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How to start your career in IT law

  • Writer: Nadine Rinderknecht
    Nadine Rinderknecht
  • Oct 29, 2022
  • 8 min read

Updated: Mar 16


Discover practical strategies for entering the IT law market already as a Bachelor's or Master's student. Learn how to impress employers and continuously advance your career.


Level: beginner



Entering the professional world of IT law is not as scary as you might think. Just read this blog post... 😉
Entering the professional world of IT law is not as scary as you might think. Just read this blog post... 😉




Content




Starting point


Are you still in your Bachelor's degree or have you just started your Master's degree and are interested in IT law? Maybe you are even planning to apply for a job in this field (e.g., at a law firm or chair at uni specializing in IT law)? Great decision! IT law is one of the most fascinating areas of law (maybe I'm biased). It's constantly evolving as technology presents new legal challenges. And it becomes more and more important in our digital world.


However, from my own experience, I can say that it can be quite difficult to open the very first door and get a job in such a specialized field. Your interest (or perhaps even your passion?) in IT law is remarkable but this alone might not convince an employer –because you have to prove your interest. However, a Bachelor of Law program usually only covers the legal basics. Hardly any (or no) lectures are offered in IT law. And even if you are an early Master's student, you probably won't have attended many modules in IT law. But it's often these modules that employers take as a strong indication of your interests and can open the door to your first job in IT law.


Don't be discouraged! There are many other ways to get involved with IT law outside of university. It's not too early to start this journey today... No, you don't have to be in the Master's program or have recently graduated. Don't waste your time waiting. Instead, take the initiative and start with the first steps towards your career in IT law.





Step 1: Start easily with "barrier-free" activities



It's best to start with activities that have little or no "barriers to entry". These are, in principle, open to all students and don't require any previous knowledge or experience. In some cases, however, you'll need to demonstrate a genuine interest by writing a letter of motivation or some other form of application.


Here you can find examples of "barrier-free" activities (examples are tailored to students of the University of Zurich):

  • Modules: Attend some of the few modules also open to Bachelor's students, e.g., the Studium Digitale from the School for Transdisciplinary Studies at the University of Zurich.

  • Bachelor's thesis: Some IT law seminars at the University of Zurich are also offered to Bachelor's students. It's true that you'll have to learn a new area of law yourself. Be different from the people who might be deterred – and do it anyway. This will give you a good competitive advantage by showing potential employers that you're genuinely interested and willing to go the extra mile.

  • Online courses: Participate in online courses via Coursera or directly via universities, e.g., the Blockchain Online Course from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

  • Summer/winter school: Attend a summer/winter school, e.g., from ELSA Law Schools or attend Deep Dive into Blockchain at the University of Zurich.

  • Student association: Join a student association in (legal) tech, such as SLTA Student Chapter Zurich or NEO Network.

  • Own initiatives: Start your own initiatives like a website/blog about IT law. Creating a website is very easy nowadays with website builders (I used Wix for this website and it's as easy as creating a PowerPoint presentation).

  • IAPP certificates: Get certificates from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). I recommend starting with the CIPP/E (Certified Information Privacy Professional/Europe) which is essentially about EU data protection law. Other important certificates are CIPM (Certified Information Privacy Manager) and CIPT (Certified Information Privacy Technologist). Consider, however, that these certificates are quite demanding. If you don't yet have advanced knowledge, see it as a worthwhile challenge. They are highly respected in legal practice.


As you can see, many activities are already open to (bachelor) students. Take the initiative and just do it!




Step 2: Create your competitive advantage



Now you can start phase two: Applying for competitive activities such as a job in an IT law firm. You'll see that with your “barrier-free” activities, you may even surpass master's students or recent graduates who have no IT legal background at all. From an employer's perspective, it can appear impressive when someone:

  • deals with IT law and emerging technologies at such an early age,

  • takes the initiative to gain additional knowledge outside the curriculum, and

  • can acquire complex knowledge on their own.


Make employers aware of your good qualities and place them prominently in your cover letter and CV. Taking the initiative and showing interest and motivation are very important qualities, especially for newbies who don't yet have a lot of achievements to show.




Step 3: Master the art of CV humility


Opening the first door is the most difficult step. After that, (almost) everything turns out on its own.

You are now in the comfortable position that you have gained a relatively large amount of experience and knowledge for your young age. I can tell you that the "barrier-free" and competitive activities have probably opened many more doors for you. For example, you can apply for a Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS), as these usually require a certain amount of work experience.


However, don't underestimate the situation by relying too much on your CV. You're great CV is only a facilitator that has opened doors for you. But you still have to convince the person standing in front of the door (the employer) to let you in. So put all your energy into your applications.


This applies to further education (e.g., CAS), LLM programs, jobs, and any other competitive activities. Reduce the number of applications, but increase your efforts for each and every application. This also means that it's helpful to know what you want in life and only apply if you are extremely interested.


People tend to focus on many applications. But people who focus all their energy on a single application and go the extra mile are almost always preferred over those who focus on quantity. Plus: As a highly specialized person, there are probably only a few employers who would fit your profile. This basically leaves you no choice but to put all your energy into one or a few applications. So here's what I usually do: I find my target employer. One that inspires me and that I would love to work for. One that could be my "perfect match". Next, I'm looking for other employers that I can either apply to if my target employer has rejected me, or where I can practice my interview skills before applying to my target employer.


One of the most important things you should spend your energy on is personalizing your application in terms of...


Mindset: Don't just focus on your knowledge. It's more effective to connect with people through their mindset. At the end of the day, people simply want to find like-minded peers. This is especially true for highly specialized people as it's difficult to find similarly specialized people. So what kind of mentality can be expected in IT law? Although law tends to be a fairly traditional field, IT law is often (but not always!) practiced by people with a more forward-thinking mindset. It's about a drive for change (and not doing things the way they have always been done), a passion for technological development, thinking outside the box for a better future, and sometimes even a visionary mindset. If there's no indication that the person reading your application has a more traditional mindset, try to demonstrate this forward-thinking mind too. Be bold. Stand out. Be anything but traditional. However, be careful not to get lost in your creativity. Remember that the purpose of your application is to convince someone to give you something. If you can achieve this goal in a more effective and user-friendly way using modern means, you win. The only exception is if they specify how to apply (e.g., via an online form on their website). In this case, unfortunately, there is not much leeway, but you can still focus on the next two points.


Style: Inform yourself about the activity or job, e.g., on their website. Analyse. Analyse. Analyse. Personalize your application using typical words. You could even end your application with a catchy pun using their typical words. Adapt the design (quite modern vs. cutting-edge design), your writing style (formal vs. informal tone), and use a similar font and color palette – but don't make it too obvious. You already know that you're one of them, but they don't know it yet. So show them.


Length: Aadapt the length of your applications based on these two scenarios. Scenario A: More is more. For example, if a professor says you must write at least 250 words on why you want to attend a course, write no less than 280 words. Look at it from the reader's perspective: A superficiality of a few sentences can be perceived as a lack of interest. I have experienced something similar when I had to find a subtenant for my flat. An applicant just wrote, "Hi, I'm interested in the flat for subletting. Is it still available? Have a nice day”. Given the choice between this applicant and a person who briefly describes themselves and explains why they would be a good tenant, most will probably choose the latter, regardless of the polite language of the first. Scenario B: Less is more. Concise statements are a successful strategy, especially outside of school and university (e.g. when applying for a job). If a potential employer sets a maximum number of words, that's an important indicator that you should keep it as short as possible.


However, don't forget to remain authentic. Find a good balance between authenticity and personalization. Again, this is why you should focus on your target employer so that you only have to personalize the little things but can remain authentic at the core.





Step 4: Become a generalist with a specialism



Specialization at a young age brings a considerable competitive advantage but also the risk of getting lost in it. You're still young and there are a thousand other interesting areas within and outside law (keyword: interdisciplinary thinking).


Even if IT law has perhaps already become a passion and you know that this is "your" field, try to become a stronger generalist. Perhaps you'll discover another area of law in which you want to become an expert as well. Or possibly other areas of law simply inspire you. Or they allow you to see the big picture. And that allows you to think outside the box within IT law. This powerful combination of general and specific knowledge can lead to a problem being precisely named and outlined (if you don't delimit the problem accurately, your solution risks missing the problem). And it enables you to see non-obvious solutions. This is extremely valuable if you plan to write innovative papers or engage in any other activities that demand effective problem-solving.


So remain a specialist, but broaden your perspective from time to time.




Now, start your journey in IT law! 😎







Hello, I'm Nadine Rinderknecht

Founder of Blankpage. Experience in academia and law firms. Master of Law (University of Zurich) and other stuff.

Connect with me on LinkedIn.




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