Getting started
Potential Job Roles
Whilst the legal sector is focussed on 3 main types of lawyers: Barrister, Solicitor, and Chartered Legal Executive (CILEx Lawyer), the sector also includes roles beyond these career paths.
Prospects has a useful list of job profiles, each containing relevant information about key responsibilities, skill requirements, starting salaries, entry requirements, career prospects with links to major employers and current graduate vacancies. Some roles include:
Professional Qualifications
If you are interested in becoming a solicitor after completing your degree, you will need to take either the Legal Practice Course (LPC) or the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE).
The LPC will be phased out and expected to complete by the end of 2032 as the SQE becomes the only route to qualification. However, with such a lengthy transitional period, current final year law students and law graduates have the option of taking either the LPC or the SQE at the moment.
- Legal Practice Course (LPC)
- Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE)
- CILEx Professional Qualification (CPQ)
To become a chartered legal executive you must complete the CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ) which is a progressive framework across three stages:
CPQ Foundation - completing this stage leads to accreditation as a CILEX Paralegal.
CPQ Advanced - builds on the foundation stage and includes ethics and professional responsibility module as well as a further period of professional experience. Leads to accreditation as an advanced paralegal.
CPQ Professional - leads to accreditation as a full CILEX Lawyer in a chosen specialist area of law and with full practice rights.
Keep up-to-date
- New Law Journal - Discover the latest law and legal magazine articles and view regular newsletter, reports and publications.
- The Lawyer - News, features and analysis to help keep up to date with all the latest developments in the legal sector.
- The Law Society Gazette - An Independent professional body for solicitors, providing national and international news, opinion, features, in-depth articles plus a jobs and appointments section.
- His Majesty's Government Courts and Tribunals Servicer - Latest information on developments in the sector.
