Current issues
Before you embark on your legal career, we'd like to outline some of the realities involved in training as a solicitor that you may not be aware of, to ensure sure that you are empowered to make your career decisions armed with all of the relevant information.
Overview
Competition
Realities of the recession
Cost of the LPC
Work life
Alternative routes
Top tips for preparation
A health warning...
The key message is that you should not view qualifying as a solicitor to be an easy process or a conveyor belt route. While the process itself is fairly straightforward, the reality is that law is very tough profession to qualify into at the moment. Competition is fierce and it has been made more so by the recession. In addition, the cost of qualification is very high, and starting salaries may not be commensurate with this.
However, it is not all doom and gloom. There are still alternative routes to the training contract, should you find that this is not the way for you. In addition, we often find that those with a strong drive and commitment to the profession also have the tenacity and the ambition to ensure that they are able to stand out against the competition. In order to do this, you need to have the relevant information to be able to make the most intelligent and appropriate decisions around your future as possible.
Competition
The legal profession is a difficult one to get into and the competition that you will face will be immense. There are more LPC students than there are training contracts available, and so embarking on the LPC before you have secured one can be risky. You need to be prepared for the saturated marketplace.
The recession has exacerbated the issues of access to the profession. But that said, competition for training contracts was always the most difficult part of the qualification process. It is key to understand that there simply are not enough training places out there, and that they are ridiculously oversubscribed.
Whilst accurate statistics are still in development, the JLD believes that for each training contract place there are at least five students. This means that only 1 in 5 of those who start on the LPC each year will be able to take training contracts. Add to this all those already looking from the last year's graduating class, those qualifying from other jurisdictions, barristers cross-qualifying and paralegals - and the marketplace is very full.
This level of competition means that you have to be realistic about your chances of getting a training contract straight away and build this into your career plan. If you are prepared for the competition and have an action plan to take it on - then you are more likely to succeed. It is easy to become disheartened when you are rejected. Given that the field is so wide, it is easy to lose out if you are not aware of this. It is important to refine yourself and ensure that you can get ahead of the pack and stand out. Research is critical to achieving this – you need to be well informed and well-prepared.
Realities of the recession
It is an unfortunate truth that lawyers have also been hit by the recession. It was a popular myth that the safest professions in this world were law and medicine. This can no longer be said to be the case.
There are high amounts of redundancies in the legal profession at the moment. The junior element does appear to be hit very heavily. Areas which are most affected are real estate (conveyancing) and banking/corporate law. It is pretty much impossible for qualified lawyers to find work in these areas at the moment as there have been so many lay-offs.
As a student or prospective student, the temptation may be to shrug and think that this does not apply to you. However, the fact that firms are making reductions means that finding a training contract will be difficult. One of the first responses to an economic downturn is to freeze hiring. This is no less apparent than in the training market. A trainee must be paid a minimum salary of £18,420 per annum if they work in Central London and £16,500 per annum if they work anywhere else in England & Wales. Although the profession is realistic, and appreciates that if it reduces numbers of trainees now it may have a problem later on, some firms simply cannot afford to take on trainees. This is especially the case for those firms who are making redundancies. There are less training contracts available this year and competition for those places is fierce.
It is also the case that some firms who have recruited trainees to start in 2009 have deferred the start of these contracts by one year. The reason being that these firms feel that they cannot support trainees at this time, but feel that they may be able to in 2010. These firms are trying to take a long-term view; hoping that the recession will blow over by the end of the year as some market analysts predict. These potential trainees may well decide that the year delay is too much and they may also be back on an already saturated market.
Cost of the LPC
The cost of completing the LPC itself is extremely prohibitive - especially in these financial climes. The cost of the course can top £10,000 in some cases. Add to this the cost of living in more expensive locations, such as London, Guildford and York, and those embarking on the LPC will certainly be feeling the pinch.
The cost of the LPC has risen in the "boom" years and, for the current academic year, the LPC at the College of Law London will set you back £10,340. Living in London is not cheap, and rent alone is likely to cost some £4,500 for the academic year period. Students are expected to concentrate on their studies for the entirety of the course, and not take up part-time employment. However, for the majority of students who do not have sponsorship from a law firm to complete the LPC, this is very difficult. Many work evenings, Saturdays and Sundays whilst studying as they have no choice. This can make the year very stressful.
It can be especially difficult to cope with the level of debt that you can accrue whilst studying the LPC if you do not already have a training contract (and therefore salary) to look forward to. The JLD's advice is to think carefully before spending money to complete this course without a training contract already in hand. If you choose to do the course without a training contract, please bear in mind all that has been written above. It may well be that you are unable to locate one for some time – you need to be sure that this is a cost you are comfortable to bear.
Work life
One common misconception is that lawyers all work in huge, international firms like Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance. This is not the case. There are a wide range of different types of practice, from small single-partner high street firms all the way through to solicitors who work in-house for companies or local government. In addition, only a very small proportion of solicitors earn ‘big money' salaries.
When you are training, you should have your eye on the minimum salary for trainees, which in 2009 had yet to top £20,000 per annum. You should be realistic in your salary expectations, especially if you are taking on a bank or career development loan to fund your studies.
Alternative routes
You should also be aware that the training contract route is only one way to qualify as a solicitor. It is also possible to work through to qualification as a legal executive under the ILEX route. Some people may work as a paralegal before taking up their training contract. This could mean that they have some of the time of their training contracts reduced to take their previous experience into account.
Top tips for preparing
In summary - our top tips for wannabe solicitors are:
Do:
- Your research
- Consider why you want to study law
- Make yourself aware of the different areas of law
- Consider the types of firms you would like to work for and what their entry requirements are
- Consider working in-house or in the public sector
- Make yourself aware of the ILEX and part-time LPC route
- Make yourself aware of the scholarships and bursaries available, including local government sponsorship
- Be realistic about the salary you will be earning
- Get as much work experience as possible
- Take every year of university seriously - most application forms will ask you for your first year results
- Use any contacts if you have them
- Attend open days and law fairs
Don't:
- Think you are entitled to be a solicitor because you 'tick the boxes'
- Take on more debt than you can realistically repay
- Place too much emphasis on salary
- Choose firms based on which ones your peers are applying to
- Panic or become obsessed
- Take a conveyor-belt approach to applications
Overall remember to plan carefully and be responsible. Make sure that law is the right career for you - don't let your background or your peers make any choices on your behalf. Be patient, realistic and pragmatic. Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and choose the route which is right for you.