Your guide to LawCareers.Net: how to use LCN in your legal career search
updated on 16 May 2023
You know that feeling when you get lost in a supermarket as a kid? Navigating your route into the legal profession might make you feel the same way: confused, scared and overwhelmed. To make your experience less daunting, this guide explains how you can use LawCareers.Net and its many benefits to improve your chances of securing your dream role in law.
Reading time: 10 minutes
LawCareers.Net is a comprehensive, one-stop, authoritative online resource designed for you – our future lawyers – and those that recruit you. The site is made up of many elements – from exclusive interviews with lawyers and recruiters, to advice on acing your training contract applications, plus weekly round-ups and commercial questions written by leading firms to help you develop your commercial awareness.
Where should you start? We know that you’ll all be on different journeys and at very different stages in your journey. But LCN is here to support you as you progress on your way to your legal career.
Use the links below to navigate around this article!
- Training contract search
- Courses search
- Pupillage search
- Training contract and vacation scheme deadlines
- Pupillage deadlines
- Meet the Lawyer
- Meet the Recruiter
- Commercial Question
- Practice Area Profiles
- Vacation Scheme Insiders
- Podcast
- Videos
- Your hub pages
- The Beginner’s Guide to a Career in Law
- The Law Apprenticeships Guide
For advice on how to make the most of your free MyLCN account, head to LCN’s MyLCN guide!
Our training contract search includes the details of nearly 1,000 organisations that offer training contracts.
You can either see a list of all firms, displayed alphabetically. Or you can use the search tool to filter by:
- firm name;
- year of start;
- starting salary;
- region;
- vacancies;
- partners;
- total staff;
- work placements offered;
- law school sponsorship offered;
- type of practice;
- work areas undertaken;
- city/town; and
- US firm with London office.
So, if you already have an idea of the type of work you’d like to do, location you’d like to live in or size of firm, for example, LawCareers.Net’s training contract search is a great way to narrow down your pool of possible firms.
Once you’ve generated a list, you can click on each firm name to see more details. If you like the sound of the firm and want to conduct some more research later, you can select the ‘bookmark’ button (ie, the heart icon) to save the firm to your personal MyLCN account.
You can use LCN’s course search to discover the legal education provider that suits your needs.
Filter the search results using the drop-down options (eg, full time or part time) on each course type (ie, Legal Practice Course (LPC), law conversion, Bar course or Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE)) and find a list of universities and law schools offering the course you’re after.
Our directory includes nearly 100 institutions that offer undergraduate or postgraduate law courses. With your MyLCN account, you can save your shortlisted law schools to your account using the ‘bookmark’ button.
If your goal is to become a barrister, use LCN’s pupillage search tool to find a list of chambers offering pupillages.
You can either see a list of chambers, displayed alphabetically. Or you can use the search tool to filter by:
- chambers name;
- pupillages offered;
- tenants;
- tenancies in the past three years;
- work areas;
- city/town;
- head of chambers;
- mini-pupillages offered; and
- Pupillage Gateway member.
Much like the training contract search, you can save chambers that pique your interest to your MyLCN account by clicking the ‘bookmark’ button on the chambers’ directory page.
Training contract and vacation scheme deadlines
If you’re looking for a way to keep track of your shortlisted firms’ deadlines, our training contract and vacation scheme deadlines pages are a fantastic tool.
Set out in date order, you can see a longlist of all the firms with upcoming deadlines. There are also various filter options to help you refine your search (eg, 2023 deadlines).
It’s very easy for candidates to fall into the trap of making last-minute applications – this tool is designed to help you avoid those midnight panics. By bookmarking firms to your MyLCN account, they’ll automatically be added to your personal MyCalendar.
Make it a habit to regularly check LCN’s deadline pages to ensure you don’t miss out on a training contract or vacation scheme at your dream firm.
The pupillage deadlines page is designed to offer you a list of chambers’ deadlines to save you the hassle of trawling the web to find them.
Remember, many chambers are members of the Pupillage Gateway – these members will have the same deadline (which is usually early February). We’ve collated a list of Pupillage Gateway members on the deadlines page. Non-members, however, will have separate deadlines so watch out for those.
Want to hear what it’s like to train and work at specific firms?
Find out from those who’ve gone through the process and are now successful lawyers at the UK’s top firms in LCN’s Meet the Lawyer profiles.
Designed to give you an idea of their route into the profession, what their typical working day looks like and unmissable advice, the Meet the Lawyer profiles are a great insight into what firms are like once you’ve successfully made it through the application process.
Researching a law firm is an essential part of the application process. These profiles will help you to identify the differences between firms and what makes them stand out, so you can find the firm that suits you, your goals and values.
You can also watch lawyers talk about their careers and experiences with our Meet the Lawyer videos.
Who better to hear from than those recruiting you?
LCN’s Meet the Recruiter profiles are a fantastic window into the recruitment process. Hear from law firm’s graduate recruitment about what makes them tick, how their application process works and what they look for in their future trainees to help you ace your applications!
Searching for ways to top up your commercial awareness? Look no further than LawCareers.Net’s Commercial Question – weekly articles written by lawyers at leading firms, designed to get you thinking about commercial issues in a legal context.
Remember, commercial awareness is a top skill that law firms want to see from their future lawyers, so to help you start thinking commercially, read the recent Commercial Questions for insights into what leading law firms are talking about and advising on right now!
Still trying to decide what type of specialism you want to pursue as a solicitor or barrister?
There’s a huge array of work areas, so it’s important to do your research and keep your options open. You should remember that just because you enjoy studying a particular area of law at university, doesn’t mean you’ll enjoy it in practice – the theoretical and practical sides of law are very different.
To help you on this journey, you can read insights into a range of specialisms via the Solicitors’ practice area profiles.
If you’re veering towards the Bar, read the Barristers’ practice area profiles instead.
Vacation schemes are invaluable opportunities to:
- show law firms why they should offer you a training contract;
- gain valuable work experience; and
- find out whether you and the firm are a good match.
They’re also a key part of the recruitment process for many firms, with a huge number of trainees recruited solely via a firm’s vacation scheme.
Before applying for a place on a vacation scheme, you can find out what to expect by reading our Vacation Scheme Insider reports from candidates who’ve experienced the schemes first hand. The insider reports provide information on:
- what candidates do on the scheme;
- whether firms focus on mock exercises and workshops or offer the full trainee solicitor experience;
- the social and networking events on offer via the scheme; and
- whether the scheme ended with a training contract interview or further recruitment process.
Are podcasts the best thing since sliced bread? Possibly.
So, if you’re on the lookout for a new podcast to listen to, we’ve got you covered.
The LawCareers.Net Podcast, sponsored by The University of Law, offers future lawyers insights into life as a lawyer, various practice areas, tips and tricks on developing commercial awareness, advice on acing applications, plus loads more. Each month we speak to lawyers, students and legal professionals about key issues and topics around the law.
You can listen to The LCN Podcast on LawCareers.Net, SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
As aspiring lawyers, it’s likely that you’re conducting a lot of research and reading as you embark on your journey. Sometimes it’s nice to watch a video instead, which is where LCN’s YouTube channel comes in.
Much of the same information is covered in both the editorial and videos so you can decide how you consume the content.
Head to LCN’s channel for insights from lawyers and LCN vloggers, as well as advice direct from the LCN team, and to catch up on our webinars with law firms.
LawCareers.Net has a number of hubs dedicated to providing the information you need, all in one place.
SQE hub
The SQE hub, sponsored by The University of Law, is your go-to resource for updates, advice and news relating to the new system of exams.
Diversity hub
Sponsored by Gowling WLG (UK) LLP, LCN’s Diversity hub ensures you’re up to date on what solicitors’ firms, barristers’ chambers and legal education providers are doing to improve diversity and inclusion in their workplaces and in the legal profession.
You can find news, interviews and articles that bring you the latest information, which you can use as part of your search to find the right firm for you.
Commercial awareness hub
LCN’s Commercial awareness hub is a great resource – you’ll find advice on what commercial awareness actually is to weekly news round-ups on the latest commercial stories that will help you to build your commercial awareness to prepare yourself for life as a lawyer, plus lots more!
Non-law student hub
LCN’s Non-law student hub, sponsored by Shoosmiths, is the place for non-law students and graduates to go to find out about a career in law and what you need to do to kickstart your journey into the profession.
Read case studies, top tips and advice on getting ahead as a non-law student via the hub.
First-year hub
If you’re a first-year law student, by now you’ll have realised that the academics are tough. So, LCN’s First-year hub is designed to ease your workload, outlining the various opportunities you should be getting involved with, as well as offering useful advice and information about starting your legal career at this early stage.
So, while you focus on your studies, LCN is pulling together the latest information to guide you towards a career in law.
The Beginner's Guide to a Career in Law
The Beginner’s Guide to a Career in Law offers those interested in a future career as a lawyer the latest information and advice.
The guide includes information about what a job in law involves, the differences between the three main types of lawyer (ie, solicitors, barristers and chartered legal executives), plus the courses and training required to qualify.
You can read the guide online. Alternatively, your college, school or university should have physical copies that you can pick up.
The age-old question: university versus apprenticeship? The Law Apprenticeships Guide is designed to give you the information you need to make this decision.
The guide compares university and apprenticeship paths to the profession, and outlines the various types of apprenticeship and the skills required to be successful.
You can read the guide online. Alternatively, your college or school should have physical copies that you can pick up.
What next?
It’s time to get researching! Explore the LawCareers.Net website to find the information you’re after, whether that’s training contract application deadlines, insights from students and lawyers or advice on the different routes to qualifying.
And remember to follow LawCareers.Net on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and TikTok to stay up to date with the latest news and advice!
Don’t forget to read LCN’s guide to your MyLCN account to ensure you make the most of this important tool!
Olivia Partridge (she/her) is the content manager at LawCareers.Net.
