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Home , Barrister, Magic Circle (law firms), Trainee solicitor, Training contract

CAREER PATHWAYS

2021 Edition The 93% Club x TipStart AN INTRODUCTION TO LAW

The legal industry assists individuals and companies in many areas of their personal lives and business dealings. It covers and broad range of practices, some of which include family (divorce and custody of children), corporate (such as when one company wants to buy another), commercial (businesses interacting with each other), (when someone is injured at the fault of someone else), criminal (murder, assault, theft and so on) and environmental (ensuring companies and governments take responsibility for their environmental impact), just to name a handful. There are two sides to law – transactional and litigation. Litigation is probably what springs to mind for most people when they think of ; these are cases that are “contentious” or might go to . Transactional law involves people making arrangements for themselves (wills, buying ) or their businesses or charities. Jobs in the Industry

“” is actually an umbrella term for people working in the legal industry. It refers to who work in firms and assist their clients on a daily basis and who speak in Court. (In the US, “lawyers” do the work of both solicitors and barristers as the profession isn’t divided in the same way.) The other most prominent legal professionals are , who make decisions in Court. The industry also relies on many supporting roles such as legal assistants, and legal executives.

Progression Pathways

The route into the legal industry does Both of these are great to be involved in but depend on whether you want to become don’t discount more regular work experience: a or a , as both require – A part time job at a fast food chain shows special training. On a more general level, that you are able to handle difficult clients. you should seek work experience in the legal sector wherever possible – perhaps – Tutoring younger students means that you by working in administration at a , are able to successfully explain complex or as an assistant in Court. topics in an easy to understand manner. Law firms offer “vacation schemes” where – Working in a shop will develop your skills university students can spend some time being friendly to visitors and as part of (usually between one and six weeks) within a team. the firm in a certain department to get Any work experience is better than none and a taste of the work they do. Barrister it’s important to think about the transferable have “mini ” which are skills that you can gain, and how they might similar but involve shadowing barristers and benefit a law firm, barristers chamber, and assisting them with preparation for Court. most importantly your future clients. EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCES FOR LAW

What you can do now

Research Read Look at different jobs in the legal industry Law is affected a tremendous amount by (particularly solicitors and barristers) and the social, economic and political climate. think about which you might like and why. It’s good practice to get used to keeping It’s essential to understand the process on top of current affairs and important legal for education, training and qualifying in cases that often make the news. It’s also these roles. The Solicitors a great way to find out what areas of law Authority and Standards Board are you might be interested in, do you gravitate a reliable source of information, websites towards the business section or the news like Chambers Student and Law Careers or do you prefer the more personal stories? Net are also exceptionally helpful.

Revise Good grades are expected. Don’t underestimate the importance of studying hard and remember that no matter how great joining societies, getting work Relevant Degrees experience and having a lot of interesting hobbies may be, it’s likely that the first thing Of course, law is an obvious one. History, a legal employer will look are your results. politics and English are also relevant. It’s also important to note here that mitigating Sciences and maths are less common circumstances are taken into account. (unless you are looking to be a specialist In addition, lots of firms and chambers in intellectual ). Law firms are now looking at contextual recruitment, and barristers chambers do look for where individual grades are considered a mix of people so as long as your against the average of the institution degree is academically rigorous, don’t the student attended. feel too constrained. Acronyms GDL - Graduate diploma in law LPC -  sqe-solicitors qualifying exam BPTC - Bar professional training course What about Societies?

Most (if not all) universities have a for aspiring lawyers and Bar Society for aspiring barristers. These are great at getting students to networking events and giving careers advice. It’s also good to sign up to hobby-based societies that show some relevant skills – things like debating and theatre can improve communication skills essential for advocacy work, creative writing or working at the student newspaper can be a good way to show off your writing skills and the sports societies can indicate that you are a team player. Typical Application Process

This varies between law firm and chambers but generally it looks a little like this:

1 Online application - usually you fill out an online form and answer questions such as why you want to work in law and why for that firm/chambers (although sometimes a CV and cover letter is requested instead.

2 Online tests - not all places use these but they are increasingly common. They are usually 45-60 minutes long and focus on language, situational judgement, Skills to Develop logical reasoning and other similar skills. In particular the Watson Glaser test is Communication popular, so try to practice this (and other As a lawyer, communication skills are psychometric tests online if you can). essential. This might be within your team if you are a solicitor, to a courtroom if you 3 Initial interview – by phone, video call or are a barrister, and always to your client. sometimes in person. Usually this will be You will need to relay complicated one or two interviewers only. information in a simple manner and this is something that can trip applicants up; 4 Assessment centre – these are half or full your client’s don’t want to hear all the days and can include a variety of tasks. Latin you learnt at , they want Some common ones are: letter writing, you to summarise the impact of it on them reading, a presentation, a group task in a few sentences. A good way to practice and a panel interview. this is to read news stories, journals or other articles and try distil the key message in 50-100 words. In addition to your writing, think about if you are confident speaking to people in person and on the phone. If you aren’t, maybe join a society, get a job or volunteer in a client facing role.

Commercial Awareness This is something that law firms cite endlessly though it’s also very important if you want to be a barrister. Basically this means knowing what’s going on in the world. A good way to do this (in addition to reading the news) is to focus on two to three themes you can follow in the media over 12-24 months. Suggestions might be: – Developing economies – The UK’s economic and trade policy – The effort to fight climate change – Social equality (race, gender, sexuality ect) – Anything which interests you! Typical Law Job Description DD.MM.YYYY

Trainee Solicitor

A typical entry level role might include: Attending client meetings (typically to take a note). Preparing the files of and documents (“bundles”) for court. Legal drafting; leases, witness statements, court applications, wills, settlement agreements, terms and conditions. Emailing clients. Assisting senior solicitors on their matters; this can involve a whole range of things from drafting emails on their behalf, reminding them of deadlines and taking notes.

Salary Expectation The role might require: Many commercial firms pay their – Flexibility trainees at a competitive rate, – Analysis though; some firms (inside and outside ) pay around – Good communication £25,000. – Team work Some of the larger City firms pay – Determination in excess of £40,000. – 50 to 60 hour work weeks

Are you interested?

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Big employers Grad schemes

Solicitors are typically employed by law firms. In the world of Law the equivalent to grad The largest law firms in the UK (known schemes are Training and Pupillages. as the ) are , Solicitor: Training , Allen & Overy, Slaughter & May and Freshfields. This is a two year on the job training. Typically trainees spend six months in However the Magic Circle all do commercial, four different departments within a law finance and banking law. If your interests firm (known as “seats”). At the end of the lay elsewhere, they won’t be so relevant so two years, you choose which seat you make sure you think about the kind of law would like to qualify into. you would like to work in and find a firm that caters to that. It’s worth noting that some Barrister: accountancy firms (such as PWC, KPMG) and Barristers Chambers provid the Pupillages. some large businesses (including the BBC, BT, They last for a year and are split into two Warner Brothers) as well as the government sets of six months (known as the first sixth (CPS and GLD) also offer training contracts. and the second sixth). In the first sixth, Barristers are self-employed but they work trainee barristers work for other barristers in groups called “Chambers” which operate and in the second sixth, they can take on a bit like an office. Again, which Chambers their own cases. It’s common for pupils you want to apply for depend on the area to have undertaken a lot of other work of law you’d like to work in. A few to start experience (including at least one mini looking at might include Fountain Court, pupillage) before starting a pupillage. Essex Street, Pump Court, 36 Group and Whilst people consider a 3 Verulam Building. and Pupillage to be similar to graduate schemes, it’s important to note that there is clear distinction. In that these programmes are necessary for qualification in the relevant job. Law is a regulated profession, which means that entrants into it need to meet certain regulatory requirements, including having developed the correct skill set. Other useful Links The Training Contract and Pupillage are The regulating body for barristers, designed to fulfil those requirements. lots of advice SRA They regulate solicitors Chambers Student Provide guides to the law firms and chambers in the UK LawCareers General advice on getting into the legal industry Legal Cheek Great guides and news on the legal world TipStart leverages technology and innovation to connect young people with the right Tipster people in the right places to help jump start their career, build professional networks and remove barriers to entry into traditionally Insights elitist sectors.

Name: Positions held in this field: Training contract with Russell-Cooke Solicitors 2018-2020.Qualified Leah, 25 into Russell-Cooke’s Corporate Commercial team associate solicitor.

Why do you recommend this sector? Top Tips For me, working in law was always all about the My biggest tip is don’t be afraid to put in challenge. I love the fact that the law changes to the work. Studying, training, qualifying and adapt to the social, economic and political times. working as a lawyer is difficult. It takes a lot As a solicitor, I am always learning and, especially of time, effort and determination. Wellbeing working in such a wide practice area (Corporate is becoming a focus of the legal industry Commercial) there is always something new so remember that, although the work is tough, to do. I think the thing that often gets overlooked it’s important to balance that with the fun is that law is really about the people. The culture stuff too. Luckily, law firms and chambers and character of a law firm completely depends throw fantastic parties and they can have on the individuals within it and it’s important to a really collegiate working environment. remember that, as a solicitor, you are part of My next tip is to believe in yourself. You will a team. So much of my work is improved greatly have knock-backs where you won’t get the just by talking it over with someone else, and, grades, work experience, job interview etc. even as a junior, you can have that impact that you were hoping for. At the end of the on others too. day, working as a solicitor or barrister The other important people are, of course, your requires a client to trust you and if you don’t clients. No matter what area of law you work have confidence in yourself, they never will. in, interacting with a solicitor usually marks an So make sure you know that you can do it. important moment in people’s life; the death of a family member, the custody battle that means they can see their children, the purchase of a first home, the sale of business that’s taken years of hard work, the acquisition of a trade mark so that someone can start their new venture, getting compensation for an injury that’s changed that person’s life. It is the story behind the work you do that’s the real motivator (and if, like me and you’re a real nerd – also the fun of legal drafting!)

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