Work Experience (1)

As promised I will discuss my job as an outdoor clerk. It is one of those things that is always listed as uesful work experience, but when asking careers advisers exactly what it is and how to go about getting it, a blank expression usually crosses their face.



Outdoor clerking is extremely useful, in my opinion, because:

1) You get to meet Barristers every day, thus increasing opportunities to network;

2) You are actually involved in real cases, doing real legal work (see last post);

3) And possibly most important of all it is paid.

The best way to go about securing a place as a clerk is to Google "outdoor clerking in (insert area), or to send in a letter and CV to local firms that deal with criminal law. I was lucky enough to find a company which were advertising on the net so that made it a lot easier.

The main duties of a clerk are to take the file to court, provide the barrister with any documents they require, take notes in conferences with the clients (some of which may be in the cells), and take a note of the proceedings in court (which can be quite difficult if you are trying to get down everything said during the examination of a witness).

The work is freelance so you tend to not know if you are working from week to week, sometimes it can be the afternoon before. In the beginning you will probably be asked to attend mentions, PCMH's, and bail applications. When you have proved you can handle these smaller jobs you will be asked to clerk for trials (my first is the subject of the previous posts). As well as the other benefits, it also gives you a really good idea of the work a criminal barrister takes on, and shows you everything that you learnt in English Legal Process in action.

Finally, lets get down to brass tacks. I currently earn £25 for a half day, and £45 for a full day. Although it is not the most fantastically re numerated of jobs, the experience it provides far outweighs the fact that it doesn't pay too well.

I hope that this has helped you get a better idea of what clerking is all about, and inspired you to start writing those CV's.