Leveraging the effects of the pandemic

Insights of a legal intern

Tayler Berridge-Smith*

This content was provided by LexisNexis.

The transition from law school to legal practise is never seamless. It is an experience which is shadowed by anxiety, stress, and imposter syndrome.

But it is also an exciting transition, which brings with it so many opportunities for growth, learning, and development - both for graduates, and the wider legal industry.

The malleability and fresh perspective offered by graduates is extremely beneficial, especially when learning to adapt to the impacts of the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic.

Students are used to learning and adapting – they have spent the last 4 years (at least) soaking in and applying information. They have learned to excel in online learning, which requires initiative, perseverance, and commitment. While working independently at home, students have also had to discover how to stay connected and supported.

Due to the continuing effects of the pandemic, many barristers are now working flexibly and taking advantage of virtual communication. Graduates therefore bring a unique perspective to the evolving legal industry, and if you take the time to tap into their knowledge and experience, you may revolutionise your legal practice.

Barristers need to make the most of their time, effort, and energy, in the Covid-19 landscape. The following paragraphs may offer some guidance for them.

Stay connected

Staying in touch is critical, whether you are interacting with solicitors, clients, or junior barristers. In my own experience completing my law degree online and working virtually as a law clerk, regular and consistent communication has been key to my productivity.

Take advantage of the technology which is available to you. Utilising emails, skype, or zoom for quick messages and regular meetings helps you stay engaged and protects you from the isolation that can come from being a barrister-sole working at home.

If you are contacted, be sure to reply as quickly as possible. While in the pre-pandemic world, it might have been necessary to prioritise your workload over replying to an email, it is more important than ever to be prompt and connected. It is crucial that you engage effectively with people in your legal practice, especially when you have less face-to-face contact with clients and colleagues.

As barristers, you are used to operating independently, but the impacts of this can be exacerbated by the pandemic. It is important to use technology to hear people’s voices and see their faces, not only for the accuracy of the conversation, but for your own social support needs also.

Ask yourself: Is it the most effective option, or is it just tradition?

Flexible working provides a unique opportunity to reevaluate how you carry out your work and how you organise your resources.

It is likely that working from home gives you limited access to printing and storing physical documents, but it has also inspired you to be more tech savvy and to utilise digital tools.

There are a raft of technology tools and platforms available to assist in the transition to operating in a technically driven world. Throughout university we are exposed to the major suppliers of online technology. However I personally recommend LexisNexis due to the ease of navigation, introductory tools such as Practical Guidance, and the speed and regularity with which LexisNexis updates their database.

More importantly, LexisNexis offers very supportive and interactive training programmes, which are delivered either through webinars, online portals, tailormade one-on-one either in person or online, or in video form on their Knowledge Network, which means any questions you have can be answered quickly and in a style that works for you.

Be open to feedback and advice

Everyone is going through this pandemic together, which means everyone is learning and adapting together. You never know what systems and protocols other people have in place to make their lives easier and to take advantage of flexible working. Those systems could be equally beneficial for you, and you get to skip the trial and error that they might have experienced.

My experience working with LexisNexis has shown me the importance of accepting, and giving, feedback. I have grown as an intern, and as a future lawyer, by accepting and applying every bit of guidance that was offered to me. The teams at LexisNexis have also been very open to making changes in response to my feedback and fresh perspective, so I have tangible evidence of how this willingness to learn can help improve internal practices.

If you work closely with a solicitor, ask them what works for them and their firm, and how they like to collaborate. This can give you some different ideas about how to operate.

Once you have completed work with a client, be sure to get their feedback and find out what they enjoyed, or would have changed, about your service – particularly within the Covid-19 landscape. This will give you a better insight into what you need to improve and will enable you to successfully implement solutions.

If you work with junior barristers, seek out their recommendations and advice. They bring a unique, more objective perspective to your practice, and may have some helpful tips and tricks.

In conclusion, we are all coping with the realities of being “pandemic lawyers” and delivering the trade we love in new ways. As I have outlined, make an active effort to stay connected, consider ways in which you could revolutionise your workstyle, and never be afraid to ask for advice or feedback.

I am very excited to continue my legal career, and to take full advantage of legal technology, both in response to the pandemic, and ongoing. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have gone behind the scenes of LexisNexis to understand how they continue to respond to the evolving demands of the legal industry and drive forward in supporting the “Rule of Law”.

*Tayler Berridge-Smith, LexisNexis Summer Clerk, 2021

Disclaimer- This article is presented by LexisNexis on behalf of the author. The opinions may not represent the opinions of LexisNexis. This document is for educational purposes only.