Foreword
Paul Philip Chief executive of the Solicitors Regulation Authority
Mark Fenhalls QC Chair of the Bar Council
Welcome to The LawCareers.Net Handbook.
Being a barrister is a hugely enjoyable and rewarding career. No two days are the same, and the job entails meeting people from all walks of life. Barristers are specialist legal advisors who help individuals and organisations understand, exercise and defend their legal rights. The Bar in England and Wales has a reputation that’s recognised and respected around the world. Choosing a career as a barrister involves tenacity and hard work. In exchange the job offers real fulfilment. It combines intellectual challenge, persuasion and the opportunity to help people who need specialist advice and help.
Wherever your career in law takes you, we want to make sure that those entering the solicitor profession have reached the high standards that everyone expects. After a decade of preparation, the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), a single, rigorous assessment for all aspiring solicitors, is now a reality. The first two assessments have gone well – with more than a thousand people taking them across 26 countries. What does this mean for you? You need a degree or equivalent, to meet our character and suitability requirements, to complete two years’ qualifying work experience and, of course, to pass the assessments themselves. The SQE gives you real choice about your training. For example, you might choose a solicitor apprenticeship, or a law degree and then get that important work experience, or perhaps you’re a paralegal and see the SQE as a great opportunity to become a solicitor. Our Career in Law Facebook or Instagram accounts can help inform your choices. And if you’ve started your training journey last year, you may still have a choice to qualify either through the Legal Practice Course or SQE.
Pupillage (training) provides aspiring barristers with the practical skills and
experience needed to become a barrister. The pupillage application process is highly competitive, but we’re doing all that we can to attract and encourage the best candidates from the widest possible pool of talent. Good luck to all of you who are applying for pupillage. I hope you’ll enjoy a career in this wonderful profession, as I have.
I wish you all the best in your training.
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THE LAWCAREERS.NET HANDBOOK
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