r/uklaw

I am a uni of Exeter graduate with a 2:1 (64) from a Russell group uni. I’m 31 and spend my career working in public policy, think tanks, charities etc. Law was always the dream but I was in a car accident when I was 22 which meant I couldn’t complete the GDL so ended up in politics. I’ve loved my career but I always dreamed of law. I’ve decided to go for it and try and get vac schemes and training contracts. I need some advice:
Should I self fund my GDL whilst continue working, try work as a paralegal then get a TC somewhere?
Should I just focus on vac schemes, see if I get a TC and then get the firm to fund my conversion and SQE?
What firms would value me? I want to go commercial law but I want my experience to be an asset? How do I tell a compelling story about my experience and where should I focus my efforts?

Thanks in advance!

Solicitor apprentice due to qualifying residential property - after a few years PQE is is it possible to go in house?

Hey everyone, I need a bit of experienced advice on this as I don’t want to just blindly following my intuition.

I have received a job offer that I would be starting in Leicester in 2 weeks time. I have put down a deposit for a sublet there as I’d have to move is the scenario.

I have been invited to a final stage interview this coming Wednesday in Peterborough but in a great firm that has an even better presence and more importantly my dream department.

My struggle is do I play the game of waiting out and seeing if I get an offer for the Peterborough job, or do I just leave it and take what I’ve been given at risk of not cancelling on Leicester firm last minute and also losing my deposit (£100) any opinions would be appreciated, thanks

as much as i want to say i’m determined to be successful, i feel like i’ve given up on a TC being in a close sight.

for context my stats are: mid tier uni, a good 2.1, two mini pupillage’s, one legal intern experience, one shadowing experience, one volunteering experience - both law related; one commercially focused experience. in the UK and international.

genuinely, how can i tackle these applications and take full advantage of my experiences which i’m truly so proud of to have achieved, yet it’s disappointing that really it still doesn’t make you stand out as much as you think it would.

i really appreciate any tips.

I’ve known I wanted a career in law since I was about nine. By 12, I had at least a basic idea of what commercial law meant because my father was a judge and later became a litigation lawyer.
Even then, when I said I wanted to be a lawyer, I was quite specific that I did not want the kind of law that takes you to court. That was obviously a very basic way for a 12-year-old to express it, but I somehow already knew the direction I wanted.

Law has always felt natural to me. I remember sitting in an Introduction to Law class during my first couple of weeks at university and finding that the answers often came to me through pure logic. I do not mean that as a brag. I went through my undergraduate degree with fairly average effort and still ranked in the top 10 of my class because, in exams, I could usually reason my way towards something broadly right.

The reason I am saying all of this is that I am now 29, have two law degrees, passed the SQE three years ago, and have worked as in-house counsel for two years. Yet I still freeze whenever someone asks me:

“Why commercial law?”

My mind goes completely blank.

I love my career choice. I did not fall into law because it was the degree available to me, and I did not choose commercial law randomly after university. This was the plan from middle school. I just genuinely struggle to explain why.

Growing up around my father clearly played a role, but I also knew I did not want his career path. He encouraged me to pursue the judiciary or join his office after university. Instead, I left the country and started again from scratch halfway across the world, and I intend to keep building my own path not grow off his name.

I may have an interview coming up with a City firm. I can speak at length about commercial awareness, my experience, the kind of work I enjoy, and why that particular firm. But I still have no convincing answer to the most basic question: why commercial law?

For those who pursued it deliberately rather than falling into it, what is your honest answer? What actually drew you to it?

Im 19, and ive finished my second year of uni, third year starts in September

I always hear stuff about how you never get any free time as a lawyer. And this worries me because ive had a really horrible and boring life so far

Is becoming a lawyer even a good idea for someone who has never really lived at all?

I have completed my Bachelor’s in Accounting and Finance, and I’ll be moving to the UK to start an LLM in International Financial Regulation and Corporate Law at Brunel University London.

I know Brunel is generally considered a mid-tier university, but unfortunately I didn’t have the budget for an elite university. Also, coming from a non-law background, getting into a top law school wasn’t straightforward.

My current plan is to self-study for the SQE 1 and hopefully sit the exam in July 2027. However, what worries me the most is gaining legal work experience and completing my QWE. I’ve read many Reddit posts about training contracts, but I feel that firms may not offer training contracts to international students who are limited to working 20 hours per week during term time.

To be honest, I’m quite nervous about this transition. Law has always been my dream, and now that I finally have the opportunity to pursue it, I really want to make the most of it.

What kind of legal jobs would you recommend I look for while studying? I’m considering paralegal roles, although I’ve heard they’re quite difficult to secure. Do you think self-studying for the SQE 1 is realistic, especially for someone from a non-law background? I’ve always been genuinely interested in law and enjoy reading legal cases, so I’m willing to put in the effort.

I’d really appreciate any advice on the best career path, how I should approach the SQE, and what I can do to maximise my chances of eventually joining a good law firm.

The pound pricing is huge when converted to local currency

I was just curious, i know one year is spent preparing for and sitting the sqe, but besides this, what are you guys doing?

Everything that burham is advocating for, are there legal obstacles that need to be overcome?

I’m about to graduate from Reading Uni with a 2:2 in Law, and while there are some extenuating circumstances (I suffered from a bereavement and financial difficulties in my second year, though it’s no excuse) and some minor legal experience, everything feels so lost right now. I already know there’s no point aiming for a TC with my grades, but even “lower” roles like paralegals or legal assistants want someone who has at least a year of prior experience, and living in a big city means firms aren’t exactly short of options. My question is where do I go from here - should I keep applying for these roles, give up and enter another field, or is there another way? I really do want to pursue a legal career but it seems impossible to get through the door without the magic 2:1.

I’m a recent graduate at a bit of a career crossroads and would really appreciate some honest perspectives from people actually working in law.

For years, I was laser-focused on salary. I came from a low-income background, so financial security was everything. But now I’ve reached the point where the offers are real rather than hypothetical, I’m starting to think much more holistically.

I currently have:

A Civil Service training contract (doesn’t fund my qualification, which puts me off).

A commercial law firm training contract starting in 2027/28, but I’d have to relocate and give up very low housing costs, so it’s a significant lifestyle trade-off.

An offer in construction on a chartered surveyor/project management pathway starting this September.

One thing that’s really playing on my mind is an experience I had during an unpaid legal internship. I genuinely found myself sneaking off to the toilet just to go on my phone because I was so bored. It was a tiny immigration firm with only two solicitors, so I don’t know whether I disliked the area of law, that particular office environment, or office work in general. As a fresh graduate, I simply don’t have enough experience to know.
The surveying/project management role starts in September, while the TCs don’t start until 2027/28, so I need to make a decision fairly soon.

For those of you who are solicitors:

Do you genuinely enjoy your work?
Did you always know law was right for you?
Have any of you considered leaving for another profession?
Is the day-to-day intellectually engaging, or does it become repetitive after a few years?
Looking back, would you choose law again?

Money obviously matters, but it’s no longer my only priority. I’m financially comfortable enough that I’m more concerned about flourishing in my career, enjoying what I do, and becoming genuinely good at it. I don’t want to end up in a pair of golden handcuffs—miserable most of the month and only happy for the five minutes after payday.

I’d really value honest experiences, both positive and negative.

Hi everyone! I have had legal recruiters reach out to me for years about job opportunities and I rarely engaged with them as I wasn’t looking to move. Recently, I decided I would like to make a move and have been searching LinkedIn and either (1) responding to specific job opportunities by reaching out directly to the recruiter that made the post (via email), or (2) reaching out to well known recruiters to share my CV and ask to have a call.

But I am finding it really hard to get any response from recruiters or even an acknowledgement that they received my email. Any idea why this could be? I don’t expect special treatment obviously, but shouldn’t recruiters be engaging with candidates as that is how they make their money? Or am I misunderstanding the process?

Thanks!

Hello, I’m from Canada and applied to some law schools in the UK for senior status LLB. I got accepted to the two mentioned above and Queens Belfast. Although I was mostly looking at those two.

If anyone has any insight into their journey in taking the NCA’s after taking their courses I’d appreciate it. Along with the general perception of those two schools compared to each other.

Thanks for your help.

Hi everyone,

I know this was probably asked half a dozen times before but I’m hoping someone who has gone through this route (or looked into it) can help.

I graduated with an Irish law degree in 2021/2022 and I have been working as a corporate paralegal in Ireland for over four years. I’m now considering qualifying as a solicitor in England & Wales through the SQE route and then, if possible, transferring back to practise in Ireland. However, I have a few questions:

Am I eligible to sit the SQE with an Irish law degree, or do I need to complete any conversion course first? From what I could find I don’t think I do?

Has anyone had their Irish paralegal experience recognised as Qualifying Work Experience (QWE)?

Which SQE prep provider would you recommend (BARBRI, QLTS School, University of Law, BPP, etc.)? I am leaning towards QLTS School myself and I would be interested in hearing others reviews on this provider.

If I qualify in England & Wales, what was the process like for being admitted as a solicitor in Ireland? Primarily the transfer exam.

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has taken this route or has first-hand experience.

Thanks!

I'll be setting up a profile on the apps soon and I'm not sure which is best to go with. "Lawyer" is universally understood but it just sounds a bit grand and big-headed to me for some reason, whereas solicitor is the actual job title, though has less "impact" than Lawyer. I was wondering what everyone else puts on their profiles?

Hi!

I hold 2 degrees in international relations, but am finding the politics job market really difficult. There are just not enough jobs especially after funding cuts.

I was thinking about shifting to law. The problem is that i am already 27 and feel really behind. Will this career shift be worth it or is just another dead end?

I am a recent Law graduate from the University of Nottingham, whilst i dont know my final grade i fear i may have got a 2:2 as my final exams didn't go too well, i am wondering how this will affect my career in regulatory compliance.

I’ve just finished my undergrad at a top-10 UK university with a non-law degree. During university, I gained some legal work experience, including a vacation scheme at a commercial firm in Manchester.

I’ve decided to pursue law, so my plan is to complete the PGDL. To fund it, I plan to work full-time for a year before starting the course. I don't really want to take out another loan for the MA, as I've heard master's loans have significantly harsher repayment terms and so on.

My question is: would taking a year out to work be viewed negatively by law firms when I apply for vacation schemes or training contracts in the future? Or is it generally acceptable if I can explain that I was working to finance the PGDL?

I’d be interested to hear from anyone who has gone a similar route!