Can I take a year out after uni?
What’s the lowdown on the postgraduate law courses? In brief, this is the compulsory vocational stage that must be
Definitely – it’s something a lot of students do, especially if they don’t have a training contract
or pupillage by the time they leave uni. A year out gives you the opportunity to spend time making and enhancing your applications. Along with gaining experience (both legal and commercial), travel and/or charity work are great gap-year favourites – and provided that you end up with more to talk about than the beach, they can really enhance your applications.
completed before you do either the training contract (solicitor) or pupillage (barrister). The LPC and the BPTC are usually one- year courses, but each can be done two years part time, or by distance learning. Many providers around the country offer the courses, including our sponsor, Nottingham Law School. Alternatively CILEx offers a Graduate Fast Track Diploma. Note: the SRA is introducing a new Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) in 2020, which will likely replace the LPC, but the exact timing and format of this is vague, so for now, the above remains true.
Are postgraduate law courses expensive? Do I have to pay for them myself?
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The total cost of qualifying as a solicitor or barrister is not to be
Have all lawyers been to private school and Oxbridge?
underestimated. Over and above the £9,250 per year that you are likely to have to pay for your undergraduate degree, you will have to pay as much as £10,920, £15,740 or £19,070 (plus living costs) for, respectively, each of the GDL, LPC and BPTC in 2017-18. For this reason, it’s best to have a training contract or pupillage before embarking on any of the courses – some large firms/ chambers offer sponsorship (usually covering course fees and maintenance grant) to their future trainees/pupils. At the very least, you’ll have a job at the end of all the study. Bank loans are usually the preferred option for those who self-fund; note, however, that most banks have withdrawn the preferential loan products that they used to offer to postgraduate law students. For more detailed funding advice, look at the ‘Finances’ section on LawCareers.Net.
No. Most firms and chambers fully understand the benefits of
a representative workforce, which means recruiting the best candidates regardless of background. These days, most go further by establishing their own diversity policies to ensure that they provide a welcoming and supportive environment for people whatever their gender, ethnicity, sexuality, age, socioeconomic background and so on. That said, different firms and chambers do have different personalities and it’s important to find one that suits you – a compelling reason to attend law fairs, open days and get work experience.
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