Our guide to unlocking new, diverse and often overlooked pathways into a career in law
Here’s what to expect this week…
Opportunities we’ve spotted, including legal work experience, paralegal roles and alternative legal careers
Our weekly Q&A, answering your questions about careers in law
5 minutes with... Nathan J. Corr, Legal Engineer at Wordsmith
And finally, a career tip to consider for networking events
Let’s get into it 👇
Career opportunities spotted this week 👀
📍 Work experience, insight days & legal placement opportunities
📝 6KBW College Hill Essay Competition (Virtual)
If you’re twiddling your thumbs over summer, the annual essay competition is back, aimed at aspiring barristers from groups underrepresented at the Bar. There are both monetary awards and work experience on offer. Deadline: 30th September, so plenty of time for this one.
⚖️ Unit Chambers (Liverpool or Manchester)
Unit Chambers runs a structured, accessible mini pupillage that's a proper introduction to life in practice. You'll follow a tailored schedule of shadowing days and get real insight into a family barrister's day to day across children law, financial remedies and protective orders. Anyone aged 18+ can apply via their questionnaire, and they actively welcome applications from underrepresented groups. Apply via the form on their website.
🏛️ Gatehouse Chambers (London)
Fancy a peek behind the scenes at chamber life as an A level (or equivalent) student? Gatehouse Chambers are offering work experience placements focused on practice management, business services and the day to day running of a barristers' chambers. They're especially keen to hear from state school, minority ethnic, and lower socio-economic background applicants. You'll need to be at least 16 by the time the placement takes place, with 16 spots up for grabs over the next 12 months. Deadline: 30th August.
🤝 Fieldfisher (London, Birmingham, Manchester)
Applying for training contracts this year? Fieldfisher’s networking events are a great way to get first hand insight into the firm, explore different practice areas, as well as meeting trainees before you apply. A relaxed, low pressure way to start building connections ahead of TC season (and hurray - they’re running events outside London too)! Applications are open now.
💼 Trainee, Apprenticeship & Pupillage Roles
📐 TLT LLP (Various)
Looking at post-graduate apprenticeship opportunities? TLT are hiring for Apprentice Legal Project Co-ordinators. As part of this role, you will be enrolled onto the Level 4 Associate Project Manager Apprenticeship, delivered by BPP, and will develop your project management knowledge, skills and behaviours through a combination of practical experience, structured learning, workshops, webinars and coaching. A really interesting opportunity in the fast-changing legal world. Deadline: 6th September.
⚖️ Rothera Bray (Nottingham, Leicester & Derby)
The firm has opened their Trainee Solicitor assessment process for 2026–2027 applicants. They're looking for commercially aware, energetic and passionate individuals who have achieved a 2:1 and are studying towards or have completed the LPC or SQE 1. Apply ASAP.
🎯 Fletchers Academy (Various)
This is exactly the kind of opportunity we like to see. Open to A level students, graduates and career changers, successful applicants join the firm on a permanent contract and spend 12 months combining structured training, 1:1 support, hybrid working and hands-on paralegal experience, before deciding what route to take in the firm next. The 2026 programme starting in October. Deadline for applications: 21st August.
⚖️ Paralegal & Entry Level Roles
⭐Inclusie’s pick of the week⭐️
📚 Bloomsbury Publishing (London)
If you love books and want to combine it with your interest in law, Bloomsbury is hiring a Contracts Assistant. Typical tasks may include drafting contracts and letters, keeping contractual records in order, and answering queries from internal teams and outside parties. You'll need strong organisation, keen attention to detail and excellent interpersonal skills, but no prior experience is required.
There are some great perks, including an interest-free rental deposit loan of up to £3,000 to help you get settled. We wish more firms and companies offered this!
Deadline: 25th August.
⚖️ Free Representation Unit or FRU (London)
FRU provide free legal representation in social entitlement and employment tribunals and are hiring an Assistant Legal Officer (Employment). You definitely won’t be clocking watching in this role - you'll supervise volunteers, build your own caseload, get genuine advocacy experience and more. A fantastic opportunity to do some good and get hands-on experience, with job-shares and part-time roles considered. Some prior experience required for this one. Deadline: 2nd September.
🏛️ Serjeants' Inn Chambers (London)
This civil law set is looking for a motivated Paralegal to join its award-winning staff team, researching complex points of law and supporting practitioners across their medical, regulatory and public law work. No prior legal experience is essential; email your CV and covering letter to [email protected] ASAP, as applications are required on a rolling basis.
🔧 Victorian Plumbing (Leyland)
The online home and bathroom retailer is growing their legal team and hiring a Paralegal to join them. They are looking for a proactive individual to work across key areas like commercial, corporate, litigation and property. This would be a great starting point for anyone interested in moving from a law firm role to a generalist in-house legal opportunity, building all the key skills to be successful in-house. Does require some prior experience given the nature of the role. Apply ASAP!
👨👩👧 McAlister Family Law (Liverpool)
They are hiring a Legal Assistant to join their team, supporting lawyers as they deliver family law services to children and families. You’ll need to demonstrate a genuine interest in this kind of work, but no previous experience in the area required. Apply ASAP.
🌬️ Norton Rose Fulbright (Newcastle-upon-Tyne)
NRF's Newcastle office are hiring a Paralegal for their Legal Services Team, with real exposure to corporate, disputes, and banking work at a big firm. Hybrid working, no prior experience needed. Apply ASAP!
🛡️ Social Work England (Sheffield)
Enjoy research and problem-solving and want a Paralegal role that's more than admin? Social Work England is recruiting a Legal Regulation Paralegal that offers the chance to be at the intersection of law, public protection and professional regulation. You'll be working on a diverse range of matters such as fitness to practise, civil litigation and Court of Protection cases, while developing specialist expertise alongside lawyers, courts, Counsel and external legal advisers. Some experience is required for this one. Deadline: 6th September.
💷 Ward Hadaway (Leeds)
This is an opportunity to get stuck into insolvency work - you'll be supporting fee earners across contentious and non-contentious cases and working with Insolvency Practitioners, Directors, Lenders and Creditors from instruction through to conclusion. Prior experience in the area an advantage but not essential. Deadline: 17th August, so be quick!
🩺 Kinetic Law (Blackburn)
Could you see yourself working on industrial disease claims? In this Trainee Paralegal role, you'll be working alongside Kinetic Law's team on deafness and occupational disease cases. This role covers everything from client contact to liaising with medical experts and insurers. Full training is provided, with no prior experience required. Apply ASAP.
Your questions answered ❓
Question: I love the newsletter! I'm particularly interested in paralegal and training contract opportunities in-house. How can I tailor my cover letters to show that?
My response: Thanks so much, so glad you're finding it useful! A few things that will help you stand out:
💼 Show you understand what "in-house" actually means. Law firms are fee-earning; their legal teams generate revenue for the business. In-house legal teams are different: their role is predominantly to manage risk and support the business rather than bring in money directly. That changes what's valued day to day. In-house teams need to be efficient, pragmatic and closely aligned with what the business actually needs, not just legally "correct." Demonstrate that you understand this distinction, and that in-house is a genuine choice, not just a back-up to your law firm applications.
🏢 Do your homework on the business, not just the legal team. What does the company actually do? What sector are they in? What might their legal team be dealing with right now (regulatory change, growth, restructuring)? Including this in subtle ways shows real interest and understanding rather than a copy-paste application.
🤝 Highlight commercial awareness. In-house teams want people who can translate legal risk into business language. If you've got any experience of working cross-functionally, understanding client or customer needs, or making pragmatic recommendations, bring that forward.
🌱 Reframe "non-traditional" experience as an asset. Retail, hospitality, and other work experience can be a real advantage here. In-house teams can be much smaller than law firm teams, so they're looking for someone reliable, who can hit the ground running, and who's happy to get stuck in from day one. If you've handled pressure, managed competing priorities, or dealt directly with people, that's exactly the kind of grounded, practical experience they value. Connect that experience directly to the role.
🎯 Be specific about why in-house, why now. Give a real reason, such as the variety or the closer relationship with the business, for being interested in an in-house legal career and make it personal to you.
✂️ Keep it focused. As mentioned, in-house teams are often smaller and time-poor. Respect that with a cover letter that's concise, well-structured and easy to read.
Best of luck - keep us posted on how your search goes!
✍️ 5 minutes with… Nathan J. Corr, Legal Engineer at Wordsmith
Could this be one of our most timely conversations yet? From co-founding Scotland’s first university-affiliated Legal Tech Society to qualifying as a corporate lawyer and now working as a Legal Engineer, Nathan’s journey demonstrates how many possibilities exist at the intersection of law and technology.
We hope you enjoy reading this conversation as much as we did!
Q: Your career has taken you from co-founding a Legal Tech Society to corporate law and now legal engineering. Looking back, what first sparked your interest in the intersection of law and technology, and did you ever imagine your career would follow this path?
I have always been interested in technology and the law as two separate fields. The thing that married the two was applying for training contracts back in 2019. Most of the applications included a question to the effect of: “How is Legal Tech changing the legal industry?”. I didn’t really know what “Legal Tech” was at the time… This sparked the idea to set up the Legal Tech Society - inviting speakers to the university to teach myself and fellow students about Legal Tech. This initiative led to opportunities to work at various Legal Tech startups, as well as meeting the absolute superstars that are Amy Conroy and Annabel Pemberton. The three of us went on to start Law School 2.0 together - where we have educated more than 5,000 people in 54+ countries around the world to date.
I’d love to say there was some kind of master plan for my path… but the truth is I’ve never tried to pre-determine my path. The key for me has always been curiosity. When I started on my journey “Legal Engineer” wasn’t a job title, and Wordsmith AI didn’t yet exist. Opportunities will present themselves along your own path that you couldn’t have foreseen. If you stay curious and make the most of every opportunity that comes your way - the path you walk will be far more exciting than the path you plan.
Q: You’ve spent much of your career championing legal technology. What do you think aspiring lawyers often misunderstand about legal technology, and how can they best prepare for a profession that’s evolving so rapidly?
My answers to these two questions are slightly at odds. There are many misconceptions about Legal Tech, but I think the most common misconception is that it is about the tech - it’s not. Technology is just one potential solution to a given problem. Before you even think about tech as a solution - consider the problem at hand. Why do you feel like you need a tech solution? What is the problem? Is it a process problem? Is it a people or education problem? Take time to ask lots of questions before looking at solutions. Map-out processes end-to-end - identify problems and inefficiencies. If applicable, get your whole team involved. Once you deeply understand the problem at hand, only then start to consider possible solutions.
However… for aspiring lawyers looking to prepare for an ever changing world - understanding the technology and staying at the edge of new developments is a great way to stand out from the crowd and prepare yourself for the future. Law firms and in-house legal teams are increasingly looking for talent with deep expertise in technology. Watch youtube videos; listen to podcasts (like ‘The Legal Engineer’ by Wordsmith AI); read articles (like Elly Meenan’s ‘Legal Engineering 101’ substack); and most importantly - use the tech. Playing with Claude / Gemini / ChatGPT (and more) is a great way to get started and begin to understand the infrastructure that the future of the legal industry will be built on.
Developing a mindset that focuses on the problem first, with a deep understanding of technology as a potential solution, will stand you in good stead for the rapidly evolving legal industry.
Q: If you were beginning your legal career again today, in a world where AI is becoming part of daily legal practice, what might you do differently?
With the tools available today, I would be a lot more proactive with building. At the moment I am using Lovable to create interactive wedding invitations for my upcoming weddings in Uruguay and Scotland (to the same amazing woman for the avoidance of doubt…); using Claude to plan a trip to Egypt; and using Wordsmith AI to organise my work life (it’s far more than just a legal AI tool).
Whether I was a student, trainee, or junior lawyer - I would look at what projects and tasks I am working on day-to-day, and explore what I can build using AI to make my life not just easier, but more enjoyable.
To bring this full-circle - the key is curiosity. Curiosity leads to exploration; exploration leads to learning; learning leads to opportunity. If you are curious and make the most of every opportunity in front of you - you will go far. Stay curious!
You can follow Nathan on LinkedIn here to keep up with his work at Wordsmith AI and learn more about his career journey!
And finally, a career tip ✍️
This week's advice is short and sweet: remember that the people you meet now could well be your future colleagues or clients.
Whether it's work experience, your degree, law school or an insight evening, every connection counts. Be kind, stay curious, and build meaningful relationships where you can.
You never know where they'll lead.
That’s all for now. See you next week!
P.s. If you have any feedback (positive or constructive!), ideas or good news stories to share with us, please do drop us an email or LinkedIn message. We love reading them!
Emma
The careers advice shared in this newsletter is intended as general guidance and should not be treated as formal legal or recruitment advice. I do my best to keep all opportunities and deadlines accurate and up-to-date at the time of writing, but always double-check the employer’s website before applying.