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Don't know how easy it is to find an answer to my question, but here it goes - are there any firms that often give their paralegals opportunities to convert to TC/recruit their trainees from mostly/some of their paralegal cohort? @Jessica Booker @Ram Sabaratnam @Andrei Radu
Hiya @marisachr
I think @Jessica Booker would likely have a better understanding of this, but wanted to get to you with some information.
From what I’ve seen, there definitely are firms that recruit most or all of their trainees from their paralegal cohort. I know of several strong litigation boutiques (e.g. Stewarts and Leigh Day) where the typical path to a training contract is through a paralegal role at the firm. I’m a bit less sure about how this plays out at transactionally focused firms, but during my assessment centres and vacation schemes, I’ve met various paralegals who were also currently working at those firms. That said, I think it's difficult to say with any certainty whether a specific firm recruits many trainees from its paralegal pool, since there's very little data on this.
One thing I would say is that paralegalling (even if it doesn’t lead to a TC at your current firm) can still be a great way into the profession. I’ve met a lot of paralegals who’ve gone on to secure training contracts elsewhere, often at firms with a similar profile or practice area focus. The experience you gain in these roles can be so helpful when you do apply for a TC later on.