The Careers Service. Briefing

Solicitor (England and Wales) - the basics * Also includes information on Chartered *

1) Academic Stage You must have a qualifying UK , ie, an undergraduate law or law/dual degree – check using: www.sra.org.uk/students/academic-stage.page. If your first degree is non-law, you will need to complete a conversion course (GDL/PGDipLaw) - check providers and fees at: www.lawcabs.ac.uk. For further information about conversion courses see ‘Law Briefing: Getting into law as a non-law student’.

During the academic stage, gain law-related work experience. This is essential to help you understand the law in practice and assess if it really is the job for you and why. For more help with work experience, see ‘Law Briefing: Work experience’. NB: Large firms tend to prefer second year applicants (often because they use work experience as the first stage of the selection process for training contracts) but an increasing number offer insight courses, open days and other experience for first years. Smaller firms may be more flexible. Use your first year to get work shadowing via speculative applications. Getting non-law experience like a student job, volunteering or involvement in sports, clubs and societies is a great way to develop a range of skills you would need to be a – see ‘Law Briefing: Skills for ’ and ‘Law Briefing: Commercial awareness’. Read the legal pages of the newspapers regularly. Attend law-related events organised by the Careers Service and the Law School. Explore alternative legal careers - see ‘Law Briefing: Career choices with law’.

2) Vocational Stage - On successful completion of your qualifying degree, the next step is the Legal Practice Course (LPC). This is usually around 1 year full time or 2 years part time. The LPC can be taken in two separate stages – Stage 1 covers the core practice areas and skills necessary to practise as a ; Stage 2 is made up of three vocational electives. In theory, a student could study each stage at a different institution although in practice many will simply stay at the same one for the whole of the LPC. Some providers are using the new system to ‘fast-track’ the LPC into a 7-month full time course. Fees vary between around £8,000 to £13,000 (FT) plus living costs and miscellaneous items (inc. SRA registration and books if these aren’t already included in the LPC fees). Some firms may offer sponsorship alongside a but the vast majority of students have to take out loans. Research and apply in the autumn before your LPC starts, through: www.lawcabs.ac.uk. For more information see ‘Law Briefing: Legal Practice Course’.

Think very carefully about whether a career in law is really what you want before paying for the LPC, especially if you don’t have a training contract lined up. It is estimated that at least 25% of those completing the LPC don’t go straight into a training contract; think about the risks balanced against possible future earnings.

3) Practical Stage - Training Contract A training contract consists of two years working in a firm or other organisation authorised to take trainees (eg, government or in-house legal department). Firms vary enormously in size and scope and you will need to consider, for example, the type of firm you are interested in, their areas of practice, clientele and location. Large firms advertise widely, attend law fairs and make presentations on campus but smaller firms may rely on speculative applications and keep their opportunities hidden. Large and medium firms usually recruit two years in advance (a law student would apply receiving their second year results; non-law would apply in their final year); smaller firms may recruit a year or only six months ahead. For more information, see ‘Law Briefing: training contracts and ’. Upon successful completion, you will become an assistant solicitor - hopefully with the same firm but nothing is guaranteed.

Useful links:  Law Society (England & Wales): www.lawsociety.org.uk  Careers Service’s ‘What’s On’ events (includes talks on a range of law-related topics, law firms coming on to campus and the annual Sheffield Legal Fair): www.shef.ac.uk/careers/students/events  Careers Service’s ‘Careers in Law’ web pages: www.shef.ac.uk/careers/students/worktypes/law  Case studies for various legal careers: http://icould.com/stories/job-types/law-and-order

Law Talk Online to accompany this handout: www.careers.dept.shef.ac.uk/presentations/solicitor/player.html Suggested timetable NOTE: this timetable is only a rough guide. Your individual plans may affect this outline, eg, some people choose to take a year out between graduation and starting the LPC to get work experience and save up. Firms can also change their procedures (eg, in response to economic climate, competitors’ actions, etc) - prepare to be flexible!

1st year Law (& 2nd Year non-Law) students: Gather information & experience; work hard  Give yourself time to settle in as a new student and get involved in University life (see Careers Service publication ‘First Year Students: Getting Involved’). Getting involved in clubs, societies, hobbies and interests at University not only helps you settle in, but also demonstrates your people-skills to firms in future!  Take time to familiarise yourself with the law related facilities and resources offered by the Careers Service and do some preliminary research: www.shef.ac.uk/careers/students/worktypes/law.  Join the Edward Bramley Law Society (University student law society)  Investigate firms to see if they offer work experience, insight courses or open days to 1st years (2nd year non-law). Prepare to apply early - closing dates are usually winter time.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your 1st year marks don’t matter – even if the University doesn’t use them in your final grade, law firms will look at them when deciding who to select for vacation work in your second year.

2nd /penultimate year Law (& final year non-Law) students: Take action Autumn  Think about why you want to be a solicitor, be honest with yourself; can you explain this to others?  Research work experience opportunities and be ready to apply early for Christmas, Easter and Summer vacation placements with large firms. Brush up on your application and interview skills using the Careers Service. Don’t leave this until the last minute – work experience schemes are increasingly used as the first stage in selection for a training contract.  Read emails from the Careers Service about law presentations, events and publications to collect.  Attend law related careers events and legal fairs (Sheffield Legal Fair is usually late November).  Law students - investigate LPCs and sources of funding - start to consider practice areas and research firms; investigate training contract opportunities  Non-law finalists - investigate conversion courses and possible funding. Applications open Oct / Nov - research / check closing dates for training contract applications for non-law applicants Winter  Keep applying for work experience. Remember only the largest firms recruit to schemes in the autumn. Start to make speculative approaches to smaller firms.  Attend interviews and assessment centres for work experience schemes with large firms.  Keep in touch and up to date by using the Careers Service. Spring – summer  Keep applying for work experience with smaller firms; double-check larger firms for last-minute opportunities.  Attend any open day offered to you by a firm; these are excellent opportunities.  Refine your choice of firms for training contracts and familiarise yourself with their recruitment processes. Aim for quality not quantity. Brush up your application and interview techniques.  Most firms ask you to wait until AFTER getting your second year (or final year non-law) results to apply for training contracts starting in two years time - most large firms have 31st July deadline for applications.  Do your work experience and reflect on what you have learned about yourself and the practice of law.

Final year Law (& GDL) students: Keep going Late summer – December  Attend training contract interviews and assessment centres from August onwards. Offers made 1 Sept onwards.  Go to LPC open days or visit providers if you can. Make your LPC application (via www.lawcabs.ac.uk) from the beginning of October onwards (NB: Offers are made on a rolling basis until the course is full so apply early to try to ensure you get your first choice). Plan funding if you do not have a training contract with a firm who will sponsor you. Check your eligibility to enrol with the SRA - if you have any criminal convictions, for example, you’ll need to sort references, etc by 1 April (or six months ahead of the LPC start date), otherwise enrol one month ahead.  Plan further work experience if you think you need it – some are available at Christmas and Easter with larger firms; smaller firms may be more open to negotiation.  Attend Sheffield University Legal Fair in November, talk to firms and course providers about opportunities.  Continue applying for training contracts especially with smaller and medium-sized firms.  Join networks such as the Law Society’s Junior Lawyers: www.sheffieldjld.co.uk and Young Lawyers Yorkshire if that interests you ([email protected]). Spring - summer  Accept LPC place (offers made on a rolling basis). Enrol with SRA before starting LPC.  Continue to look for work experience / training contracts, as appropriate.  Enjoy the summer break and prepare for the start of a very intensive LPC in the Autumn! Diversity issues

 Lawyers with Disabilities Division (Law Society): www.lawsociety.org.uk/productsandservices/specialinterest/disabilities.page  The Society of Visually Impaired Lawyers: www.sovil.org.uk  Open 2012 – A Legal Careers Event for Disabled Students: www.open-to-you.com  Law Society Diversity Access Scheme: www.lawsociety.org.uk/aboutlawsociety/charity/das.page  Target Chances: http://target-events.co.uk/targetchancescitylaw (events for ethnic minority students)  Black Lawyers Directory: www.onlinebld.com (see the ‘Legal Gateway’ section).  Black Solicitors Network: www.blacksolicitorsnetwork.co.uk  Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) : www.seo-london.org (internships for ethnic minority students)  Employability: www.employ-ability.org.uk (assists people with all disabilities into employment)  City Solicitors Educational Trust: www.cset.org.uk (first year students from a diverse range of backgrounds)  AccessProfessions: http://accessprofessions.com  Look out for work experience and graduate jobs which have the √√ (positive about disabled people) symbol. Check out which individual law firms might be offering internships/training contracts as part of diversity initiatives, including K&L Gates, Mayer Brown, Slaughter & May, RPC, Olswang and .  Careers Service Equality Issues webpage: www.shef.ac.uk/careers/students/equalops (also download copies of ‘Support for Disabled students’ and ‘Dyslexia and Employment’ )

Chartered Legal Executives

Not all lawyers are solicitors or . Under the , Legal Executive lawyers are ‘authorised persons’ which mean that they can undertake reserved legal activities such as advocacy, litigation, some aspects of and . A Legal Executive lawyer specialises in a particular area of law, and will have been trained to the same standard as a solicitor in that particular area. They must adhere to a code of conduct and, like solicitors, are required to continue training throughout their careers in order to keep abreast of latest developments in law.

Fully qualified and experienced Legal Executive lawyers, working under supervision of solicitors, are able to undertake many of the legal activities that solicitors do. For example, they will have their own clients (with full conduct of cases) and they can undertake representation in where appropriate. In practice, Legal Executives usually take on the less complex issues. Hence, Legal Executive lawyer is becoming a real alternative career route for anyone considering work as a solicitor. The areas of law that Legal Executive lawyers most often specialise in are as follows:  Civil litigation (such as ; debt recovery; housing; employment)  Criminal litigation (either defence or prosecution)   Conveyancing  Public law work (such as working in a Local Authority; in Government; welfare benefits; or immigration)  Private client (such as finance; or probate and wills)  Corporate (company or )  Legal Practice (practice management; or costs and accounts work).

Legal Executives are usually employed and, under the Legal Services Act 2007, now have the right to become partners in law firms and, more recently, to become judges. A few are self-employed, providing services to solicitors.

CILEx (Chartered Institute of Legal Executives) has a CILEx Graduate 'Fast-Track' Diploma for those with a qualifying law degree awarded within the last seven years. This involves studying two CILEx Level 6 practice subjects (one of which must relate to a subject you studied within your law degree), and the CILEx Level 6 Client Care Skills course. Upon completion of the graduate diploma, individuals gain Graduate Member status. In order to become a Fellow of CILEx and use the term ‘Chartered Legal Executive’, CILEx graduates must have also gained up to 5 years legal employment experience (two of these years have to be completed after the graduate diploma). If a candidate already holds the LPC / BPTC they can immediately apply to become a Graduate Member of CILEx but they still have to undertake the employment experience in order to become a Chartered Legal Executive.

At the discretion of the Solicitors Regulation Authority, individuals who were a Fellow of CILEx may be admitted as a solicitor without having to undertake a training contract (and once they have completed the Professional Skills Course). Candidates should liaise closely with the SRA if they wish to pursue this route.

For further information, see: www.cilex.org.uk/study/lawyer_qualifications.aspx

University of Sheffield Careers Service - 388 Glossop Road - Tel: 0114 222 0910 General information: www.shef.ac.uk/careers/students Law pages: www.shef.ac.uk/careers/students/worktypes/law AC November 2012