DWL Clerkship Series 2020
DWL was pleased to launch its inaugural Clerkship Series in 2020 to assist Diverse Women applying for clerkships by offering professional development, mentoring and networking opportunities. The series comprised:
a succession of online events where panel discussions will be facilitated with representatives from leading commercial law firms
professional guidance on written clerkship applications
facilitating networking opportunities with members of the legal profession
Online Events
Cover Letter & CV Workshop
DWL hosted an opportunity for students to interact with firm representatives to gain knowledge on how to best prepare a written clerkship application.
Two panels were run, featuring recruitment representatives from various firms, with one panel focusing on cover letters and the second focused on CVs. In addition, a review service where a select number of students were given feedback on their resume and cover letter.
As clerkships are a competitive process, DWL aims to provide students without access to mentors and career advisors with the necessary assistance to make it through this process.
Introduction to Firm Culture
The firm culture series comprised two panels that ran in collaboration with different firms, allowing students to better understand what it is like to work at a firm of their choice, working as junior lawyer, and how diversity, inclusion and wellbeing is implemented in practice.
The first panel targeted at junior lawyers, and covered topics such as delegation, supervision and ongoing development opportunities.
The second panel focused on diversity and inclusion, and how this is implemented in practice.
Interviewing Tips
As the final segment of our tripartite Clerkships series, DWL facilitated two panels, featuring legal professionals, that provided students with knowledge on how to best prepare for the interview stage of the clerkship process. The panels featured mock interview recordings which formed the basis of targeted feedback and discussion between the panelllsts.
Development & Networking Opportunities
Written Application Review Program
As part of the Clerkship Series and ongoing engagement with students virtually, the DWL Mentoring Team facilitated an interactive series aimed at providing students with feedback on their written applications and connecting students with legal practitioners.
This program is intended to assist students who may lack connections and support within the legal industry to obtain guidance on the substance and form of their CV and/or cover letter. Students were provided with comments and feedback on their documents by a team of qualified lawyers and reviewers who have successfully navigated the clerkship process or legal sector.
Virtual Coffee Program
DWL paired 35 students applying for clerkships in NSW with a junior lawyer from a commercial law firm for a "virtual" coffee catch-up to engage in a candid conversation about the clerkship process and working in commercial law.
"It was great to hear a range of perspectives from each panellist, even though we were all viewing the same recordings! The positive encouragements, and the candid feedback as to how each mock applicant could have improved their responses was also really useful to consider, as I prepare for my own first-round interviews. Having sample recordings of DWL members who didn't necessarily look like your stereotypical law students, and reflected the diverse attendees was so refreshing!”
- Student Attendee
"The DWL Stand Out in Interview event was truly excellent, and hands down one of the most helpful DWL events I’ve attended thus far. What stood out to me most about this event was its practicality, similar to the previous cover letter and resume workshops. While it is good to hear generic advice, to actually see examples of candidates responding to other questions and hear the panel’s thoughts were incredibly useful. I also appreciated that we were hearing insights directly from recruitment at firms we have applied to. It was an excellent introduction to interviewing skills and I feel better equipped to tackle interviews. I would love to see a second installment of the event, looking at further questions and perhaps with more engagement with the audience’s questions. Thank you so much to DWL and the panel!”
- Student Attendee