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In contrast to the response below, my view of work experience is that it is essential to the student and potentially very valuable to the employer. Throughout my degree (17-odd years ago now), I obtained work experience in all of the holidays. This ranged from a small two-office market town practice (where I was paid £100 a week during the summer to sit in on client interviews or behind counsel at court, conduct legal research and write a first draft of a will) to a large provincial firm (where there was an organised programme of tasks for their work experience students in what was effectively an extended job interview). Having qualified and eventually become the recruiter rather than the recruitee, I can’t think of one person I have employed who didn’t have some form of work experience. Without it applicants were far more likely to be wannabe Ally McBeal or Suits-types, rather than having some idea of the reality of practice. When we have work experience students, we always try to get them doing something productive – it’s a waste of their time and mine to have them making tea or photocopying.

I may be lucky in the experiences that I have had but the quality of an applicant’s work experience can always be assessed at interview to see if they are over-egging the pudding.

With the advent of the SQE, I would say some form of experience will be even more important to weed out those lucky enough to have just rocked up and passed the multiple choice exam.