Protégé: In-house over private practice? There’s a lot to think about

New graduates wanting to branch into the in-house legal space right from the get-go are told to try other avenues first, but if they play their cards right and get started with experience quickly, there is a way to skip over all the extra pathways.

In this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Naomi Neilson is joined by Wayne Clarke, who sits on the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) law student and graduate committee and is also associate director of legal at Cognizant. We chat about how really new graduates can get started in an in-house career. 

A lot of the statistics point to in-house lawyers getting into private practice before jumping over, but under a new ACC initiative and with some careful planning, it may be possible for new lawyers to get straight into the work they actually want to do. 

In this episode, Wayne talks about why in-house has become such a thriving area of law for graduates – especially post-COVID – and the advantages of choosing this area to plan a career in over the traditional private practice path. 

We also talk about the opportunities law students should be taking almost immediately into their studies to stand out from the other applicants, which sized team and corporation are the best fit and how to ace the interviews. 

“Try and be a bit more strategic with the work experience you go for. Particularly if you’re lucky enough to be doing a double degree and have a non-law degree that could work to your advantage. I think that’s something that’s always going to be fairly regarded. We want to see more than just the lawyer you are, we want to see the whole package,” Wayne said. 

If you have any questions about the episode or if there are any topics that you might want us to look into, please reach out – we would love to hear from you! 

We’re also always open to new guests so if you have an exciting story to tell, if you’re standing out as a student or graduate, or if you can offer some tips for our young lawyers, get in touch. 

You can reach us here:

Emails: editor@lawyersweekly.com.au or naomi.neilson@momentummedia.com.au

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