Routes into the Legal Profession: The United Kingdom

There are two common routes into the legal profession: the traditional, after completing a qualifying Law degree and the non-traditional, after completing a non-Law degree.

The Traditional Route:

The traditional and quickest route into the legal profession is by completing a three-stage process: academic stage, vocational stage and legal training. The academic stage requires a student to complete a qualifying Law degree by completing the seven foundation subjects: Contract, Criminal, Equity & Trusts, Law of the European Union, Property, Public and Tort.

Barrister: if a student wants to be Called to the Bar he/she will need to apply for the one-year Bar Vocational Course (BVC) at one of the providers in their Third Year. There is limited financial support available for the BVC through the Inns of Court, which provide scholarships of varying sizes, few that cover the entire course fees (£13,000 in London).

The BVC (and Legal Practice Course) are offered by colleges and universities throughout the country, and are set by the Bar Council and Law Society respectively. The purpose of the BVC is to ensure that students intending to become barristers acquire the skills, knowledge of procedure and evidence, attitudes and competence to prepare them for the more specialised training during pupillage. All students are required to be admitted to an Inn of Court before registration on the BVC. The main skills taught on the BVC are: legal research, opinion writing, conference skills, case-work skills, interpersonal skills, negotiating and advocacy. The main areas of knowledge taught on the BVC are: Civil Litigation, Criminal Litigation, Evidence and Professional Ethics.

Presently, he/she will qualify as a barrister following successful completion of their BVC, however, the Bar Council is considering deferring Call until after completion of Pupillage. During the BVC he/she will need to secure a Pupillage in Chambers or a government department such as the Treasury Solicitors. Most Chambers subscribe to the central online listings, OLPAS, either in the Summer or Autumn season. Pupillages are divided into two six-month periods, commonly referred to as ‘sixes’. Competition for pupillage is fierce and even when a student successfully gets a pupillage he/she still has to face the final hurdle of attaining tenancy.

Following the traditional route, it will take a student a minimum of 4 years to qualify as a barrister from commencing on their Law degree.

  1. Degree in Law
  2. Apply for scholarships at Inns of Court in November of Third year
  3. Bar Vocational Course (1 year full-time, 2 years part-time)

Qualification

  1. Pupillage (2 x 6 months)
  2. Tenancy

Solicitor: if a student wants to qualify as a solicitor he/she will take the one-year Legal Practice Course (LPC) after completing a Law degree, followed by a two-year Training Contract, usually with a firm of solicitors, or the legal section of a commercial firm or government department. It really pays to be organised as law, particularly qualifying as a solicitor, is a profession that recruits years in advance. Most solicitors firms recruit students during their penultimate year of their Law degree, which means that students should carefully plot their career path by focusing on getting top grades and taking part in extra-curricular activities such as mooting and work experience. Many firms have formalised Easter, Summer and Christmas vacation placement schemes, for which students can apply for during their first and second year.

If students are organised and successfully receive a Training Contract before starting the LPC, their firm of solicitors will pay a generous maintenance grant during the LPC year (circ. £7,000) in addition to paying for their course fees. Law undergraduates should apply in the autumn term of their final year, while non-law graduates should do so in the first term of the GDL. Applications should be made to the Central Applications Board by 1 December.

The compulsory areas on the LPC are: conveyancing, business law and practice, litigation and advocacy.

Following the traditional route, it will take a student a minimum of 6 years to qualify as a solicitor from commencing on their Law degree.

  1. Degree in Law
  2. Apply for Vacation Schemes during Second Year of degree
  3. Complete Vacation Schemes before Final Year of degree
  4. Training Contract interviews during September of Final Year
  5. Legal Practice Course (1 year full-time, 2 years part-time)
  6. Training Contract (2 years)

Qualification

Non-traditional route:

Graduates in a non-law degree subject can still qualify as a solicitor or barrister by taking the Common Professional Exam or Graduate Diploma in Law before embarking on the LPC/BVC, although this entails an extra year’s study and more expense. As an alternative to the GDL, you can study a two-year senior status law degree, which is virtually identical in content to the GDL.

Applications for full-time places must be made through the Central Applications Board. Applications for part-time places must be made direct to the provider. Applications for the GDL should be made in the Autumn term of final year at university. The closing date for applications is usually mid-February. Confirmation of whether you have secured a place will follow in March/April. To be eligible for the GDL students must hold a degree (other than an honorary degree) from a UK institution or a foreign institution which the Solicitors Regulation Authority considers to be an equivalent. Alternatively, a student can hold academic and vocational qualifications which the Solicitors Regulation Authority deems equivalent to a degree.

These ‘conversion courses’ prepare non-law graduates for a legal career as they cover the foundations of law, namely contract, tort, criminal law, equity & trusts, EU law, property law and public law.

Again, if students are organised and secure a Training Contract their firm of solicitors will pay a maintenance grant during both the conversion course and LPC.

Students following this route will simply take an extra year to qualify as a barrister/solicitor.

  1. Degree in Non-Law
  2. Conversion Course (1 year full-time, 2 years part-time)
  3. Training Contract (2 years)

OR

Pupillage (2 x 6 months)

For solicitors, it is noteworthy that there are alternative routes into the profession. For example, qualifying as a Legal Executive through the Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) and undertaking taking training whilst working.

Further Information:

  • Prospects Law general information on the legal profession, databases of training contracts, pupillages, paralegals, vacation work and details of professional courses
  • Law Careers Net general advice on legal careers, training and employers, with searchable database based on the Training Contract and Pupillage Handbook but regularly updated with new vacancies for trainees and paralegals
  • Target Jobs includes a useful legal careers section, with employer information.
  • Chambers & Partners Student Guide Directory, mainly covering commercial firms. The "True Picture" section provides an insider's view on what it is really like to work for the top 100 law firms, compiled from confidential interviews with trainees. There is also information on career choice, vocational course providers and deadlines.
  • The College of Lawwebsite includes useful information from the College's careers service such as routes to qualification, choosing between the different branches of the profession and different areas of practice, advice for mature students, ethnic minority students and students with disabilities, facts and figures and much more
  • Centre for Commercial Law the Legal 500 on line, plus details of overseas lawyers
  • Lawyer 2B Magazine news and features for anyone interested in a career in law
  • The Lawyer legal news and vacancies from the weekly Lawyer newspaper
  • Legal Week good background on law firms and current issues in the profession, plus a career clinic and a student section
  • Real World Magazine: Law
  • The Times law pages includes their regular Student Law supplements
  • WikiJob information about legal employers and law firms (including graduate interview tips)

Conversion courses for non-law graduates

  • The Central Applications Board lists, and links to, universities where you can take these courses (the CPE/GDL)
  • StudentAtLaw introductory guide to qualifying as a solicitor for non-law students.

Sites with general information for solicitors

  • The Law Society includes links to the Solicitors Online directory, the Law Society's Gazette (see below) and specialist areas of practice
  • Junior Lawyers Division of Law Society
  • Solicitors Regulation Authority information on becoming a solicitor
  • The Central Applications Board - lists LPC and CPE/GDL courses
  • Solicitors Online - produced by the Law Society, this allows you to choose a location and obtain a complete list of firms in that area
  • The Law Society's Gazette online - includes job vacancies
  • Legal Aid Practitioners Group - includes directory of firms providing publicly funded legal services and occasional advertisements for training contracts in this area of practice
  • Solicitors Pro Bono Group charity to support a commitment to pro bono across the solicitors' profession.

Sites with general information for barristers

  • The General Council of the Bar - includes the Bar Directory
  • Bar Education & Training: Bar Standards Board
  • Pupillage Online From this site you can access all pupillage vacancies in England and Wales, whether OLPAS or non-OLPAS.
  • BVC Online apply here for the BVC between November and January.
  • It's Your Call information for barristers, including information on the four Inns of Court and on financial assistance during training.

The Inns of Court:

  • Gray's Inn
  • InnerTemple
  • Lincoln's Inn
  • MiddleTemple

02/10/08