Key law career questions
updated on 02 September 2024
Key questions
Why should I choose law over other professions?
What skills and strengths do you need to be a good lawyer?
How important are grades at A level and uni?
Should I go to university or try one of the new routes, such as an apprenticeship?
Why are vacation schemes so important?
How do I go about getting legal work experience?
Do law firms prefer candidates to have a law degree?
How much longer will it take to qualify if I choose a non-law undergraduate degree?
What do I need to know about the postgraduate law courses?
Are postgraduate law courses expensive? Do I have to pay for them myself?
Have all lawyers been to private school and Oxbridge?
Is the role of lawyers essentially the same in all law firms and chambers?
How can my careers service help me?
Why should I choose law over other professions?
Don’t pursue a legal career for the sake of it or because you’ve heard that it pays well; you must have a passion to be a lawyer to succeed. Do you find law interesting? Is there a particular area of law that’s caught your attention? Are you the kind of person who’d thrive in a legal environment? The best way to find out whether law is for you is by doing some work experience.
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What skills and strengths do you need to be a good lawyer?
Several core skills are needed to be a good lawyer – many of them you can hone through your academic studies and work experience. The strengths that legal recruiters look for include:
- intellectual ability;
- motivation;
- resilience;
- accuracy/attention to detail;
- teamwork;
- leadership;
- problem solving;
- commercial awareness; and
- communication skills.
If you have the majority of these, law could be a good choice for you!
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What is commercial awareness?
Law firms want their lawyers to be ‘commercially aware’, but what does this mean? In essence, lawyers deal with more than just the law. They must understand their clients’ business/ personal circumstances and the market/environment in which they operate. Commercially aware lawyers are proactive in spotting and suggesting solutions to potential problems for the client. As a student, you’re not expected to be an expert – commercial awareness at this level isn’t the same as for an experienced lawyer. Firms are looking for a combination of basic knowledge, common sense, interest and enthusiasm for commercial matters, and, most importantly, the ability and willingness to ‘think business’.
For more information, take a look at the Commercial awareness hub, sponsored by Mayer Brown International LLP.
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How important are grades at A level and uni?
Law is an intellectually rigorous career, which is why some firms and chambers require excellent academics. It’s therefore important that you get the best grades you possibly can. That said, many firms are adopting contextual recruitment systems like upReach’s REALrating, which look beyond grades to contextualise academic performance, highlighting candidates they may otherwise miss.
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Should I go to university or try one of the new routes, such as an apprenticeship?
Some lawyers begin their careers immediately after leaving school by taking the apprenticeship route. This enables aspiring lawyers to learn ‘on the job’ in a paid role, with time allocated for study each week. Solicitor apprenticeships also allow those with A levels to qualify as a solicitor without going to university, while there are other kinds of apprenticeships for candidates at different stages, including paralegal, CILEX Lawyer and graduate solicitor apprenticeships. See The Law Apprenticeships Guide for more information.
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Why are vacation schemes so important?
Getting work experience at law firms is often an essential aspect of securing a training contract. Vacation schemes (usually run during university holidays) provide an opportunity for you to find out about not only the law, but also individual firms. At the same time, many firms rely on vacation schemes to figure out which candidates they want to take on as trainees, so getting on a scheme is a great chance to impress and secure a place on a firm’s training contract.
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How do I go about getting legal work experience?
As above, vacation schemes are a great way to learn more about the profession. You can see a comprehensive list of opportunities on LawCareers.Net’s Vacation scheme deadlines page. That said, you’re not restricted to these structured programmes – you could get a day or two shadowing a trainee or lawyer simply by writing speculatively to firms/chambers you’re interested in or which are local to you. You could also get involved with university pro bono schemes or legal advice centres, such as the Citizens Advice Bureau. All these experiences provide a valuable introduction to the types of work and client relationships that lawyers are involved with every day. Plus, if the experience meets the qualifying work experience (QWE) requirements, you could use it to count towards the two years’ experience needed to qualify.
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Do law firms prefer candidates to have a law degree?
Most firms are looking to recruit a balance of law and non-law graduates – in fact, roughly half of solicitors are from non-law backgrounds. Studying another subject at university may also help to make you a more well-rounded individual. So, if you have a burning desire to study English literature but think you might want a career as a lawyer, it’s fine to do English at university and complete a law conversion afterwards. The postgraduate conversion course squeezes the essential elements of a qualifying law degree into one year. While a law conversion isn’t a requirement for non-law graduates qualifying via the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE), it’s still recommended and most law firms will continue to require their non-law trainees to take one prior to starting SQE prep and the training contract with the firm. There are also several new non-law specific SQE preparation courses that have been developed, as well as conversion courses that incorporate elements of SQE prep. You can then complete further SQE preparation before sitting SQE1 and SQE2. For aspiring barristers, after taking the law conversion, you’ll join the law graduates on the Bar course, followed by a pupillage in a set of chambers. But note: traditional academic subjects (eg, history or sciences) are favoured over more modern options (eg, media studies or drama).
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How much longer will it take to qualify if I choose a non-law undergraduate degree?
It only takes one year longer to qualify if you choose a degree other than law (if studying full time). After graduating, you’ll complete a law conversion that covers the key parts of a law degree, before progressing onto the SQE (this could involve taking a non-law specific SQE prep course, depending on the education provider and course you choose) or Bar course.
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What do I need to know about the postgraduate law courses?
In brief, before you start either the training contract/QWE (solicitor) or pupillage (barrister), you must complete the compulsory vocational stage (SQE assessments for solicitors, and Bar course and exams for barristers). While it isn’t technically required for aspiring solicitors to complete an SQE preparation course before taking the SQE assessments, it’s unlikely that QWE alone will develop the skills and knowledge needed to pass. SQE prep courses differ in length depending on the provider and course content, with options to complete the courses part time, full time or via distance learning. Meanwhile, Bar courses are usually one-year courses, but can be done over two years, part time or by distance learning (depending on the provider).
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What's the SQE?
The SRA introduced the SQE in 2021 to replace the Legal Practice Course (LPC) as the assessments that all solicitors must pass to qualify. It’s designed to ensure that all qualified solicitors are of the same high standard, regardless of the route (eg, university or apprenticeship) they take to get there. Unlike the Graduate Diploma in Law and LPC, the SQE isn’t a course but a series of exams divided into two stages – SQE1 and SQE2. Check LawCareers.Net’s dedicated SQE hub, sponsored by The University of Law, for the latest information on transitional arrangements, SQE prep courses, fees, exam results and more!
Check LawCareers.Net’s dedicated SQE hub, sponsored by The University of Law, for the latest information.
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Are postgraduate law courses expensive? Do I have to pay for them myself?
The total cost of qualifying as a solicitor or barrister shouldn’t be underestimated. Over and above the £9,250 per year you’re likely to pay for your undergraduate degree, you’ll have to pay around £13,000 or £17,000 (plus living costs) for, respectively, the SQE and Bar course in 2024/25. And unlike undergraduate and master’s degrees, postgraduate loans are unavailable for the SQE and Bar course (unless they include a master’s on top of the core qualification). SQE prep courses with an LLM can cost around £17,800. If you’re not doing an LLM, it’s best to have a training contract or pupillage lined up before embarking on any of the courses – many large firms/chambers offer sponsorship (usually covering course fees and maintenance grant) to their future trainees/pupils. Bank loans are usually the preferred option for those who self-fund. In addition, the cost of taking the SQE can be broken down into two parts, with SQE1 costing £1,888 and SQE2 costing £2,902 from September 2024.
For more detailed funding advice, look at the ‘Finances’ section on LawCareers.Net.
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Have all lawyers been to private school and Oxbridge?
No. Most firms and chambers fully understand the benefits of a representative workforce, which means recruiting the best candidates regardless of background. These days, most go further by establishing their own diversity policies to ensure that they provide a welcoming and supportive environment for people whatever their gender, ethnicity, sexuality, age, disability and socioeconomic background, for example. That said, different firms and chambers have different personalities and it’s important to find one that suits you – a compelling reason to attend law fairs, open days and get work experience.
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Is the role of lawyers essentially the same in all law firms and chambers?
No. Take solicitors’ firms – the work and lifestyle that you’d experience in a large City firm and a small high-street practice are completely different. It’s the same with a London-based commercial barristers’ chambers and a small regional crime chambers. It’s therefore important to find out which type and size of practice would suit you by doing work experience and speaking to people in the profession. Only by getting first-hand experience and speaking to those in the know can you really get a feel for the kind of work you think would appeal and you’d be good at.
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How can my careers service help me?
Your school or university careers service is a key resource. Some advisers specialise in the legal sector and can help you to check through vacation scheme and training contract/pupillage applications (or speculative CVs and letters, if you’re trying to secure informal work experience). Some also have contacts at local law firms and chambers, so might be able to help you set up some work shadowing.
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Visit LawCareers.Net for news, advice, features and interviews with those on the ground, and pick up a copy of this year’s The Law Apprenticeships Guide from your careers service for more information on the apprenticeship route. You can also read the guide online via LawCareers.Net. Attend both virtual and in-person law fairs. These are a great place to speak to recruiters and current trainees/pupils
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Further reading
See The Oracle on LawCareers.Net for answers to a huge range of questions from students about careers in law and use LawCareers.Net’s hub pages to boost your understanding of the profession and chance of success in applications. Here’s a list of our hub pages:
- Application hub
- Apprenticeships hub, sponsored by Mayer Brown
- Barristers hub
- Beginner’s hub, sponsored by The University of Law
- Commercial awareness hub, sponsored by Mayer Brown
- Diversity hub, sponsored by Gowling
- First-year hub
- Non-law hub, sponsored by BARBRI
- Solicitors hub
- SQE hub, sponsored by The University of Law
