Law Specialism Incorporated - Legal Firms and Internships - Essay Example

? Law Specialism Incorporated – Legal Firms and Internships Section I The formal policy of Allen & Overy requiresall applicants to meet all the necessary requirements to qualify as an intern. The recruitment and selection process for both law and non-law students are done formally such that all applicants are required to comply with the following requirements: (1) A&O First; (2) attend the “Open Days”; (3) attend “Summer Vacation Scheme”; (4) attend “Winter Vacation Scheme”; and (5) apply for training contract (Allen & Overy, 2013a). Before qualifying for a 2-year training contract, the law students are required to take Legal Practice Course at the University of Law in Moorgate whereas the non-law students are required to complete 1-year Graduate Diploma in Law at the University of Law before taking the Legal Practice Course at the University of Law in Moorgate (Allen & Overy, 2013a). (See Appendix I – Summary of Allen & Overy’s Requirements on page 11) Clifford Chance offers 4-weeks summer and winter intern schemes to all students who are enrolled in Bachelor of Laws (LLB), Master of Laws (LLM), and Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) courses at the universities in England (Clifford Chance, 2013a, 2013c). Basically, the 4-weeks summer and winter intern schemes facilitate the law students to learn more about how it is to work for Clifford Chance. Even though Clifford Chance is encouraging both law and non-law students to apply for internship during their final year; a significant part of their recruitment and selection process and qualification is to complete their degrees (Clifford Chance, 2013a). After completing the internship programme, students are anticipated to submit their application for trainee solicitor contract (Clifford Chance, 2013b). Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer offers 3 summer vacation schemes (Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, 2013a). Similar to the requirements of Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer also promote the need for the training contract applicants to apply before they start their final year. Before the actual training contract starts, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer requires all applicants to study the Legal Practice Course (LPC) and take the 6-months course purposely designed for Freshfields at the BPP Law School (Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, 2013c). In case the applicant is not a law degree holder, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer requires the applicant to enrol in Graduate Diploma in Law prior to LPC (Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, 2013c). To qualify for the 4 weeks internship program at Linklaters, the applicant should be at least on the 4th or 5th year in law-related courses (Liklaters, 2013). In general, working for long hours can be harmful to one’s health (Stevens, 2013). Even though all members of the “Magic Circle” has their own unique formal policy when it comes to the recruitment and selection process of law students who wish to apply for an internship programme, only Linklaters requires the applicants to let their parents sign the parental consent form (Social Mobility Foundation, 2013). Likewise, only Linklaters clearly stated the no smoking and drinking during the internship period and anyone who will be caught misbehaving (i.e. fighting, etc.) will automatically be disqualified for the said programme (Social Mobility Foundation, 2013). For applicants who wish to apply for the 2-year training contract at the Slaughter and May, applicants are required to complete their law degree or pass the GDL or Common Professional Examination (CPE) on top of the Postgraduate Certificate of Laws (PCLL) (Slaugther and May, 2013a). The recruitment and selection process of the “Magic Circle” members are done formally. These firms require all applicants of training contracts to be on their final year in school. Interns’ salary or wages varies from one firm to another. For instance: Both Linklaters and Slaughter and May offer ?300 per week for their summer vacation programmes whereas Clifford Chance offers ?350 per week. Allen & Overy offers only ?250 per week for their summer and winter vacation programmes while Freshfields Bruchhaus Deringer offers ?274 per week for the said programme. (See Appendix II – Tabulated Summary of the “Magic Circle’s” Policy, Terms and Conditions, Interns Wages and Salary, Length of Time Employed as Interns, and Recruitment and Selection Process on page 12) With regards to the salary paid for the 2-year training contract, 3 out of top 5 law firms in UK pays a minimum of ?39,000 for the first year training contract (i.e. Allen & Overy, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and Slaughter and May). In fact, Allen & Overy is more generous for paying the first year training contract between the salary ranges of ?39,000-?44,000. Only Clifford Chance pays ?38,000 for the first year training contract. (See Appendix II – Tabulated Summary of the “Magic Circle’s” Policy, Terms and Conditions, Interns Wages and Salary, Length of Time Employed as Interns, and Recruitment and Selection Process on page 12) The official requirements and terms and conditions in each of the “Magic Circle” also vary from one another. For instance: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer requires all applicants of 2-year training contract to complete not only the LPC course but also the 6 months course that was designed for Freshfields’ students. On the other hand, the applicants of Slaughter and May are required to complete either the basic law degree, passed the GDL, or Common Professional Examination (CPE), and the Postgraduate Certificate of Laws (PCLL) before qualifying for the 2-year training contract. (See Appendix II – Tabulated Summary of the “Magic Circle’s” Policy, Terms and Conditions, Interns Wages and Salary, Length of Time Employed as Interns, and Recruitment and Selection Process on page 12) Section 2 Recommendations on the Firm’s Policy on Internships UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s “Business Compact” aims to promote diversification of the local companies’ recruitment and selection processes (Legal Futures, 2012). Aside from paying the interns a minimum of ?2.50 per hour or ?100 for 40-hour job per week (Richmond, 2010), the Compact requires all businesses to remove all types of discrimination when offering internship to the students (ICAEW, 2013; Grice, 2012). The law firms’ policy on internship programmes should highlight the need to promote diversity within the workplace environment. To comply with the requirements and main purpose of the Compact, a significant part of the recommended recruitment process is to make use of an application forms that does not require the applicants to indicate the law school where they are currently enrolled, the applicants’ nationality and race, age including all other information that can increase the risks of recruitment discrimination (ICAEW, 2013; Ross, 2012). Instead, law firms that are recruiting interns should stay focus on the knowledge and skills of the applicants. Most of the top legal firms in UK are concern with the grade the students get in both local and international schools and universities. In most cases, students with exceptionally high grades are the ones who receive internship invitation from the top 5 legal firms in UK and not their socio-economic status. To remove financial barriers and increase the chances wherein the law firms could encourage the best applicants to join their team, extending educational sponsorship for LLB, LLM, and GDL courses, paying the interns with a minimum wage as set by the UK government, and the need to provide the interns with accommodation support are all highly recommended (Ross, 2012). In most cases, offering unpaid internship opportunities to law and non-law students could only decrease the chances wherein the interns will be able to pay their tuition to complete a degree in law (Ross, 2012). Upon signing the “Business Compact”, some of the law firms in UK are expected to become prone to experiencing possible conflict between the need to remove discrimination on the interns’ socio-economic standing and the need to avoid offending the most important clients and senior partners. To promote diversity in the firms’ recruitment process, it is highly recommended that these firms should make it a habit to advertise their summer or winter vacation and 2-year training contract either online, in different law schools, and in public forums (Target Jobs, 2013b; Ross, 2012). By doing so, resourcing managers can easily get in touch with highly qualified applicants without the need to rely too much on their family and friends’ contacts. In fact, the use of informal contacts in the internship recruitment and selection processes only increases the risk of unfair or biased HR practices. Offering an open, fair, and transparent recruitment and selection processes for internship is also highlighted in the Compact (ICAEW, 2013; Grice, 2012; Legal Futures, 2012). Therefore, part of the recruitment and selection processes should include the need to interview the applicants (Target Jobs, 2013b). Through one-on-one or group interview, each applicant will be given the opportunity to express their desires to work with the firm. This strategy will also provide the firms the opportunity to determine whether or not the applicant has all the qualities needed to become a successful lawyer in the near future. Procedures on the Recommended Recruitment and Selection Practices when Hiring Interns The “Business Compact” requires all resourcing manager to practice open, fair, and transparent recruitment and selection processes for the interns (ICAEW, 2013; Grice, 2012; Legal Futures, 2012). Therefore, first step is to advertise the available slots and schedule for summer or winter vacation. In the process of advertising the available internship programmes online (i.e. websites or social networking sites), in different law schools, and in public forums (Target Jobs, 2013b; Ross, 2012; Smith and Kidder, 2010). Observing transparency in the recruitment process is very important (ICAEW, 2013; Grice, 2012; Legal Futures, 2012). Therefore, resourcing manager should advertise not only the official schedule for their summer or winter vacation but also the expected duration for the entire internship programme, the role and responsibilities of each intern, requirements to get a permanent job at the law firm, salary and other benefits offered for taking the internship programme (CIPD, 2009). In response to the “Business Compact”, resourcing manager should create an entirely new set of recruitment and selection procedures when hiring interns. As a general rule, the new recruitment and selection procedures should be free from any forms of recruitment and selection discrimination. As part of creating an entirely new set of recruitment and selection procedures, resourcing manager should first create a new goal and a set of HR objectives. Basically, the goal and objectives will be used in guiding HR personnel on how to can align their recruitment and selection policies with the requirements stipulated under the “Business Compact”. It is part of the old HR practice to recruit family members and friends in the law firms’ internship programmes. Therefore, part of the new recruitment and selection policy is to prohibit direct recommendations coming from the firm owners, HR managers, and other employees with top position in the firm. By setting an entirely new organizational culture for the firms’ recruitment and selection practices, it is possible for the resourcing manager to develop new recruitment and selection practices that will promote diversity within the workplace environment. As part of the recruitment process, the firm should encourage all applicants to sign the online application for their intent to apply for an internship. Using the online application forms, the resourcing manager will be able to control the type of questions or information he/she would like to generate from a large group of applicants. Furthermore, the use of online application will also help reduce the risks of bureaucratic recruitment practices. Within the workplace environment, it is common for some applicants to be discriminated based on the law school they attended, socio-economic background, nationality, race, disability, and age (ICAEW, 2013; Ross, 2012; Wilder et al., 2011; Dietz, 2010). Therefore, the online application for should be purposely designed in such a way that it is more focus on determining the applicants’ academic performance, attitude, and behaviour. After the initial screening of online application, selected applicants should be invited to participate in a group interview (Target Jobs, 2013b). As compared to a one-on-one interview with the Resourcing Manager, inviting the qualified applicants to participate in a group interview can help reduce the risk of bias selection process. Based on the remarks made by several interviewees, the legal firm can easily identify individuals who have a set of unique and promising qualities from a large pool of applicants worldwide. Implications of Diversity When Employing for Interns In relation to management theories, Zhao and Linden (2011) conducted a longitudinal study in order to examine the recruitment and selection processes of interns. Based on the research findings, Zhao and Linden (2011) found out that interns whose goal is to gain access for long-term employment opportunity tend to make use of “self-promotion and ingratiation” and that employers tend to appreciate the creativity as shown by the interns. Furthermore, Zhao and Linden (2011) revealed that supervisory mentoring does not necessary affect the interns’ decision to apply for a full-time work opportunity with the firm. In general, requiring the students to go through the internship programmes offered by the firms does not necessarily mean that it will create a positive impact on the labour market nor benefit people with low-educational qualifications (Klien and Weiss, 2011). Therefore, it is necessary on the part of the resourcing managers to secretly pay close attention to the work attitude and the interns’ desire and motivation to learn when evaluating them for their qualifications for a long-term work opportunity. There is a gap between the available diversity recruitment theories and the way resourcing managers are making decisions during the actual recruitment processes (Rivera, 2012). In line with this, Rivera (2012) explained that most of the HR decision-makers do not literally consider the importance of diversity when it comes to evaluating the qualifications of each applicant. It is always difficult to break an old habit when it comes to recruiting and selecting qualified individuals for the internship programme. Therefore, resourcing managers should consider the need to hire another person who will be in-charge of overseeing the resourcing managers’ decision to incorporate the importance of diversity during the recruitment and selection processes (Rivera, 2012). Although it is possible for resourcing managers to make use of social networking sites like Facebook when advertising the available summer or winter vacation programmes or the requirements to qualify for the 2-year training contract, Smith and Kidder (2010) strongly advice that resourcing managers should keep in mind that not all information posted on social networking sites are accurate. With this in mind, resourcing managers should avoid using the personal information of the applicants posted on social networking sites when screening the qualifications and background of potential canditates for the internship programmes (Smith and Kidder, 2010). The benefits of complying with diversity management policies include not only increase in employees’ work performance but also increase in customers’ satisfaction, creating a competitive advantages as compared to close competitors, easily solve and avoid problems related to discrimination causing internal conflicts, and increase in overall organizational performance (Figiel and Sasser, 2010). However, Figiel and Sasser (2010) pointed out that despite the promises of integrating diversity within the workplace environemnt, employers should be aware of certain factors that makes employees decide not to comply the firms’ diversity policies. Among these factors include: (1) the absence of leadership among the superiors (Lackey, 2008); (2) Generation Y employees in general do not observe the importance of diversity in work environment (Cadrain, 2008); and (3) resistance-to-change. Therefore, aside from enhancing the leaderhsip skills of resourcing managers, it is also essential to educate all interns about the advantages of complying with diversity. Only then can the resourcing manager be able to minimize the risks of resistance-to-change when implemeting its diversity policies in their recruitment and selection practices. Appendix I – Summary of Allen & Overy’s Requirements Source: Allen & Overy, 2013a Appendix II – Tabulated Summary of the “Magic Circle’s” Policy, Terms and Conditions, Interns Wages and Salary, Length of Time Employed as Interns, and Recruitment and Selection Process “Magic Circle” Allen & Overy Clifford Chance Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Linklaters Slaughter and May Formal policy Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Terms & Conditions Applicants are required to meet all the necessary requirements to qualify as an intern. Enrolled in LLB, LLM, and/or GDL courses at the universities in England; Depends on vacancy in the firm. Complete LPC course + 6-months course designed for Freshfields. The applicant should be at least on the 4th or 5th year in law-related courses; parental consent form should be signed; no smoking & drinking policy; avoid misbehaviour. Applicants should have completed their law degree or passed GDL or Common Professional Examination (CPE) on top of the Postgraduate Certificate of Laws (PCLL). Interns wages or salary ?250/week (summer & winter vacation programmes); ?39,000-?44,000 (1st year contract); ?61,500 (2nd year contract). ?350/week (summer & winter vacation programmes); ?38,000 (1st year contract); ?43,000 (2nd year contract). ?825 (net) for 3 weeks vacation; ?39,000 (1st year contract); ?44,000 (2nd year contract). ?300/week plus benefits (summer vacation programmes) ?300/week (summer vacation programmes); ?39,000 (1st year contract); ?44,000 (2nd year contract). Length of time employed as interns 4 weeks summer or winter vacation; 2-year training contract 1-3 weeks summer vacation; 2-year training contract 3 weeks summer vacation; 2-year training contract 3 weeks summer vacation; 4 weeks internship 3 weeks summer or winter vacation; 2-year training contract Recruitment & Selection Done formally Done formally Done formally Done formally Done formally Source: Allen & Overy, 2013a, 2013b; Clifford Chance, 2013a, 2013b, 2013c; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, 2013b; ratemyplacement, 2013; Slaugther and May, 2013a, 2013b, 2013c; Social Mobility Foundation, 2013; Target Jobs, 2013a; The Gateway, 2013; University of Leicester, 2013 References Allen & Overy. (2013a). Your route to qualification. [Online] Available at: http://www.aograduate.com/what-we-offer/your-route-to-qualification/#law-content6 [Accessed 7 November 2013]. Allen & Overy. (2013b). Training Contract. 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Wilder, M., Johnson, J., Phelan, W. and Cantos, O. (2011). Transcript: Assistng law students with disabilities in the 21st century: Kicking down the door to employment I: Of mentors and schedule A. American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law 1105. Zhao, H. and Linden, R. (2011). Internship: A recruitment and selection perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(1), pp. 221-229. Read More