Mitigating Circumstances

[Dyno]

do law firms consider depression or mental health issues as extenuating circumstances when applying for training contracts or vacation schemes or is that not enough

I went to the GP and they told me they going to provide evidence for me as this has been happening at the start of second year and I have mental health problems and cant sleep properly and i feel like my grades are as a result of this

will this be accepted and if it does what are you supposed to say in the application
if not then what can you do?

im just confused at the moment

 

[Jessica Booker]

do law firms consider depression or mental health issues as extenuating circumstances when applying for training contracts or vacation schemes or is that not enough

I went to the GP and they told me they going to provide evidence for me as this has been happening at the start of second year and I have mental health problems and cant sleep properly and i feel like my grades are as a result of this

will this be accepted and if it does what are you supposed to say in the application
if not then what can you do?

im just confused at the moment

There isn’t a straight answer on this unfortunately.

It is good the doctor is providing you with a diagnosis though, and you should speak to your university at the earliest opportunity to discuss this and get any support you may require.

Ultimately mitigating circumstances should demonstrate there is a blip in performance/output (this doesn’t just have to be academic grades) because of the circumstances. If your grades were strong before and/or after the circumstances (eg after you have sought treatment, hopefully your grades will improve) then this shows that when the circumstances aren’t around, your can demonstrate your true potential.

 

[Dyno]

There isn’t a straight answer on this unfortunately.

It is good the doctor is providing you with a diagnosis though, and you should speak to your university at the earliest opportunity to discuss this and get any support you may require.

Ultimately mitigating circumstances should demonstrate there is a blip in performance/output (this doesn’t just have to be academic grades) because of the circumstances. If your grades were strong before and/or after the circumstances (eg after you have sought treatment, hopefully your grades will improve) then this shows that when the circumstances aren’t around, your can demonstrate your true potential.

So if my grades arent as good because of this then I can say that to them when applying to Vacation schemes whilst also supplying evidence? Can I also mention I have autism as well as Ive been diagnosed with that too?

 

[Jessica Booker]

So if my grades arent as good because of this then I can say that to them when applying to Vacation schemes whilst also supplying evidence? Can I also mention I have autism as well as Ive been diagnosed with that too?

Were your academic results good/strong before your mental health challenges?

 

[alohamora]

There isn’t a straight answer on this unfortunately.

It is good the doctor is providing you with a diagnosis though, and you should speak to your university at the earliest opportunity to discuss this and get any support you may require.

Ultimately mitigating circumstances should demonstrate there is a blip in performance/output (this doesn’t just have to be academic grades) because of the circumstances. If your grades were strong before and/or after the circumstances (eg after you have sought treatment, hopefully your grades will improve) then this shows that when the circumstances aren’t around, your can demonstrate your true potential.

is it necessary or useful to provide mitigating circumstances if your grades weren't necessarily affected? My grades have remained fairly consistent before, during and after my circumstances. It did affect my grade but I was still able to maintain a 2:1 in affected subjects, and I'm not too keen on divulging my medical history

 

[Dyno]

Were your academic results good/strong before your mental health challenges?

My results in first year werent necessarily good as I resat an exam but before that I didn't tell the GP or anyone in Uni about my mental health challenges but now in second year I've told them about it and how they gave me evidence and how Ive been diagnosed with autism because of this. If I haven't told the uni about my mental health challenges back in first year can I use the evidence they provided me and use that for my first year as well and my second year because my first year results I got a 2:2 and i felt like i was in a bad state of mind but didn't tell anyone back then so idk what to do. will the evidence I got now can be used for first year as well and second year? 😭 im just stressed i wont be able to land a TC or a vac scheme any time soon

 

[Jessica Booker]

is it necessary or useful to provide mitigating circumstances if your grades weren't necessarily affected? My grades have remained fairly consistent before, during and after my circumstances. It did affect my grade but I was still able to maintain a 2:1 in affected subjects, and I'm not too keen on divulging my medical history

You don’t have to - it’s always completely at your discretion what you disclose if anything. If your grades were not really affected, I don’t think you need to disclose anything.

 

[Jessica Booker]

My results in first year werent necessarily good as I resat an exam but before that I didn't tell the GP or anyone in Uni about my mental health challenges but now in second year I've told them about it and how they gave me evidence and how Ive been diagnosed with autism because of this. If I haven't told the uni about my mental health challenges back in first year can I use the evidence they provided me and use that for my first year as well and my second year because my first year results I got a 2:2 and i felt like i was in a bad state of mind but didn't tell anyone back then so idk what to do. will the evidence I got now can be used for first year as well and second year? 😭 im just stressed i wont be able to land a TC or a vac scheme any time soon

The difficulty if you are claiming both your first and second years is that the firm cannot gauge what your true academic potential is at a degree level qualification.

You can apply for roles, but you might find you have much more success once you improve your health and get the support you need to in turn get your grades up in your third year.

I think it is far more important for you focus on yourself and your health rather than trying to secure a vacation scheme or training contract at present.

 

[Dyno]

The difficulty if you are claiming both your first and second years is that the firm cannot gauge what your true academic potential is at a degree level qualification.

You can apply for roles, but you might find you have much more success once you improve your health and get the support you need to in turn get your grades up in your third year.

I think it is far more important for you focus on yourself and your health rather than trying to secure a vacation scheme or training contract at present.

I contacted HSF and they told me they accept mental health as a mitigating circumstance so if i add that in my application with evidence would that be considered because im getting support for my health and im getting better now but at the same time im not sure if my evidence would be sufficient to prove to them that i can still achieve a 2:1 for next year because I believe I still can. its just my second year which has been impacted the most for my mental health wellbeing

u mentioned before if your results are bad and it starts improving in third year can that show that that u are starting to improve and those cirumstances arent around anymore is that true?

 

[Jessica Booker]

I contacted HSF and they told me they accept mental health as a mitigating circumstance so if i add that in my application with evidence would that be considered because im getting support for my health and im getting better now but at the same time im not sure if my evidence would be sufficient to prove to them that i can still achieve a 2:1 for next year because I believe I still can. its just my second year which has been impacted the most for my mental health wellbeing

You should always include mitigating circumstances and they will be taken into consideration. The issue is that if your mitigating circumstances cover your entire degree level education period, they cannot determine how much the circumstances have impacted your studies. It is not appropriate for them to assume you would have achieved a 2.1 and unfortunately they cannot take your word for that. The only thing that can help is if you get an academic reference/letter that outlines what they think your true academic potential is, but even then many academics don't feel comfortable doing this as it can be difficult for them to determine this as well.

 

[Dyno]

You should always include mitigating circumstances and they will be taken into consideration. The issue is that if your mitigating circumstances cover your entire degree level education period, they cannot determine how much the circumstances have impacted your studies. It is not appropriate for them to assume you would have achieved a 2.1 and unfortunately they cannot take your word for that. The only thing that can help is if you get an academic reference/letter that outlines what they think your true academic potential is, but even then many academics don't feel comfortable doing this as it can be difficult for them to determine this as well.

my mitigating circumstances didnt last my entire degree it only started during my second year as i experienced mental health problems which is why i got diagnosed with Autism and went to the GP as a result of it however in my third year if my grades start to improve can the law firm see that these circumstances arent available anymore?

 

[Jessica Booker]

my mitigating circumstances didnt last my entire degree it only started during my second year as i experienced mental health problems which is why i got diagnosed with Autism and went to the GP as a result of it however in my third year if my grades start to improve can the law firm see that these circumstances arent available anymore?

You mentioned earlier though that your first year results were not strong because you were not diagnosed and hadn't sought support. Therefore they would cover your first and second years.

If you get your third year grades up, you will be able to show your true potential with the support you needed. Your mitigating circumstances still exist in your first and second years, it is just they are no longer prevalent in your third year because you have the support/treatment you require.

 

[Dyno]

You mentioned earlier though that your first year results were not strong because you were not diagnosed and hadn't sought support. Therefore they would cover your first and second years.

If you get your third year grades up, you will be able to show your true potential with the support you needed. Your mitigating circumstances still exist in your first and second years, it is just they are no longer prevalent in your third year because you have the support/treatment you require.

Oh so if my third year grades go up and I have backed it up with experience whilst applying to vacation schemes and show my true potential as im getting the support required , would i still have a chance despite having mitigating circumstances before?

sorry about asking too many questions im just stressed to see what the best option for me is and i really want to get VC despite having problems prior?

because i was also thinking about dropping out and starting uni next year if i cant secure anything or get a law job despite not getting good grades 😭

 

[Jessica Booker]

Oh so if my third year grades go up and I have backed it up with experience whilst applying to vacation schemes and show my true potential as im getting the support required , would i still have a chance despite having mitigating circumstances before?

sorry about asking too many questions im just stressed to see what the best option for me is and i really want to get VC despite having problems prior?

because i was also thinking about dropping out and starting uni next year if i cant secure anything or get a law job despite not getting good grades 😭

Yes, you will still have a chance. Dropping out of uni and starting uni again is not really going to be helpful unless you feel you are not in a position to get your grades up. It does not remove your 1st and 2nd year results, and even if you did drop out, those would still need to be included in an application form.

 

[Dyno]

Yes, you will still have a chance. Dropping out of uni and starting uni again is not really going to be helpful unless you feel you are not in a position to get your grades up. It does not remove your 1st and 2nd year results, and even if you did drop out, those would still need to be included in an application form.

oh okay thank you so much. what do u recommend me to do for me to do well in my third year and now?

also if i do include my mitigating circumstances, can the law firms still reject your application or is it up to them to decide whether ur MC are good enough?

 

[Jessica Booker]

oh okay thank you so much. what do u recommend me to do for me to do well in my third year and now?

also if i do include my mitigating circumstances, can the law firms still reject your application or is it up to them to decide whether ur MC are good enough?

Any application could be rejected for reasons outside of academic performance.

As previously mentioned, firms may also be hesitant to proceed with your application because they cannot determine you are on track for a 2.1/have the ability to perform at this level. However, this is only the current situation and if you got your third year grades up to a 2.1 then this would not be an issue.

Mental health and undiagnosed neurodiversity are taken seriously enough to be considered mitigating circumstances. But the firm cannot determine that without those circumstances you would have performed to a higher level, let alone what that higher level would have been.

 

[Dyno]

Any application could be rejected for reasons outside of academic performance.

As previously mentioned, firms may also be hesitant to proceed with your application because they cannot determine you are on track for a 2.1/have the ability to perform at this level. However, this is only the current situation and if you got your third year grades up to a 2.1 then this would not be an issue.

Mental health and undiagnosed neurodiversity are taken seriously enough to be considered mitigating circumstances. But the firm cannot determine that without those circumstances you would have performed to a higher level, let alone what that higher level would have been.

oh okay thank you so much

so do u recommend to apply to vac schemes this year despite not having the best grades or shall i wait until third year as most law firms want a 2:1?

 

[Jessica Booker]

oh okay thank you so much

so do u recommend to apply to vac schemes this year despite not having the best grades or shall i wait until third year as most law firms want a 2:1?

You can apply but you may find you have more success when applying once you have graduated/have your third year results.

I would personally recommend focusing on your academics and getting them in a strong position rather than investing lots of time into applications this cycle. You may want to consider firms/organisations who do not require a 2.1 or build up your experiences in other ways, such as through virtual programmes like those on Forage so your application is in the strongest position if you do decide to wait another 12 months before applying.

 

[Dyno]

You can apply but you may find you have more success when applying once you have graduated/have your third year results.

I would personally recommend focusing on your academics and getting them in a strong position rather than investing lots of time into applications this cycle. You may want to consider firms/organisations who do not require a 2.1 or build up your experiences in other ways, such as through virtual programmes like those on Forage so your application is in the strongest position if you do decide to wait another 12 months before applying.

There is firms that accept 2:2s?

 

[Jessica Booker]

There is firms that accept 2:2s?

Yes and other organisations like the Government Legal Department. There won't be many, but there will be some.