How do I get a graduate job as a trainee solicitor?
Solicitors provide legal advice, find solutions to problems and represent clients in negotiations. They spend a lot of time meeting with clients, researching cases, writing legal documents and liaising with other professionals. It all starts with a training contract, so if all this sounds like the kind of job you’d like, read on – competition for training contracts is stiff and you’ll need to plan ahead if you want to stay on track.
How do I become a solicitor?
There's a set path you'll need to follow to become a solicitor. If you don’t have a law degree you’ll first need to complete a law conversion course, known as the Common Professional Examination (CPE) or Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL). Both law graduates and conversion course graduate then need to study the legal practice course (LPC), which is a vocational course designed to help you apply law to practical issues. After this you’ll need to complete a training contract, usually with a solicitors’ firm. During this time you’ll be known as a trainee solicitor. Once you’ve completed your training contract successfully you’ll be allowed to call yourself a solicitor.
Where could I work as a solicitor?
Most training contracts are with law firms, although some other legal organisations (such as the Government Legal Service) also offer them. Law firms vary in size and client base, with some firms taking on mainly corporate clients and others offering legal services to private individuals. Working cultures vary enormously as a result. Legal work experience can give you an insight into how different firms operate – and have a look at the people at work profiles to find out more about the kind of work trainees in different firms do.
How do I get a training contract?
Most large law firms now recruit online, and there’s no denying that competition for training contracts is fierce. But you can keep ahead of the competition by knowing what recruiters want to see in an application and by following their advice when applying – make sure you know each firm’s application deadline, for example, and check your application carefully for typos. You can improve your chances of securing a training contract by researching firms carefully, making good use of recruitment events and matching your skills to those that firms are asking for. Read the advice legal recruiters are offering on this site to make your application the best it can be.
What skills do I need to be a solicitor?
Legal recruiters will be looking for a range of skills in addition to top grades. Good communication and interpersonal skills, for example, are essential, as is attention to detail and, particularly if you want to go into commercial work, a sense of commercial awareness. The ability to learn quickly and work as part of a team are also qualities legal recruiters will be looking for – read our recruiter tips for more guidance.
What’s the work like?
Solicitors’ work covers a wide variety of areas. These include:
- Aviation law
- Banking and finance law
- Capital markets law
- Commercial law
- Construction law
- Corporate finance law
- Corporate law
- Criminal law
- Dispute resolution law
- Employment law
- Energy, transport and infrastructure law
- Environment law
- EU & competition law
- Family law
- Fraud law
- Human rights law
- Insolvency law
- Insurance and reinsurance law
- Intellectual property law
- Islamic finance law
- IT and communications law
- Life sciences law
- Media law
- Personal injury law
- Private client law
- Private equity law
- Real estate law
- Retail law
- Securitisation law
- Shipping law
- Sovereign finance law
- Sport law
- Tax law
What could I earn if I become a solicitor when I graduate?
Salaries on offer to trainees vary according to each firm, the kind of work it does and where it’s located. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) recommends a minimum salary for trainees in central London of £18,590, and £16,650 in other parts of the country.