Though it’s been months since I attended an open day at Bristows in Embankment, I decided to take my reflections and put them here now that this website has given me the chance to. I dipped my toe in the water, so to speak, when I previously attended Clifford Chance, which inspired me to continue the law firm hunt! I felt very fortunate when my application to attend Bristows was accepted. And another excuse to buy a networking outfit - even better! Haha.
I also had an interest in Bristows’ known, reputed involvement in areas of digital technology and communications. Of course, before you attend a law firm, you have to research them extensively, and when I did I found that their clients include Google, the BBC and Samsung. Heavy players in the media industry!
My impressions carried on in good spirits when I finally arrived at the large doors of Unilever House on 100 Victoria Embankment.
*Hot tip to fellow law students:* Always show up 15-20 minutes early for any event, because you might get delayed or lost on the way...as I did, thinking I would find a building that said Bristows in big letters, not realising that they share their office with other business practices. The building itself though is a beautiful piece of architecture, like a huge, striking curve along the embankment.
I don’t remember much about entering the offices, because I was so nervous! But I know I was greeted warmly when I said my name to reception, and I was soon in front of the presenters.
I remember that in one of the presentations, the lady addressing us talked about a case they represented involving Cadbury in the dispute about the shape of the KitKat chocolate bar. Considering that KitKat is a Nestle product, it makes sense that the case was high-profile, and I was really interested in how they got the Court of Justice to agree with their arguments. They also talked about the history of Bristows and who they represent and why. She talked us through ‘seats’ and how the application process for becoming a trainee involves a video interview stage.
As someone who is still building my confidence with public speaking, the idea of an interview - whether it’s face-to-face or in front of a webcam - still sends shivers down my spine. As you might have guessed from this blog, I’m pretty comfortable expressing myself through the written word. For me, it was very important to have the interview stages described in-depth so I can focus on practicing my answers and presenting myself well.
There was a lot of information to digest in those presentations - luckily myself and all of the other attendees received a generous welcome pack which included a lovely Bristows notepad.
Once the presentations were over, it was time to network with students and employees over wine and crudités. I look back on it and laugh a little when I picture a lovely gentlemen pouring a glass of white wine for me, and I, not having a taste for wine at all, trained myself to think ‘This is what lawyers do; I have to get used to this.’ I had to disguise my squirms with every sip I took.
It’s funny how common sense dictates that it takes top grades, work experience and network-building to become a lawyer, but social anxiety knocks on your brain and says, “You have to drink wine and look sophisticated!” Haha.
I got to chatting with a trainee at the firm who didn’t study law, and while that’s not uncommon, it also always takes me back a step. I think about how ironic it is to be applying myself to such a challenging degree - and it is really hard, there’s no denying that - when there are other people at magic circle law firms (who of course worked very hard to get where they are) but also never did the same (?) Alas, that is the truth outside of my bubble! There are people at Bristows who came from backgrounds in science and media, but they gained their skills from teamwork and problem-solving.
The rest of the evening was really pleasant and relaxed...so you could say the wine helped for something after all, haha. I met another girl who happened to be at the same university as me, studying the same course! To think we only crossed paths outside of Westminster.
I walked away from that evening with many more LinkedIn connections, more information about how to stand out to big law firms, and, most importantly, a renewed ambition to work hard and network, network, network!
It was a very well-structured open day that flowed well and provided insight to everyone there. The optimist in me would say that I look forward to coming back one day!