Law With Sophie

Law With Sophie is a blog offering advice and support to aspiring solicitors

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When you’re first researching how to become a solicitor, it can be a pretty overwhelming task. There’s certainly a LOT more sources of information and a wealth of different platforms now, compared to when I was an applicant.

Which is great in some ways, as there’s a huge amount of information to help aspiring solicitors in a very competitive environment. That said, it can be hard to cut through all the white noise!

In the below I’ve tried to draw up a pretty comprehensive overview and list the resources you should use as a starting point when you’re considering a career as a solicitor.

1. Initial requirements

To become a solicitor, you need a degree level qualification or equivalent. So, this could be:

  • an undergraduate degree
  • a Level 6 apprenticeship
  • a Level 6 CILEx qualification

2. Routes to qualification for aspiring solicitors

As it stands currently

a) If you have a degree:

If you studied a qualifying law degree, you’re eligible to pursue the next required steps:

  1. The Legal Practice Course (“LPC“), followed by
  2. Your period of recognised training (the most established form of this is a “training contract”), and finally
  3. The Professional Skills Course (“PSC“).

If you took a non-qualifying law degree (aka not an LLB), or a non-law degree, you’ll need to take the Graduate Diploma in Law (“GDL“) before you can complete the three elements above.

b) Routes which don’t require a degree:
Apprenticeships

There are many forms of legal apprenticeships, both with law firms and in-house at other companies, which allow you to formally qualify as a solicitor, paralegal or chartered legal executive. Like most apprenticeships, you receive a salary for your work and have certain ‘study days’ to complete your classroom based learning.

For inspiration and advice, see:

CILex

CILex is the body for chartered legal executives and governs qualification via the legal executive route. Find out more about qualification via this route here.

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A side note on funding your postgraduate legal studies

I know that finances are a significant bar to entry of the profession. I always had the financial worries of qualifying as a solicitor in the back of my mind. So, I’m committed to talking honestly about the financial aspects of the process!

Funding options 

In terms of funding, you can either:

  1. Choose to fund the GDL and/or LPC yourself then obtain a training contract, or
  2. You may prefer – or need – to first secure a training contract with a firm, which will sponsor these studies for you.
My funding ‘story’

I’d been discussing the GDL with my Dad for years by the time I graduated. He was really enthusiastic about me becoming a solicitor, wanted me to crack on ASAP after graduating, and – very fortunately for me – had the means to help me out. So he’d offered to cover the cost of the GDL course fees in these conversations. (I am so, so thankful for this every day.)

I really wanted to take the GDL in London, where there was in-person study (as opposed to online study, like the other centres in Manchester etc. (at that time)). Given how expensive it is to live in London and that this was totally my choice, my Dad therefore wanted me to support myself as much as I could in terms of living costs (fair enough, really).

After some deliberation, I chose to take the GDL 2 days a week, on Monday-Tuesday, so that I could work on the other days. A few months into the GDL I secured a paralegal role and started working Wednesday-Friday there. (I wouldn’t recommend trying to squeeze all this in… my grades (and sanity) definitely suffered. Perhaps more on that another day!)

Once I’d done the GDL, financially I then needed to wait until I’d secured a training contract to do the LPC. I didn’t want to ask my Dad to pay for the LPC fees. Plus, as I was targeting large commercial firms, many of these firms have their own bespoke LPC anyway. So – funding aside – I preferred to wait until I had a training contract to do the LPC so I could undertake the firm’s chosen elective modules (instead of choosing my own) and study with my cohort, too.

(But you won’t be at a disadvantage at all if you do decide to pursue the LPC yourself and choose your own electives!)

Once I secured my training contract, I was enrolled onto the full-time LPC at ULaw in Moorgate by my firm and the timetable was chosen for us – from memory, it was a good chunk of each day, Monday-Friday. We were given a maintenance amount from my firm (approx £6,000-7,000 for the duration of the course) which was’t enough to cover my London rent, never mind living costs. (One reason I am passionate about social mobility: the fact that so many law firms make you study in London, but don’t give you enough money to live there… Leaving the path open only to those who have financial support to do so, or take on personal debt to support themselves. Again, perhaps more on that another day!!)

So… I had the conversation again with my Dad about pennies, and he asked me to find a job on the weekends, figure out approximately what I’d  be able to earn and what I’d then need (after my wages and the grant from my firm) to cover rent, bills and living costs, and he would help me with the rest. (Again, very very grateful for this.) So off I went. I found a job in a cafe (any fans of Brother Marcus in Balham?! Still the best brunch in London IMO) and worked Saturdays and Sundays, so I could do my LPC work Monday-Friday.

I’ve got to admit, both my GDL and LPC years were much more difficult because of working as much as I did to support myself, BUT we got there – that’s what counts!

Fees

At the time of writing, and at the providers I attended in London, GDL course fees are around £11,590 and LPC course fees are around £17,300. Which is absolutely astronomical… And keeps slowly increasing. (I paid approximately £10,000 for the GDL in 2014, from memory).

The new SQE route (see below) is intended to make qualifying as a solicitor more affordable. But, theres been some debate about that…

Loans

On their own, the GDL and LPC aren’t eligible for a postgraduate student loan but, if combined as an MA/Msc, you can obtain a student loan. See this article for more info. Scholarships are also available at many course providers.

Alternatively some people choose to study the GDL and/or LPC part time while working full time in order to fund their studies too.

So there are options out there if you haven’t secured firm or personal funding for your course(s).

Post-September 2021 and the introduction of the SQE

The industry has been adapting to the introduction of the new Solicitors’ Qualifying Exam (“SQE“), to be implemented very soon in September 2021.

The exams

The SQE is split into two exams: SQE1 and SQE2. When the SQE is introduced, there will initially be two sittings of each exam per year.

Via the SQE route, your degree level qualification doesn’t need to be in law. However in practical terms you will still need a legal education to pass the SQE assessments. So, lots of applicants will probably still choose to take a law degree or legal apprenticeship.

Some unis will incorporate preparation for the SQE1 assessments into their LLB/LLM programmes.

Qualifying work experience

On top of the SQE exams, all candidates will also need to complete at least two years of full time qualifying work experience (“QWE“). This is basically intended to be a new and more flexible version of the traditional ‘period of recognised training’, which commonly took the form of a training contract and with just the one provider.

Crucially, in contrast to the current training contract ‘system’, trainees will no longer have to meet requirements:

  • for completing both contentious or non-contentious work
  • for working in a specific number of legal areas.

Your QWE can be undertaken at a maximum of four different organisations.

It’s worth noting that the current system isn’t replaced by the SQE overnight – there is an 11 year transition period for implementing the SQE, where you can still do the existing route.

For more information on the SQE, see:

3. Useful websites to guide you in your decision making

My holy grail resource when I was researching what to do and making my training applications was LawCareers.Net. It is THE definitive resource for aspiring lawyers! In particular, I religiously used the LCN calendar to track application deadlines and source networking events/Open Days to attend. LCN’s Locker is also a must use in your applications, to save you having to keep re-entering basic information every time you make an application.

(I even wrote an article for LCN, which you can check out here!)

Some other great sources of information are:

  • Chambers Student for great overviews of the larger commercial firms. The True Picture series in particular is really handy, and this overview of the various different types of firm.
  • The Corporate Law Academy, and in particular the forum, is one resource which I reeeeallly wish was around when I was making applications! Many applicants and future trainees that I now speak to swear by this.
  • The legal press, such as Legal Cheek, The Lawyer (subscription required) and Legal Geek.

4. The industry bodies you should know about

The SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority) is the body responsible for regulating the conduct of solicitors and law firms in England & Wales. Amongst other things, it has established the professional conduct standards which solicitors must adhere to, and it is the body you’ll apply to for admission (“admission to the roll”) at the end of your period of recognised training.

The Law Society is the independent industry body for solicitors. When you’re admitted to the roll of solicitors, you become a member. The Law Society hosts some fantastic events, which you can find here.

The Junior Lawyer’s Division is a sub-community of the Law Society, for solicitor apprentices, law students, trainee solicitors and solicitors that have been qualified for up to 5 years (5 years “PQE“). Recordings of the recent super helpful Junior Lawyer’s Division forum can be found here.

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I hope you’ve found this overview useful and, as ever, any questions feel free to DM or email me!

@lawwithsophie