This post is part of a paid partnership with the Commercial Law Academy.
–
It’s no secret that commercial law is a competitive industry to get into. Like, suuuuuuper competitive! I’ve talked about the fact it took me a wee while to obtain my training contract a few times but, basically, I had no links to the industry and really felt the full force of the ‘information gap’ as a barrier to entry. But happily, there are SO many great resources around to remedy that for applicants, these days. Enter stage left: The Commercial Law Academy.
I’m sure lots of you will have heard of Jake Schogger and the Commercial Law Academy but, just in case, Jake is an ex-city lawyer who wrote a series of guides (the City Career Series) to help aspiring solicitors, followed by setting up the Commercial Law Academy, an e-learning platform aiming to get you up to speed with everything you need to know about the industry.
The academy contains 15 courses, each with 25-30 ‘lessons’ (some free ‘tasters’, others subscription-only) featuring a variety of interactive learning styles – video, quizzes, etc.
The 15 courses are split between what I like to call ‘buckets’ – 1) applications, 2) commercial awareness, and 3) professional skills. So, the Commercial Law Academy is really there to support your career on an on-going basis, even once you start training!
After having a snoop around, some things that I particularly like about the Commercial Law Academy are:
- The content all comes from a place of experience. Jake really knows his stuff and trained at a Magic Circle firm, so you can be assured that all of the content is based on reliable, credible info.
- The courses really do cover everything you need to know as an aspiring solicitor. Some of my faves are: “Tackling Psychometric Tests”; “Succeeding During Internships” (Jake and I have even hosted webinars on this topic, actually!); and “Legal Tech” (which includes a demo of how automation is used – super handy for helping you understand how it could actually be used in the firms/departments you’re interested in).
- Jake hosts a Q&A session once a month – and I’m told subscribers have previously shared an application of theirs for Jake to screenshare and review with everyone, allowing everyone to benefit! Literally, if 22 year-old- me could have been a fly on the wall!! This sort of super detailed insight is exactly what you need to give your applications that edge.
- Jake also hosts monthly commercial awareness wrap-ups with Peter Watson, from Watsons Daily. These are all available to watch on demand, and free for anyone to attend! Not that I want to encourage you to be lazy, or anything, but… if it was me building my commercial awareness, I’d love something I can tune into once a month, rather than having to carve out time each day!
- Your progress through the academy is all trackable, and at the end you’ll even receive a certificate! Every little helps for the ol’ CV, right?!
- The focus of the academy is on giving you the tools you need to go away and nail those applications, interviews, and lawyer life, for yourself – it’s basically an investment in you & your career.
- It’s really affordable!
Essentially if you’re an aspiring lawyer looking for a one-stop-shop solution, I think this particular platform is pretty great.
And the faaaab news is that Jake has also been kind enough to give us a discount code! Use LAWWITHSOPHIE for 15% off – membership is normally £9.99 a month so, with the discount code, it’s only £8.50 a month. That’s less than one mediocre supermarket bottle of wine a month!! I don’t know about you but I think that’s a right bargain, and this is EXACTLY the sort of thing I wish was around when I was an applicant!
You can sign up to the Commercial Law Academy here.
Enjoy and any questions, let me know!
Sophie
x