Reality check

There are a few things worth mentioning as a reminder that starting a legal career is competitive and expensive. So, without wanting to detract from the exciting and challenging career on offer, here follows some food for thought…

Finances

With more than £9,000 per year undergrad fees, plus postgrad study in 2024/2025 costing up to £19,950 for the Legal Practice Course (LPC), up to £19,250 for the Bar course, and the new Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) costing £4,790 from September 2024 (excluding the fees for preparation courses), the road to qualification isn’t cheap. In addition, some firms at the smaller end of the market may pay trainees no more than the national minimum wage. Your ability to afford the courses and a potentially low starting wage must be a factor in deciding whether to pursue law as a career. Keep an eye out for funding options – our ‘Finances’ page on LawCareers.Net has lots of information and advice.

Academics

There’s real competition for training contracts and pupillages. You must get strong grades from your first year of university onwards. Your A-level grades are also important. However, many firms have adopted contextual recruitment to look beyond A-level grades to assess academic potential and identify candidates they may otherwise miss.

Online

Make sure you set up a LinkedIn profile to connect with employers and other contacts and start to build up the ‘professional’ side of your social media presence. Legal Twitter is a great place to learn about the profession and begin building your knowledge, and you can even gain legal careers information through Instagram and TikTok!

Time

You must spend time researching firms/chambers you like; planning how to get experience; and filling out, refining and checking your applications. In every case, start early, have a schedule and be strict with yourself. Last-minute, rushed efforts are almost worse than no effort at all. 

Competition

There are fewer training contract and pupillage places than there are people with the necessary qualifications. You must find a way to stand out, so make sure you shine through by being resourceful, authentic, determined and committed to the profession and a career in law.

Commercial awareness

The legal world is part of the business world. If you have ambitions to work for a commercial law firm, it’s essential to develop a good understanding of the issues and events affecting businesses. Read our weekly commercial news round-up, as well as the Financial Times and The Economist from time to time, and try to appreciate the appropriate legal issues thrown up by your studies from a commercial perspective.

Experience

You need a combination of work experience (legal and non-legal) and extracurricular activities to become the all-rounder that employers want to hire. Having both strings to your bow will help you to demonstrate that you have the necessary skills for a career in law.

Diversity

Great strides are being made by diversity and social mobility initiatives to improve equal representation at all levels of the legal profession. Organisations such as upReach and the InterLaw Diversity Forum work for free with students to provide advice on CVs, application forms and interview practice, while also working with employers to provide work experience opportunities and improve openness. Increasing diversity in the legal profession is also one of the main aims of the SQE (see page 12 for more). However, there’s no getting away from the fact that the profession is historically overwhelmingly white, male and privately educated, and more needs to be done to  address the imbalance. 

Head to LawCareers.Net’s Diversity hub, sponsored by Gowling WLG (UK) LLP, for information and updates on what’s going on in the industry.

Work/life balance 

It’s true that the legal profession has a reputation for long hours and intense work. It’s worth doing your research as workload and expectations vary depending on the practice area or type of law firm/chambers you choose. However, it’s also important to note that mental health in the legal profession is being talked about now more than ever, and progress is being made in this area.