How law students and graduates can make the most of this time

Guest blog by Jamie Roberts, F-LEX

Hello all!

We hope you are doing well.

We know a lot of you have had your work, studies or travelling plans cancelled recently, and we all find ourselves with an abundance of free time on our hands. This is a great time to add some skills to your CV! We have come up with a few ideas below.

We hope some of these ideas will keep you busy! Let us know if you think there is anything all of us could be doing in our free time. We will keep the blog updated with any suggestions you have!

We hope everyone stays safe and healthy during these times!

All the best,

The F-LEX Team

Volunteering

NHS Volunteer Responders has been set up to support the NHS and the Care sector during the COVID-19 outbreak.  They need an  ‘army’ of volunteers who can support vulnerable people in England who are at most risk from the virus to stay well.

COVID Symptom Tracker app is used to study the symptoms of the virus and track how it spreads. You can use this even if you are feeling well! The data used will contribute to vital research on COVID-19.

Covid-19 Social Study. University College London are running a research project about people’s psychological and social experiences during the pandemic. This involves taking two surveys, a week apart, to help UCL inform understanding about the effects of social isolation on people’s mental health.

Work Experience

The BBC has compiled a list of companies looking to hire temporary workers. This list includes some of the supermarket chains and companies such as Lloyds Pharmacy and Virgin Media. The page includes a link to each company’s recruitment page and will be updated with further opportunities.

InsideSherpa is a free online resource that allows you to experience working at some of the world’s top firms. These are a great way to gain extra insight into a law firm and understand how they operate. Firms that run a virtual internship include Linklaters, White & Case and Baker McKenzie.

F-LEX is still reviewing applications and holding onboarding interviews via video call.  If you have not signed up yet – why not?!

Law firm applications

Of course this is also a great time to get cracking on with some law firm research for applications that are still open. Here are some handy articles on how Coronavirus is affecting the legal profession:

• The Lawyer – A broken cycle: How coronavirus is affecting the qualification of lawyers
• LexisNexis Blog
• Big Four Legal Leader: COVID-19 Will Change the Way Law is Practiced

Online Courses

The Corporate Law Academy is a great forum for all aspiring lawyers. The forum contains a multitude of helpful tips and advice to those seeking training contracts. They have just released a free course featuring two future trainee solicitors at Baker McKenzie.

FutureLearn is a fantastic online platform with a huge range of free courses, whether you want to develop yourself professionally or learn a new hobby – there is something for you!

Duolingo is a great app with a simple way to improve your language skills!

Podcasts

Wake Up to Money is a daily podcast discussing the news and views on business around the world. It is a great resource to keep on top of the daily developments of coronavirus and how this affects business. Grab a coffee and listen to experts deliver their thoughts!

Beyond Today takes one big question about one big story from the news – or something completely random. Recent episodes include ‘Will coronavirus take away or jobs?’ and ‘Is wokeness just white guilt?’.

Reply All is a personal favourite of mine and is about all things related to the internet. People come to them with their random tech issues and the hosts investigate. Great episodes to start with include ‘The Snapchat Thief’, ‘The Case of the Missing Hit’ and ‘Long Distance’.

The Commercial Awareness Podcast is a must for all aspiring lawyers. A weekly podcast highlighting, as you may have guessed, a commercial awareness news roundup. Very useful tool to get on top of recent developments ahead of interviews and application season!

More Perfect puts a spin on case law and encourages the listener to think of the wider impact of judicial decisions by dissecting significant rulings of the US Supreme Court. You will be instantly hooked!

Read

This Is Going To Hurt by Adam Kay is A hilariously funny account of a junior doctor’s time working in the NHS.

My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite is an interesting and complex story set in Lagos about the relationship between two sisters within the context of a love triangle – an enjoyable read!

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris is an amazing true story set in Auschwitz, one of the most notorious concentration camps of WW2.

Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton. Really relatable, hilarious and down to earth – a great coming of age biography.

Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking. The late great legendary scientist gives fascinating, digestible answers to life’s most important questions.

21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari. This is an absolute must-read for everyone – the issues discussed in the book (from AI to liberalism) affect each of us on a daily basis. If this has you frowning, fret not! The book is far from being as hefty as your Equity and Trusts textbook so should make for fairly easy reading.

Honourable Mentions:

• An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
• Becoming – Michelle Obama
• If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
• The Room by Emma Donoghue
• The Incarnations by Susan Barker
• American Gods by Neil Gaiman
• In Your Defence by Sarah Langford
• 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari
• She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey
• The Rule of Law by Tom Bingham
• The Secret Barrister
• Good Omens by Terry Prachett and Neil Gaiman
• 1984 – George Orwell

Virtual Networking

In collaboration with LexisNexis and Crafty Counsel, F-LEX is running a series virtual lunches over the next few weeks for junior lawyers, trainees and paralegals. This is a great opportunity to network with your peers over lunch.

You can sign up for the next one and read about the first session.