Legal Graduates work experience during their Articles of Clerkship

Abstract

The purpose of this exploratory, quantitative study was to better understand the legal graduates transition from university to the workplace by exploring their work expectations upon entering the workplace for their Articles of Clerkship, their rating of actual work experience, and their supervisors’ experience working with them during the Articles of Clerkship. The study was conducted in the Legal Aid Board during January 2007, using questionnaires. The major findings were that for Legal graduates’ expectations of the workplace relating to the areas of career growth, structure, teamwork, expression, recognition, environment and balance were high. The actual work experience of the legal graduates in the last 12 month of their Articles of Clerkship indicated a positive experience relating to the areas of diversity, career growth, teamwork and environment, while indicating concerns regarding the areas of autonomy and recognition. The supervisors’ experience while supervising the legal graduate during the Articles of Clerkship was similar to the legal graduates’ experience with regards to placing importance on their ability to receive clear instructions on what to do, being able to utilise available resources, being a team player and taking the available opportunities to progress towards his / her professional goals. The findings indicate some concerns in relation to their Articles of Clerkship experience. The legal graduate experienced very low independence and freedom to make decisions about how to execute their job. They felt that acknowledgement and reward of good work was seriously lacking and that they were not able to share their opinions and feelings openly. They also felt that their commitments in terms of personal and professional goals were not fully understood and experienced by others. In the light of these findings the study recommends that these concerns could inform attempts to review and improve the Articles of Clerkship and initiate the development of institutional capacity to facilitate the Articles of Clerkship more effectively.