Career changers and mature candidates can make great lawyers. Many solicitors’ firms and barristers’ chambers value the transferable skills and experiences that career changers bring, with some explicitly encouraging career changers to apply. Read on to learn how you can make the change from your current career into law.

Breaking into law can be tough, especially when you're just starting out. With so many talented candidates competing for attention, standing out among the sea of applicants can feel like an impossible task. It's crucial to make sure your application not only gets noticed but also leaves a lasting impression. In such a competitive field, you need to show what makes you unique, skilled and ready to tackle the challenges of the legal world.

The Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) will be introduced in September 2021. Aspiring lawyers can now register as SQE candidates and book their SQE1 assessments. Here is everything we know about the new exams, from the syllabus, to the format of the exams themselves, to the cost for candidates, to what law firms, universities and law schools are doing.

I hope you’re all enjoying the new year. I tend to find it easier to keep up with commercial awareness in the new year, especially as my commercial awareness routine usually takes place when I’m getting ready for university!

One striking difference between school/college and higher education is the need to hold yourself accountable. University learning comes with many new challenges, including the fact that you’re held less accountable by your lecturers and you must take that responsibility into your own hands.  

While Pride Month is often marked by parades and vibrant displays of identity, it's important to remember that its origins lie in protest. The Stonewall Riots of 1969 were a pivotal moment in LGBTQ+ history, sparking a global movement for equality and justice. The first Pride parade, held a year later, was a march for rights, recognition and respect.

Law is a profession which is seen by many as being dependent on an individual's reputation and accolades.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s latest report shows a drop in overall pass rate for the first part of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE), SQE1, from 53% in the November 2021 sitting to 51% in the January 2023 sitting.

I’m qualifying via the Solicitors Qualifying Exam but don’t understand the difference between training contracts and qualifying work experience. How do I know what’s best for me?

The introduction of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) in September 2021 raises questions about what students need to be doing to maximise their employability under the new, more flexible system. Is it enough to pass SQE1 and 2 or do candidates need something extra? What are the essential employability skills that employers want and have these changed following the pandemic, as well as SQE? LawCareers.Net spoke to The University of Law’s John Watkins about how students can make themselves employable alongside preparing for the SQE.

How will the SQE impact how solicitors are trained and developed?

I thought now would be a good time to compile a list of resources I have consistently used these past few months to improve my commercial awareness.

The professional development of its trainees is at the heart of what Milbank LLP does. Vanessa Harvey, senior recruitment manager, discusses vacation schemes, and the importance of inclusion. Plus, how a variety of work experience may improve an application. 

For those of you who are about to start your first year, I am probably making the understatement of the century when I say that going to university is immensely different from going to school. Stress is inevitable.

A legal apprentice currently training at international firm Kennedys has won the Legal Apprentice of the Year award in her category at the BPP Apprentice of the Year Awards 2017. 

I’m a first-year student – how important is legal work experience and do you have advice for securing some?

You don’t need a law degree to become a lawyer – in fact, the modern legal profession is full of non-law graduates. The skills and experiences you gain from studying and working in other fields are assets that can make you a stronger candidate.

I think the combination of mentors, confidence and consistent hard work is what drove me to the pinnacle of BigLaw. So, to all aspiring socially mobile lawyers, here are my top pieces of advice to succeed in BigLaw.

You don’t need a law degree to become a lawyer – in fact, the modern legal profession is full of non-law graduates. The skills and experiences you gain from studying and working in other fields are assets that can make you a stronger candidate.

The popularity of podcasts has soared in recent years, with 12.3 million people listening to podcasts each week in the UK, according to the BBC. Here are the 15 podcasts we think all aspiring lawyers should listen to.

It’s been a turbulent week in commercial news but we’re here to cut through the noise with coverage of this week’s top stories.