Falling Out of Love With Law? The Hidden Legal Careers Every Lawyer Should Know - Samuel McGinty - S10E40

I want to go now to somewhere which I know you're very passionate about and, and, and really why we were quite keen to hold today's discussions, what we're sort of labeling hidden legal careers.

'Cause you speak very passionately about how the local government, you've been touching on it on some of your answers previously, and indeed universities are often overlooked as career destinations.

So why do you think specifically these sectors receive less attention than other roles in private practice?

I think there's two elements to it.

So, so one is, is money.

Um-

Yep

... you're not gonna earn the amount in a public or charitable body as you would working for a big corporate.

And the second, uh, thing, which is kind of linked to that, is that if you're working for a big corporate, you get to say, "I work for a big corporate," a household name.

It's, it's sexy.

Um, I think what's the problem with that is, is that neither of those things talk to the quality of the work, the quality of the environment, the, the ability to work, um, within a, with a team of people.

And I've worked in legal teams that there's been five or six of us, and I've worked in legal teams where there's been 70 of us.

And obviously culture can appear at, at different levels.

Um, and, uh, and will manifest differently within big teams and small teams and sub-teams.

But across all of the different environments and team sizes I've worked in, the quality of the work is so, so high, so interesting, it's so stimulating.

You know, it's a cliché when people say no two days are the same.

It, it, it's true.

There is always something new coming across the desk.

But I do think when you go, you trace it back to law school and you've got law firms who are funded to come in, who have got funding to come in and do talks and try and win students over, none of us in quasi public sector bodies have got that money, got that budget to do it.

And that's where some of these representative bodies that are around these different sectors come into play.

But again, they're limited with funding too.

Well, let's hope the Legally Speaking podcast and yourself [laughs] we can bang the drum to, to raise that visibility ultimately to give people, um, you know, access to, to new opportunities.

So diving down deeper then on, on what you're sharing, I can see that you're passionate about the work you do.

You like the opportunities.

But to maybe give a few more tangibles to people, what opportunities do these legal roles in the council and higher education offer to solicitors that perhaps they can't get or just different to the traditional private practice?

I want to go now to somewhere which I know you're very passionate about and, and, and really why we were quite keen to hold today's discussions, what we're sort of labeling hidden legal careers.

'Cause you speak very passionately about how the local government, you've been touching on it on some of your answers previously, and indeed universities are often overlooked as career destinations.

So why do you think specifically these sectors receive less attention than other roles in private practice?

I think there's two elements to it.

So, so one is, is money.

Um-

Yep

... you're not gonna earn the amount in a public or charitable body as you would working for a big corporate.

And the second, uh, thing, which is kind of linked to that, is that if you're working for a big corporate, you get to say, "I work for a big corporate," a household name.

It's, it's sexy.

Um, I think what's the problem with that is, is that neither of those things talk to the quality of the work, the quality of the environment, the, the ability to work, um, within a, with a team of people.

And I've worked in legal teams that there's been five or six of us, and I've worked in legal teams where there's been 70 of us.

And obviously culture can appear at, at different levels.

Um, and, uh, and will manifest differently within big teams and small teams and sub-teams.

But across all of the different environments and team sizes I've worked in, the quality of the work is so, so high, so interesting, it's so stimulating.

You know, it's a cliché when people say no two days are the same.

It, it, it's true.

There is always something new coming across the desk.

But I do think when you go, you trace it back to law school and you've got law firms who are funded to come in, who have got funding to come in and do talks and try and win students over, none of us in quasi public sector bodies have got that money, got that budget to do it.

And that's where some of these representative bodies that are around these different sectors come into play.

But again, they're limited with funding too.

Well, let's hope the Legally Speaking podcast and yourself [laughs] we can bang the drum to, to raise that visibility ultimately to give people, um, you know, access to, to new opportunities.

So diving down deeper then on, on what you're sharing, I can see that you're passionate about the work you do.

You like the opportunities.

But to maybe give a few more tangibles to people, what opportunities do these legal roles in the council and higher education offer to solicitors that perhaps they can't get or just different to the traditional private practice?