A Guide To Law Graduate Jobs
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If you are thinking about doing graduate legal jobs once you have graduated from university, then you could already have your career mapped out in your head. Perhaps you want to aim for the top and become a barrister at QC level or even a judge. Others of you might be pondering a graduate career that involves working in law in another capacity and perhaps you are not even sure yet which are of law you would like to work in.
Competition for many graduate jobs in law can be extremely stiff, so, as well as excellent academic qualifications that go right back to GCSE level, you will need to work very hard to convince employers that you are the right person for the job. Whilst still at university, think about activities, clubs, placements you could do that could make you stand out above the competition when it comes to your application for law graduate jobs vacancies. What about if you are doing a degree in a subject other than law and you decide, whilst at university, that you would like to consider graduate law jobs in the future? Well, there’s great news for you. No need to think that you have chosen the wrong degree subject and missed the boat. To do graduate law jobs, you don’t necessarily need to be a law graduate. In fact, around half of those doing trainee solicitor jobs, lawyer jobs and even those who become barristers, have degrees in subjects other than law. Indeed, some degree subjects can better equip you for practicing in specialist areas of law in the future. If you do want to do graduate legal jobs such as trainee solicitor or barrister and you don’t have a Law degree, you will need to kick things off by doing a postgraduate GDL (Graduate Diploma in Law) or CPE (Common Professional Examination). These can be done over 12 months or, if you prefer part time, two years. |
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| What Are The Different Types Of Law Graduate Jobs? | |
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So, you’re linking the idea of working in law once you graduate but what types of graduate legal jobs are out there?
Barrister As well as stiff competition along the pathway to becoming a barrister, it can also become costly in the financial sense so you need to be sure this is the route you want to take. The barrister is the person who give legal advice to solicitors and clients. They represent clients in court, speaking on their behalf and cross-examine witnesses. To become a barrister, you will need a 2:1 degree, GDL/CPE if your degree is a subject other than Law, completion of BPTC (Bar Professional Training Course and then two 6 month periods doing a pupillage. If you have done a mini pupillage in the past, this can boost your skills and chances of succeeding in the future and demonstrate your dedication. A mini pupillage can be done whilst you are still at university. Trainee Solicitor Jobs - Law Training Contracts As a solicitor you will often be the first port of call for anyone who feels they may need some legal help. This could be required legal help in a variety of areas such as property, family, sport or human rights. Again, competition to win places with legal practices - especially the top ones - is stiff, so you will need to be able to convince your future employer that you mean business. If you are looking to do trainee solicitor jobs (law training contracts), aim to do law vacation schemes whilst you are still at university so that you have some work experience under your belt. Law vacation schemes are the law world’s answer to work experience and typically last around two weeks so you could so more than one. During these law vacation schemes, you can be paid for your work as well as receiving expenses. They are also a perfect opportunity for employers to meet you, as well as giving you some practical work experience. Employers often recruit graduates for law training contracts via vacation schemes so take these seriously. Make yourself aware of any application deadlines for both law vacation schemes and law training contracts. Graduate Paralegal Jobs Other types of jobs for law graduates could be paralegal jobs. Not all law graduates want to do lawyer jobs after completing university. Perhaps you are still trying to decide whether you want to do trainee solicitor jobs or maybe you just like the idea of legal administration jobs. If you are an organised person who loves order in the office and has good word processing skills, paralegal jobs could be ideal for you. Graduate paralegal jobs will allow you to combine your legal knowledge with your excellent communication skills and administrative skills. You will assist those doing lawyer jobs in their specialist areas so you could still work in a legal environment that matches your interests. Legal Recruitment Consultant Jobs Have you thought about legal jobs in legal recruitment? Quite often, legal recruitment companies will require you to be a law graduate to do these types of law jobs. Recruitment is fast paced and all about finding the right people to fill vacancies for legal jobs. If you think you are good at building relationships with people and working under pressure to meet targets, graduate law jobs in legal recruitment could be ideal for you. Some legal recruitment companies will run graduate schemes so that you get structured training. On target earnings mean these types of jobs for law graduates could still prove to be lucrative. Court Reporter Jobs Graduate law jobs could also be working as a court reporter. As well as an extensive knowledge of legal terms court reporter jobs also require you to be able to use technical recording equipment and you will also need to possess excellent clerical skills. Court reporter jobs can be quite intense as you will need to attend and record court proceedings which could last many hours in a day. This will take a lot of concentration on your part. If you are interested in different types of legal cases, however, court reporter jobs could be ideal for you. Barrister’s Clerk Jobs Whilst it isn’t essential to have a degree in Law to do barrister’s clerk jobs, it can often be seen as advantageous as you will have a knowledge of different law terms and proceedings. Barrister’s clerk jobs mean you will essentially be a PA to your barrister with lots of responsibility. Barristers work long hours and you will be expected to work long hours with them. As someone with an interest in law, you could be working on some really interesting cases, as well as looking after all the administrative necessities. |
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