WHAT NOBODY TELLS YOU ABOUT YOUR FIRST YEARS IN LAW
WHAT NOBODY TELLS YOU ABOUT YOUR FIRST YEARS IN LAW
Your first years working in law can be a steep learning curve. Beyond applying what you've learned at university, you'll need to navigate workplace expectations, work with supervisors, build confidence and discover which areas of law interest you.
And you won't always get everything right the first time.
Employment lawyer Stefanie Costi and commercial litigation lawyer James d'Apice share seven things they wish more law students knew about starting a legal career.
This article draws on a College of Law webinar, Inside Your First Years in Law, featuring employment lawyer Stefanie Costi and commercial litigation lawyer James d'Apice.
At a glance:
- Law school is only part of the preparation. There's plenty about working in a law firm that you'll learn on the job.
- There's more than one way to find your first legal job. Reaching out to lawyers and building connections can open up opportunities.
- Confidence comes with practice. You don't need to know everything when you're starting out.
- Your first practice area doesn't have to be your last. You don't need to have your career direction figured out. Your interests may change as you gain experience in different areas of law.
- Asking questions is part of the job. Clarifying instructions and checking your understanding can save time and prevent mistakes.
- Workplace culture matters. The people you work with can make a big difference to your experience.
- Relationships matter throughout your career. Stay connected with your peers and build a network of people you can learn from.
1. Law school doesn't teach you everything about working in law
You've spent years learning legal principles, analysing cases and developing arguments. But working in a law firm introduces a whole new set of challenges.
As employment lawyer Stefanie Costi puts it, "Being a lawyer is not what you learn in law school."
There's plenty about legal practice that you might not encounter until your first job, including: Workplace hierarchies: Understanding how law firms operate, who makes decisions and how to work with different people.
- Billable hours: Learning how time is recorded and how legal work is managed.
- Client expectations: Balancing what clients want with what's legally possible and practical.
- Workplace pressure: Managing deadlines, competing priorities and the expectations of supervisors.
For students without family or personal connections in the legal profession, these aspects of working life can be particularly unfamiliar.
Stefanie entered the profession without that background. Her father was a fishmonger, and nobody in her family had attended university before her. She had to learn much of what working in law involved through experience.
Her early career also included difficult workplace experiences that eventually influenced her decision to specialise in employment law.
The takeaway? Your law degree gives you an important foundation, but you aren't expected to understand every aspect of legal practice on your first day. There's plenty you'll learn along the way.
2. YOUR FIRST LEGAL JOB MIGHT NOT COME THROUGH A TRADITIONAL APPLICATION
Applying for advertised jobs, including legal assistant, paralegal and graduate roles, is one way to get started in law. But it's not the only way.
Some students enter the profession through family connections, university contacts or work experience. Others find opportunities by approaching lawyers and firms directly.
And you don't necessarily need an established professional network to get started.
Stefanie found her first legal role as an office assistant through SEEK. Later, she secured several jobs by contacting lawyers directly on LinkedIn.
Most messages went unanswered. But some led to conversations, and eventually job offers.
It's a useful reminder that opportunities aren't always advertised.
As commercial litigation lawyer James d'Apice puts it:
"People can only hire people they know exist."efore deciding you've chosen the wrong career, try to work out what you actually don't like about the role.
How to find legal job opportunities beyond job boards
| INSTEAD OF ONLY... | TRY THIS TOO |
|---|---|
| Applying for advertised legal jobs | Research smaller firms and lawyers working in areas that interest you. |
| Waiting for vacancies to appear | Contact firms directly to express your interest. |
| Sending generic applications | Write a short, personalised message explaining why you'd like to work with someone. |
| Only networking when you need a job | Build relationships and ask people about their experiences in the profession. |
You won't receive a response from everyone, and reaching out doesn't guarantee a job.
But you might discover opportunities you wouldn't have found through a traditional application.
3. YOU WON'T KNOW EVERYTHING, AND YOU'RE NOT EXPECTED TO
Starting your first legal job can be intimidating.
You're surrounded by experienced lawyers, learning unfamiliar processes and trying to prove you're capable of doing the work.
What if you don't know the answer? What if your draft comes back covered in changes? What if everyone else seems more confident?
These feelings are common, and they don't necessarily disappear with experience.
Even senior lawyers encounter unfamiliar problems or situations where they don't immediately know what to do.
The difference is that experience helps you become more comfortable working through uncertainty.
Confidence often comes from preparation, repetition and recognising how much you've improved.
Think about preparing your first legal document or completing an unfamiliar task. It might take hours, involve several rounds of feedback and come back covered in corrections.
Months later, you might complete a similar task with far less guidance.
That's progress, even if you don't always notice it happening.
How to build confidence in your first legal job
| WHAT TO DO | HOW IT HELPS |
|---|---|
| Prepare | Take time to understand the task and what's expected of you. |
| Practise | The more meetings you attend, documents you draft and problems you work through, the more familiar they become. |
| Learn from feedback | Corrections aren't necessarily a sign you're doing badly. They're part of developing your skills. |
| Recognise what you don't know | You don't need to pretend you have every answer. Knowing when to ask for help is important too. |
Confidence isn't something you have to bring to your first day. It's something you build through experience.
4. YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE YOUR PRACTICE AREA FIGURED OUT
Not sure whether you want to practise criminal law, commercial law, family law or something else entirely?
That's okay.
You don't need to choose your future specialisation before you've even started working in law.
Sometimes a particular matter sparks an interest. Sometimes an unexpected opportunity comes along. And sometimes your own experiences change what you want from your career.
James describes finding his specialisation as "half accident, half strategy."
He now practises commercial litigation, particularly disputes involving people who own assets together. But his career didn't begin with that exact goal.
Over time, he discovered the work he enjoyed and gradually became more deliberate about the matters he wanted to take on.
Stefanie's path was similarly unexpected.
Before specialising in employment law, she worked in family law and commercial law, including as an in-house legal counsel.
Her personal experiences with workplace bullying eventually influenced her decision to work in employment law, where she now helps people dealing with workplace issues.
What if you want to change practice areas?
Changing areas can become more challenging as you gain experience, but it doesn't mean you're stuck with your first choice.
If you're considering a move, think about:
- Why you want to change: What interests you about the new practice area?
- What skills you can bring: Which parts of your existing experience could be useful?
- What you'll need to learn: Are you prepared to build experience in unfamiliar work?
- How you'll explain the move: Can you clearly communicate your reasons to a prospective employer?
Your first legal job is a starting point, not a decision about the rest of your career.
5. ASKING QUESTIONS IS PART OF DOING YOUR JOB WELL
When you're starting out in law, you want to show initiative and demonstrate that you can work independently.
But there's a difference between taking responsibility for a task and spending hours trying to work out what your supervisor actually wants.
Asking questions isn't a sign that you're incapable. Often, it's the most sensible thing you can do.
The trick is learning how to ask useful questions.
Rather than simply saying you're unsure what to do, explain what you understand, outline your proposed approach and ask whether you're on the right track.
It also helps to understand how your supervisor prefers to work.
Some lawyers welcome regular conversations. Others prefer a written update or have limited time available during the day.
How do you work effectively with your supervisor?
| WHAT TO DO | WHY IT MATTERS |
|---|---|
| Clarify the task | Make sure you understand what's expected, the deadline and what the finished work should look like. |
| Explain your approach | If you're unsure, tell your supervisor how you're planning to tackle the task and check whether you're on the right track. |
| Confirm instructions in writing | A short follow-up email can prevent misunderstandings and give everyone a record of what's been agreed. |
For example, you could write:
"Just confirming I'll review the documents, identify the key issues and prepare a first draft of the advice by Thursday. Please let me know if you'd like me to approach it differently."
It might seem unnecessary, but imagine spending five hours preparing a document only to discover your supervisor wanted something completely different.
A two-minute email could save you both a lot of time.
6. THE PEOPLE YOU WORK WITH MATTER
Your first legal job isn't just about the matters you work on or the experience you gain.
The people around you can have a significant influence on how you feel about your work, what you learn and how you develop professionally.
A supportive supervisor can help you build confidence, learn from mistakes and become more comfortable taking responsibility.
A difficult working relationship can have the opposite effect.
And while adjusting to different personalities and communication styles is part of working life, bullying and unreasonable workplace behaviour shouldn't be treated as something you simply have to endure.
Stefanie experienced bullying at two law firms early in her career. The impact was serious enough that she was unable to work for a period.
Those experiences eventually influenced her decision to establish her own employment law firm and help others facing workplace difficulties.
Her story is a reminder that workplace culture isn't a minor consideration when choosing a legal job..
What should you look for in a legal workplace?
Beyond the type of work and the firm's reputation, consider:How do you work effectively with your supervisor?
| WHAT TO LOOK FOR | QUESTIONS TO ASK |
|---|---|
| Supervision | Can you ask questions and get guidance when you need it? |
| Communication | Are expectations clear? Can you discuss concerns or clarify instructions? |
| Workplace culture | Do people treat each other with respect? |
| Opportunities to learn | Will you have the support to develop your skills and confidence? |
Not every working relationship will be perfect. But there's a difference between adjusting to someone's working style and dealing with behaviour that makes your workplace unsafe or unhealthy.
And if your first workplace isn't a good fit, it doesn't mean the entire legal profession will be the same.
WHAT WOULD EXPERIENCED LAWYERS TELL THEIR YOUNGER SELVES?
Looking back, there are plenty of things lawyers wish they'd known when starting out.
For Stefanie and James, some of the biggest lessons have less to do with legal knowledge and more to do with how you approach your career.
| WHAT THEY LEARNED | WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU |
|---|---|
| You don't need to be perfect. | Everyone starts somewhere. Mistakes and feedback are part of learning. |
| Your university grades don't define your career. | Academic results can matter when applying for jobs, but they're not the only measure of your potential or what you can bring to a legal workplace. |
| You don't need family connections to succeed. | Building your own relationships and approaching people directly can create opportunities. |
| Setbacks don't have to define you. | Difficult experiences may change your plans, but they don't have to determine your future. |
| People skills matter | Communication, relationships and the ability to work with others are important throughout your career. |
Perhaps one of the most useful pieces of advice comes from Stefanie:
"Don't be a perfectionist, because everyone starts from somewhere."
It's worth remembering when you're starting a career where the expectations can feel high and everyone around you seems to know more than you do.
YOUR FIRST YEARS IN LAW ARE JUST THE BEGINNING
There's no single way to start a legal career. You might find your ideal practice area straight away or discover it years later.
Along the way, you'll make mistakes, ask questions and probably change your mind a few times.
And that's okay. You don't need everything figured out from day one. What matters is being willing to learn, build relationships and keep developing as you go.
