r/uklaw

Guess who got 2 unpaid internships this summer and no paid ones 🫩

No but seriously are they?

Just got my SQE2 results and honestly… the relief 😭

It’s been such a long journey balancing exams, work and everything else life throws at you, so seeing that pass felt surreal.

Future solicitor officially loading ⚖️

I have recently been offered a banking paralegal role at a top City Law firm and I am so excited as it is a huge step up from the small law firm I have been a paralegal in until now. It has been heavily implied throughout the interviewing process that if I impress them, they will happily take me on as a trainee.

Problem is I have two holidays booked in the first few months. I start beginning of June - I have a long weekend end of June and 2 weeks end of July.

What should I do? I am worried that it will give the impression that I am not serious and scared it may impact their review of me in my probation period.

I’ve had an awful week personally (long story short - my girlfriend dumped me, my sister got diagnosed with cancer and I got diagnosed with depression again) and I’ve done very little at work. My time recording has slipped, I’ve procrastinated work time and time again and I’ve not engaged with any of my colleagues. Ive made silly mistakes, luckily nothing catastrophic. I’ve cried every 2 minutes and I feel utterly exhausted. I haven’t missed any major deadlines, but I’ve clearly not met expectations as I’m on some huge matters.

As I’m coming up to the end of the week, I’m worried I’ve messed everything up when I was actually doing quite well - I just massively got in my own head and started comparing myself to everyone and convinced myself it wasn’t worth the effort.

Has anyone come back from a period like this? And how?

What are we doing? Is it just me or are there more of us? Why is the market so terrible? Do we give up hope?! ONLY THOSE WHO ARE IN THE NQ MARKET AND CANT FIND A ROLE PLS RESPOND.

I’ll be commencing pupillage this coming October in a commercial set. I am about to pick up some suits and have a few questions: Firstly, how many will be enough? I am thinking of investing in two to begin with and picking up one or two more over the course of the year. Will this be enough or too many? Secondly, given I will be engaging in fairly complex commercial work, does this mean I need to splash out? What would be considered a reasonably priced suit for the type of work I’ll be engaging in? Thanks!

Would be interested to know if there are many litigators who have made the transition to in house? My understanding is that such roles are few and far between between compared with those on the transactional side. Is this true?

Hi everyone,

I’m an aspiring solicitor currently studying a STEM degree at a Russell Group uni, and I’m feeling a bit lost about my prospects. I have some significant mitigating circumstances that have impacted my grades, and I want a realistic reality check on my chances of landing a Vacation Scheme or Training Contract in my final year.

During my first year, I struggled with severe mental health issues. I managed to get a low 2:1 overall, but my transcript is a wild mix of highs like a 79 and 77, and some low lows, including a 40, 50, and 55.

In my second year, my health failed me again, and I developed ME/CFS. It has been incredibly debilitating, to the point where I had to take a year out as a formal interruption of studies. It has been a year and a half since I developed symptoms of this condition, and trying to recover has really been a journey. I'm still far from 100% and definitely not the student I used to be, but I've adapted my approach to studying and am currently sitting my remaining second year exams. I'm eager to finish my degree. I’m confidently on track for a 63-66% overall this year. Again, it’s a mixed bag of likely Firsts in three modules and 2:1s in two others, alongside a 49, 50, and 55 from when I sat exams in much worse health. All of my health issues have been formally documented by my university and health specialists.

I'm in the process of finalising the list of firms I would like to apply to in my final year. As I look at my transcript, it feels a little hopeless. I know firms claim they look at mitigating circumstances contextually, but do they actually take them seriously when they see so many low module marks? On the positive side, I have loads of really great extracurriculars, and I actually interned at a consulting firm last year, and somehow did well enough to get a return offer. I'm heading back there this summer. I have also done open days and insight events at several US law firms. I'm hoping that backs up my academic potential, but I’m still second-guessing whether I should even bother applying to law firms.

I’d love to get some honest advice or insight from anyone who has navigated the application process with a messy transcript or major health disruptions. If anyone is open to chatting directly in DMs, I would really appreciate it.

I am doing a training contract at a very small firm. I get lots of experience and responsibility but it is realistically not a well-known firm at all, and it only has 10 lawyers, so the pay is bad (and I guess the reputation factor is also missing)

Realistically, how bad are my prospects of moving to a bigger firm upon qualification ? I know that firms prioritise internal NQs and then probably trainees from magic circles etc, but is there a chance to move up?

Please don’t be mean. I know I’ve screwed up.

It’s a 3.5k assignment. It’s for the question: The offence of attempt seeks a midway course between criminal intervention that would be too early or too late.
 
Explain this statement, and critically discuss how successful the current law is in achieving the desired midway course.
 
I am not sure if mens rea is relevant here. My tutor said that he would recommend writing the whole essay on the AR threshold. But I am at such a loss guys.

I don’t know what my section 3 should be.

Section 2 was on why the current law is partly successful because the current threshold allows for flexibility which enhances public safety. I used sexual offence cases.

But now I’m at a loss.

I’m sorry if this really sounds stupid.

I am doing a training contract at a very small firm. I get lots of experience and responsibility but it is realistically not a well-known firm at all, and it only has 10 lawyers, so the pay is bad (and I guess the reputation factor is also missing)

Realistically, how bad are my prospects of moving to a bigger firm upon qualification ? I know that firms prioritise internal NQs and then probably trainees from magic circles etc, but is there a chance to move up?

Title

I’m a history student in the UK who’s really interested in transactional law, especially M&A/private equity work, and I’d love to hear from lawyers who started in big City firms (Magic Circle, Silver Circle, US firms in London, or the wider UK area etc.) and later moved in-house.

For those of you who made that transition:
What area did you specialise in while in private practice?
How many PQE were you when you moved?
What does your role look like now?
Was moving in-house always the plan, or did your priorities change over time?
Do you feel your earning potential/lifestyle improved after leaving private practice?
Were there any unexpected exits or career paths that opened up from transactional law?

I’m especially curious about people who went into:
private equity firms
investment firms
corporate strategy/M&A teams
high-growth companies
portfolio companies
or any other commercially focused in-house role

Also, for anyone at US firms in London specifically: I already have a decent network with UK firms, but almost no exposure to US firms. How would you recommend a student starts building that network early on?

Since I’m doing a humanities degree rather than economics/finance, I’d also love advice on how to demonstrate genuine commercial interest. Are there any courses, certifications, experiences, reading habits, or skills you think actually helped you stand out commercially?

And finally:
What would you tell a young woman trying to break into this world early?

Would really appreciate any insight especially the realities beyond the graduate recruitment brochures.

As a solicitor if you had a family member that was hiring someone, & that family member had no legal understanding, knowledge etc then what questions would you tell that relative to ask, to find out if they were a good solicitor/lawyer?

I have recently accepted an offer of pupillage in a mixed set on the North Eastern Circuit to begin this year. I will specialise predominantly in crime and a tad bit of civil.

For practicing barristers - what advice would you give yourself if you were back in my shoes? Is there anything unexpected I should prepare for before pupillage? Is there anything unexpected that I should purchase?

It is my third year of applying for pupillage and I currently work in the legal field so I would like to think I’m not wet behind the ear, but equally, I am a first generation lawyer so everything feels completely new to me.

Is it a decent firm? With good future prospects.

It is a large national firm, but in terms of like future prospects, if I wanted to move to a bigger firm as NQ or overall good enough to be taken serious by silver circle firm etc.

Because I’m thinking if it’s worth enough to relocate to Exeter for the TC, because it is an investment the first 2-3 years in any firm. And then maybe choose a different firm.

NQ roles are equally as hard to get that’s why I wanna make sure my stepping stone firm is going to give me some advantage to stand out :)

I've just completed my first year of a two-year conversion course in Law, having previously worked as a Software Engineer for two years. I want to get some legal work experience this summer. Some people in my class have recommended that I walk into high-street firms with my CV and ask for work experience in person. Does anyone have any experience doing this and, if so, were you successful?

Some questions I have regarding this approach:

1. Do I need to write up a cover letter for the high street firm I'm walking into?
2. What day/time would be suitable for a walk-in at a high street firm? (e.g., mornings or afternoons)
3. Should I ask for work experience or part-time work? Ideally, I would want it to be paid, but I'm more concerned about the experience at the moment.

Also, what should I actually say when I walk in? Would this be okay:

"Hi, my name is .... and I'm a law student at .... I'm looking to get some legal work experience this summer and was wondering if you had anything available?"

Hey everyone,

The firm I have a TC with has specified I must study the GDL at BPP, and that I can choose any in-person location but not line. It’s not really feasibly for me to live away from home on the maintenance grant so I’ll probably be commuting about 45 mins to one of the branches. I’m learning to drive which will make it infinitely easier, but for the time being I’ll be getting trains and public transport which is of course less than ideal.

If anyone is currently doing the GDL I’d be interested to know what your weeks look like typically. How many days a week? How many hours a day? Is it mostly take home assignments or do you have in person exams?

As for attendance, are there penalties for non-attendance/low attendance if I can’t make a class. Are lectures/content recorded and provided (I.e would it be feasibly to study from home some of the time, or is it really needed to be on campus for most things?

Lastly with a choice between Manchester or Leeds campus, would you recommend one over the other? Any general comments on your experience?

Thanks so much for any help!

More generally, is it a terrible idea or not to do a nq role in a department you've not done a seat in?

I'm fine with the ones I've done but there's an area that seems much more glamorous (although I've done a loosely related seat).