Your ‘first steps’ checklist
updated on 11 September 2025
If you decide that a career as a lawyer is for you, there are a few things you should be doing even before you start university. Here’s a brief checklist to get you started.
- Talk to your careers adviser at school to go through your options.
- Research the different paths into law – university, CILEX Lawyer, paralegal, apprenticeship (read The Law Apprenticeships Guide for more information) – and decide which path is right for you.
- Get some practical work experience at a law firm, barristers’ chambers or legal advice centre; it’ll help you to decide what suits you and will also improve any applications you make later.
- Work hard at your academic studies. While firms have a range of criteria, good grades remain important.
- Think about the kinds of extracurricular activities you can do, or have done, to make yourself into a well-rounded candidate. Think sport, volunteering, drama, music…
- Sign up to LCN Weekly on LawCareers.Net. Our free weekly email newsletter delivers news and information about the profession, plus advice and calendar reminders, straight to your inbox.
- Read the business pages of newspapers and visit LawCareers.Net’s Commercial awareness hub, sponsored by Mayer Brown International LLP, to improve your commercial awareness and get you starting to ‘think business’.
