How to become a solicitor

Hi! If this is the first time you've visited my blog, start by clicking here

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This post is going to give you basic understanding about how you go from School Student to Solicitor. Yes it's a bit text heavy, but it's important stuff alright!? 

There are two ways to choose....here goes..... 

NUMBER 1

I'm going to start with the way that I know best as it's currently the path I am on to becoming a solicitor. Let's keep it nice and simple for now with this diagram:

Starting at the top, you can choose either to study a LLB Law degree (this is what I did) or any degree subject of your choice and then take a 1 year conversion course known as the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL). Basically, to be able to progress to the Legal Practice Course (LPC) the Law Society requires all students to have completed their six key areas (depending on where you study, the names will vary slightly):

• CRIMINAL LAW
• LAND LAW
• TORT LAW
• CONTRACT LAW
• CONSTITUTIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
• THE LAW OF TRUSTS

On the LLB, you will cover these six modules as well as a number of others to complete your degree program. GDL students will purely focus on completing these six modules over the course of 1 year.

The LPC is a 1 year (or more if you choose to do it part-time) course that takes all of your knowledge of legal theory, and teaches you how to put it into practice. Once again there are a number of compulsory modules (Property Law in Practice, Civil Litigation, Criminal Litigation, Business Law in Practice and so on) as well as three modules of your choice. You will also be taught how to interview effectively, research efficiently and accurately, and even manage the accounts of a law firm and businesses. Don't worry though if your math skills aren't up to scratch, calculators are always permitted! 

The 'Training Contract' is your final step to. This is the stage when you finally leave law school behind and head into the actual office (and get paid!). Each firm will handle its training slightly differently, but you will be required to complete two years of training before qualification. The law firm I have a contract with follows the most common pattern of placing its trainees in 4 seats (departments), each 6 months in length. Some however will make their trainees sit in, say, 6 seats of 4 months in length. 

AND FINALLY...*cue drum roll please*

        YOU QUALIFY!                                                

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NUMBER 2

Wow O.K, so that was route 1 of 2. Now, I have to admit, that is the only route I ever considered and therefore is the only route I am actually well genned up on. Therefore, I think it would be sensible for me to simply point you in the right direction rather than attempt to describe the other two routes when I have no first-hand knowledge myself. I'd hate to give you the wrong information!

In which case, I think the following websites will help you get a good understanding:

The non-university route- http://www.cilex.org.uk/

                                          http://www.cilexlawschool.ac.uk/

                                          http://www.lawcareers.net/MoreLaw/WhatIsALegalApprenticeship

                                       

Please note: this information is correct to my best ability, but I recommend checking out the Law Society's Routes to Qualifying page just to be sure ;)

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DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? JUST COMMENT BELOW AND I WILL ANSWER IT HERE

FAQs and HAs (Honest Answers)

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Hi, remember, my blog is new but have faith.

If you've got a question about anything to do with studying law, choosing subjects, university opportunities, career guidance, perhaps you're from another country and want to know about studying law in the UK......ask me a question by sending me a message, and if I'm not sure, I'll try to point you in the right direction.

LPC- MY FIRST TWO MONTHS.....whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy??!!

Hi!- If you've not already done so, give this a quick read first-Law Shool Rulez Intro

This is my first post about my experiences on the LPC (Legal Practice Course). I probably should have thought about doing this as soon as I started the course, but never mind, I'll soon get you up to date.

Firstly, I'm studying at BPP law school. Why did I choose BPP? I'll write why, edit this post, and put the link here when I get chance.

It has been an unbelievably intense start to the year at BPP.  There is certainly no easing you in. Before I'd even set foot in the place, I needed to have completed about 140 pages of pre-module reading and have sat an online test about business law (it doesn't actually count towards anything don't worry). 

BPP has a variety of ways you can study the LPC, I am on the program that means I only have to attend class on Mondays and Wednesdays. This is great because it means I don't have to pay travel fairs every day of the week, can fit in lecturers (which are provided online) at any time of the day, and work twice a week as a Bar Associate. Don't get the wrong idea though, despite only being officially twice a week, the amount of preparation work beggars belief. I'm not exaggerating when I say I work every day I have 'off' and have to be incredibly efficient to meet deadlines. In fact, the last time I did absolutely no work was at the start of September....the day before the LPC started. 

So what are my thoughts about the course generally?

Here's where I will get very truthful. I don't like it. I don't like it at all. Yes, learning about the various forms you have to fill in, procedures, techniques etc etc makes a change to sitting and learning solid legal theory, but really these are all skills that you could learn on the job, and probably get to grips with quicker that way too. I know I should be grateful that I'm not having to pay the extortionate £11,000 ish in tuition fees as my law firm has very kindly sponsored me, but that doesn't make spending a year of my life doing this course seem any easier to stomach. 

What am I studying?

In the first half of your LPC year you study three core practice areas (CPEs); these being Business Law in Practice, Civil Litigation, and Property Law in Practice. Besides that you teach yourselves Wills and the Administration of Estates, have online sessions in Interviewing and Advising and Practical Legal Research, as well as monthly(ish) classroom sessions of Solicitor's Accounts and Professional Conduct and Regulations. There's so much all at once...I'm told the second half of the year when youc choose your own modules is a lot, lot better... 

Yesterday I sat my Interviewing and Advising assessment. This entailed me entering a room containing an actor and my tutor. I had to interview the actor and basically play at being a solicitor. Armed with a pre-released sheet of A4 containing an area of law and a few case precedents, I questioned and advised my client as a camera recorded my every movement, and my tutor scribbled notes about my performance.....it's probably the most unnatural place you will ever sit an assessment. God I hope I passed it. You are marked as 'Competent' or 'Not Yet Competent' and put it this way, if I've got the latter, then I can kiss goodbye to my training contract....I'm not panicking...honest

Last week wasn't exactly relaxing either. With my notes spread right across the living room, I logged into my online BPP profile and sat the Wills assessment. 10 multiple choice questions in 90 minutes, open book. It was alright. The first two questions threw me as they were pretty complicated inheritance tax problems (thrilling stuff) but the rest were relatively straight forward.

Oh and did I mention I had a 1700 word formative (practice) legal research assignment due about whether or not an employer can be vicariously liable for the harassment by one employee to another?....In case you were wondering, the answer is....yes. 

It's not all doom and gloom though....

One thing I love about doing the LPC is that I have made so many new friends and the tutors are great people. From day one you are put in a sort of form group, and that group becomes your LPC family. You spend every lesson with those people, and it really does feel like a 'we're in it together' kind of atmosphere. If one person is struggling, others always step in to help. I can't stress enough how thankful I am to be amongst such wonderful people. I'm not even kidding when I say it's keeping us all sane.

Also, a lot of my friends haven't got a training contract yet, and BPP are unbelievable at providing you with help and guidance to help you get one. Every week there seems to be another law firm visiting to give presentations, or another pro bono opportunity is brought to our attention in the weekly update. If your CV is looking a bit bare, it soon won't be!

OK OK OK- 

Yes I've painted a pretty bleak picture on the LPC so far and I'll be the first to admit that I worry about things a little bit too much, panic and ultimately need to get a grip. The LPC is not as hard as the LLB. It's just a large quantity to manage. Time management is key (see my other post that I'll be writing soon)

If you're on the LPC, or are dreading the sound of it, just think like this. There is no other way. It's only one year and before you know it, it'll be the summer, and you'll be preparing for the big, wide, legal world. Then begins the real work.......along with the pay cheques of course ;)

So you want a career in the law? I have the answers....trust me

Hi!

Thanks for clicking on my blog. Ok so I'll admit now, I'm very very new to this, but bare with me . So long as you're in the law game, the information and links I publish here WILL help you whether doing you're doing GCSEs, A-levels, degrees or LPCs! 

But first.......WHO AM I?

My name is Jon. 6'2, love eating terrible food (my two best friends are Ben and Jerry), have an amazing metabolism (thank god!) and attempt to convince myself I'm healthy by going to the gym three times a week. I am currently studying the LPC and have a training contract with a large regional law firm in England. I come from an average family, studied my law degree at UEA and now balance my LPC studies with a part time job whilst somehow maintaining a decent social life. 

Right there we go, me in a nutshell.

Let's skip to the important bit...

SO what can this blog do for you? No matter where you are in your studies, I can help. My aim is to pass on to you my experience and give you the information that I wish I'd had. Yep, I'm sure you've trawled through Student forums' in a desperate attempt to find the answer to your questions and come across numerous articles from 2007, 2008, 2009- but can you really rely on them today? That's where I come in. I'VE GOT YOUR BACK!

What's in the bag?

Yes this blog is very new, so yes you won't find all of the below....yet (I'm working on it I promise!). But below is a list of the topic areas that you will eventually be able to read about. For ease, I've split the topics into age-specific sections, but don't let it stop you reading ahead or brushing up on the past.

14-16

• Work experience- how to actually get some
• What GCSE options to choose- click here

16-18

• How to become a solicitor- click here
• Personal statement hints and tips
• What uni?

Undergrad

• Day 1 of Uni
• Pro bono- say waaa?
• Mooting
• Negotiations
• Client Interviewing
• First year doesn't count right?......wrong!!!
• Stay alert
• Vacation schemes, or just go on vacation?
• Dealing with lectures
• Time management- yes this sounds like a particularly boring article, but trust me, read it!

Careers

• Applications
• Interviews
• Networking

LPC

• where to go
• what to expect
• LPC diary- (I'll keep updating this as I progress through the course, giving you the most up-to-date information possible)

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? JUST MESSAGE ME AND I WILL ANSWER IT HERE

So whaddaya say? You in?

RULE 1- KEEP THIS IN MIND- Don't ever say you're not in it for the money....I am