I was fortunate to take part in the LLG Work Experience week last year and was placed locally at Coventry City Council.
In the mornings I had the opportunity to shadow local government lawyers attending pre-trial hearings, court appearances, and a variety of meetings. I had the chance to speak with trainees and senior lawyers about their roles, work-life balance, professional development opportunities, and career progression.
I got to see first-hand the wide range of work in which local authorities act such as children’s services, planning and elections. I found that working within a local authority provides a great opportunity for exposure to unique areas of legal work.
In the afternoons, LLG hosted a programme of webinars from figures within Local Authorities across the country. The webinars focussed on all areas of their work including governance, planning, prosecutions and the impact of central government. They provided a brilliant insight into a career within Local Government and the differences to private practice. Something that came across in all my conversations was the idea of public service: a role within a local authority means that you are helping deliver real change to the local community.
In all, the LLG work experience week led me to discover a different career path that I wasn’t even aware existed. It is now my career goal to secure a training contract within a local authority – a career that I otherwise hadn’t considered at all. I would thoroughly recommend the LLG Work Experience to all law students. It provides an unparalleled insight into a unique area of practice.
