific interests. Law is a wide and diverse field, and so by getting some experience you can start to develop in the areas of law you wish to pursue. On our Law and Human Rights Programme in South Africa for example, you can get hands-on experience in human rights law; refugee and migrants rights; penal reform; land property and housing; environment; and gender equality – depending on what peaks your interests while you’re out there. Gaining that experience helps you decide and develop what you want to do and possibly consider things you hadn’t previously.
Meeting Mentors and Learning From Professionals
When volunteering in the law field and working in law clinics, you work alongside practicing legal experts. These individuals can provide guidance and support as you begin your career – and show you what is required to, one day, be where they are. At Vocational Impact, we partner with law projects and working professionals who have many years of experience behind them. Having contact with someone in the field can be incredibly valuable and it is great to be open to feedback and advice. Not only this, but the work you carry out will be under their watchful eye, and so they can help you improve and give you direction across the board.
Practical Applications and Real Cases
On the subject of the projects we work with – volunteering means you get hands on, practical experience on current legal cases. There is nothing like the real thing – and so by volunteering on a law programme you gain valuable and relevant experiences to draw on. On Vocational Impact’s law programmes you work with local organisations that deal with local issues. In Ghana for example, you could be working with the penal system and convicts in order to campaign for a fairer justice system and deal with cases whereby human and prisoners rights are not being upheld. These opportunities mean you gain incredible experience in challenging scenarios that give you edge and development.
Skill Application and Development
By working on real cases, you will get to apply the skills and knowledge you have learned on your law course. You can gain experience in client consultations, legal processes and community trends – but it isn’t all movie style courtroom scenes. Law takes skills such as research, writing and analysis. While university teaches you the knowledge and foundation for a career in law – there is once again nothing like the real thing. Practical experience means you can put those skills into practise.
Consultations means practising analysis and sifting through relevant information; while casework develops your legal arguing; and advocacy hones your research and writing… practising these skills means you can apply your university knowledge and connect what you have learned. It also means that when you get into the legal field, you will be more comfortable with and ready for the work which lies ahead of you.
Culture and Context of Different Legal Systems
By volunteering abroad in particular, you open yourself up to cultural exchange and contextual learning. The challenges we face in the justice systems of our own countries are not the same as those faced in Ghana or South Africa, for example. By volunteering on one of our programmes in one of these countries, you can contextualise the challenges faced by refugees and migrants facing statelessness, or people trapped in the prison system due to the criminalisation of poverty. By understanding the causes and effects of different challenges in different justice systems, you can then go about empathetically tackling these challenges and helping to make a genuine impact and broadening your perspective.
Travelling the World While You Do It
On the topic of broadening your perspective – volunteering abroad has the added bonus of travel opportunities. Travelling challenges you in so many ways: you build so much confidence, learn to be empathetic to others; learn more about yourself… and of course get to see the world. All of this can really benefit someone who is looking for a career in law. Being empathetic will help your relationships with clients, and confidence will always serve you in your decisions and deliverance. What’s more, employers are always impressed by those who have taken the initiative to travel and to learn. For personal and professional reasons, travel is just a must.
Make Your CV Sparkle
By combining all of the above and including it on your CV, you become a hugely competetive candidate for further opportunities and jobs in your chosen field. Employers will be impressed by the fact that you have such developed legal skills and experience – but also by the fact that you took the initiative to find such an opportunity. Furthermore, that you demonstrated such commitment as to carry it through.
By gaining the sort of experience you do when volunteering in the law field – you bolster your skills and CV tenfold. You prepare yourself for what is to come, you understand your roles and requirements, and you have the added advantage of insider knowledge and real experience. All the while, you’re making a positive impact to people and communities that will benefit from your knowledge and you work.
“The experience I gained from this programme is extremely beneficial for any of my applications for future jobs. I gained strengths including the ability to quickly adapt and learn in a new working environment, deal with exposure to difficult criminal matters and converse with different stakeholders in important fields of work.” – Rebecca, Criminology and Law Volunteer, South Africa.
If this sounds like the kind of experience you’d love to gain to kickstart your own career in law – fill out the form below to enquire.
