Future Lawyers Pathway

Why is early talent so important to DLA Piper?

Jon Hayes, Partner, Member of the Executive Committee: Fundamentally, we are a people business. We will continue to be a people business enhanced and enabled by AI and other technologies. But at the bottom line, we give to our clients peace of mind. We build trusting relationships with them, and we need new talent coming in. We need people more familiar with some of the changes going on in the world, and we need people who can rise with people who are rising at our clients.

My name is John Hayes. I'm a Corporate Partner, and I sit on the firm's global executive committee.

Why is now an exciting time to join DLA Piper?

I think we are an exciting place to be at an exciting time because we've always been a firm that embraces change and drives change. The world is moving at a phenomenal pace right now.

We've got amazing wealth of technological innovation coming through, and we are a firm that is looking to shape change, benefit from it, drive it, and I think the talent that we recruit defines our future opportunities and prospects.

What should graduates look for when choosing a law firm?

There are lots of great law firms, and I think what you need to ask yourself is, was I having fun when I spent time there? Do I think it's a place where I could enjoy being me? Have I met people that have looked for a connection with me? Is it a place where I feel I can be me? We hire young people because we need them.

I think it is recognizing the constant value of cognitive diversity, of having lots of people coming into the firm from many different backgrounds, and it is a core part of our culture that we should support each other and collaborate.

Molly: Hi, I am Molly. I work in the Early Careers team here at DLA Piper.

Kathleen: I'm Kathleen. I work in the Early Careers Talent Acquisition team here at DLA Piper.

Molly: When you're submitting an application form, the number one thing is to make sure you proofread your application before you submit it.

You’ve spent so long on it and it's really frustrating to submit it and realize that you've spelt something wrong.

It's really important for us to make sure that the lawyers we recruit have really great attention to detail.

Kathleen: A big thing would be – do your research to really understand why you're applying to DLA Piper.

Molly: Know the firm. Know what we're about.

Kathleen: We obviously know that you want to work in the legal industry, but what specifically stands out about us as a firm.

Molly: Once you've spent some time doing that, I'd recommend getting your application submitted. Get a draft up and really take time to work through that.

Kathleen: So if you do attend one of our assessment centres, my top tips would be to really try and be yourself.

Molly: The most important thing to do at an assessment centre is to be yourself.

Kathleen: Don't try and answer questions the way that you think the interviewer wants to hear them. They're really looking for that authentic person and who you are.

Molly: We'll be out on campus, attending lots of events, working with lots of different societies across universities, up and down the country, and across the world.

So come and meet us. That's the best opportunity for you to find out about who we are and to really reinforce the reasons why you want to work with us.

Kathleen: We also have an Instagram page. That's DLA Piper Careers.

Molly: You can find out all about where we are on campus, the opportunities, applications, openings, closing, and lots of other exciting content.

 

Trainee: The main thing I've learnt from my experiences at DLA Piper is how interconnected our world really is.

Our world is growing and so globalized now. It only made sense for me to start my career somewhere that is global at heart.

Trainee: It is a global law firm. So at the junior level that means you can do international secondments to work for six months in another country, which sounds ideal to me.

Trainee: What really drew me to DLA Piper was the firm's One UK Policy, which is the policy that work is shared collaboratively across all of the UK offices.

Even though I'm based in a regional office, I still have access to opportunities to work on really high-profile, really exciting matters and projects, even from a regional base.

Trainee: Obviously, coming into a job like this there's a huge amount of imposter syndrome that can come with it.

But I think with how supported you are at DLA Piper, that can help overcome that.

They're there to give you those little pushes which you might feel too scared to take on your own.

Trainee: There are so many opportunities to just put your hand up and ask to get involved in things. So whether that's saying, oh, Could I write an article for website? Could I get involved in this pro bono work?

Trainee: I wasn't a law student, I say with some pride. I did history.

Trainee: There's no one route into law and you don't have to fit a certain mold to become a lawyer.

I, for example, did a philosophy degree. I found that in applications and interviews I had so much to talk about because those were things that I was genuinely interested in.

Trainee: So I did politics, philosophy and economics at university. Initially, I was also a bit hesitant about choosing this career because it's quite different to the kind of things I did in my undergraduate degree.

Trainee: And a firm like DLA Piper especially really values broad perspectives and different backgrounds.

Trainee: The skills you have learned from your undergraduate degree are so transferrable to what we do as a firm, and what the industry does in general.

Trainee: They're really good at developing the softer skills which contribute to a good career. I've learned a lot about the sort of lawyer I want to be.

Trainee: DLA Piper has a really friendly, inclusive culture. That's something that's been really evident as a trainee. Even really senior partners will come over to you, will have a chat with you and that makes such a difference.

Trainee: Another thing that stood out to me about DLA Piper was their commitment to pro bono.

Trainee: The pro bono and sustainability work throughout the firm is etched from the very top to the very bottom.

And things like economic development, ensuring a just and equitable climate transition – these things run throughout the firm.

Trainee: I really got the sense that it wasn't just lip service, that they actually meant what they said, and it was very value driven.

Trainee: And it's specific initiatives.

Trainee: So the Manchester office is partnered with a nonprofit organization called Hope for Justice, which supports victims of human trafficking and modern slavery.

Trainee: When I was a trainee, I got really, really involved with Project Ukraine. We basically went out to try to give legal information to people trying to come to the UK.

There was no way that you could do any work like that anywhere else. And I loved it! And I ended up doing 300 cases or so.

Trainee: I've worked on the Carbon Tax Model Rule for the Commonwealth, assisting, drafting policy guidance for them. Even though, you know, it’s completely aside from my area of practice.

It's something that I got involved with because it's something the firm was doing that I'm interested in. And I felt like if I could add value.

Trainee: You go and you feel as though you're helping people in quite a direct way.

Trainee: It's law, which involves human beings, rather than abstract principles.

Trainee: And I don't think there are many other careers that can offer that. And there are not many other firms that can offer that either.