The Benefits of Work Experience


Of course people want jobs in the legal area but there’s a big difference between the classroom and the real world. Being unprepared will lead to shock and this means needing time to adjust. In the fast-paced legal sector though, there’s little time for this. To understand the environment of where you want to have a career, work experience is a tried-and-proven method, and there are  many benefits for students.

Build your skills

Yes, you have a sense of what’s required to work in the legal sector but as the saying goes, there’s always room for improvement. You’ve learnt base skills in your course such as understanding law essentials and etiquette in the office. Work experiences makes you apply those skills and refine them.

Know the job

Any legal assistant  will tell you that there’s more to the job than answering phones for their boss. They’re the face of the office, file papers, organise schedules and draw up important documents. The hands-on nature of work experience gives you the opportunity to do the same jobs (under supervision). This gives you a better grasp of what’s expected from a legal assistant and what’s faced on the job every day.

Start a network

Make friends, or at least make people remember you. Networking is a necessary evil but pays off when you’re known to do an especially good job. One benefit is it allows you to meet new people who have experience and a network of their own. Who knows? They might know somebody on the lookout for a legal assistant.

There are plenty of benefits that come from work experience in the legal sector. It gets you out of the classroom for one. The office environment makes you use your skills and teaches new ones. It will help you know what to expect before you start “for real” and presents networking opportunities that you can’t get anywhere else.


