Getting started
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.
Potential job roles
Jobs roles in this sector 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 over the next ten years or so 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.
The LPC is a well-established course, containing additional content beyond the SQE syllabus, much prized by law firms. The LPC will still be a valid qualification for several years, and whilst law firms and other legal employers continue to offer training contracts (the next stage required after completing an LPC), it remains a recognised way of entering the legal profession.
The SQE is a new, independent centralised assessment for all would-be solicitors who wish to qualify in England and Wales, which will eventually replace the LPC. As part of the SQE, you will also need to complete two years of qualifying legal work experience and undertake the SQE assessments. Preparation courses for the SQE are available from a wide range of providers.
You can become a CILEx Lawyer, or Chartered Legal Executive, through the CILEx Professional Qualification (CPQ) route. Combining work with study you'll progress across three stages and the stage you join will depend on the qualifications you hold:
- Foundation - aligned to the role of a paralegal
- Advanced - for those handling cases at an advanced paralegal level
- Professional - for those who want to be CILEX Lawyers in their 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.
- Conveyancer - Useful student section covering CLC lawyer roles and information on how to qualify, plus up-to-date sector trends.
- His Majesty's Government Courts and Tribunals Servicer - Latest information on developments in the sector.
- TargetJobs - Provides information and advice for Law students and graduates, and an ultimate guide to getting started in the legal profession.
